Eisbär Kevin Clark (centre) plays the puck between two Ingolstadt players Photo: City Press
From BZ/dpa
The Eisbären Berlin continued their race to catch up in the race for the playoff places in the German Ice Hockey League (DEL).
On Sunday evening, the reigning champions beat ERC Ingolstadt 5-1 (2-0, 1-1, 2-0) and after their second win in a row are only three points behind tenth place. Leonhard Pföderl, Marcel Noebels, Manuel Wiederer, Zach Boychuk and Yannick Veilleux ensured the deserved success with their goals.
Marco Nowak, Manuel Wiederer, Julian Melchiori and Bennet Roßmy celebrate the goal to make it 3-1 for the polar bears Photo: City Press
In front of 12,992 spectators in the arena at Ostbahnhof, both teams fought an intense, fast-paced duel right from the start. With a bit of luck, the hosts took the lead: Pföderl’s shot from a tight angle sent Ingolstadt’s goalie Kevin Reich slipping over the line. Noebels extended the lead with a converted penalty before the first break.
Jonas Müller and Peter Regin from Berlin try to stop Maury Edwards from Ingolstadt Photo: City Press
The guests were able to shorten the gap in the second third with a goal from Marko Friedrich, but only a little later Wiederer restored the old gap. The capitals used their chances consistently in the final section as well: Boychuk scored after a counterattack.
After that, thanks to a concentrated team effort and some strong saves by goalie Tobias Ancicka, success was no longer seriously threatened. Veilleux finally even managed the fifth goal.