The duel at the top of the table in the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) between runners-up Red Bull Munich and Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven has escalated into a neck-and-neck race. Bremerhaven took advantage of the end of Munich’s winning streak with their fifth success in a row with 7: 5 (1: 1, 4: 1, 2: 3) in the top game at the Grizzlies Wolfsburg. Bayern lost 5-1 (0-0, 1-2, 0-3) against the Schwenninger Wild Wings and fell back to second place behind the Penguins, who were tied on points.
Meanwhile, the Iserlohn Roosters are rolling up the field further from behind under their new coach Greg Poss. In the third game with the former Canadian national coach, the Sauerlanders got their third win with a 4:1 (0:0, 2:0, 2:1) against the Straubing Tigers. On the other hand, the crisis of champion Eisbären Berlin worsened with a 2:3 (2:0, 0:2, 0:0, 0:0, 0:1) after a penalty shootout against old champion Adler Mannheim. After the last two wins, the Düsseldorfer EG missed the leap into the top third of the table with a 2:4 (0:0, 1:0, 1:4) against newcomer Löwen Frankfurt.
In the top game in Wolfsburg, the hosts were threatened with a debacle after 36 minutes with a 1:5 deficit. Although the Grizzlys caused excitement by catching up, they finally had to accept their first defeat after three victories.
Munich collapsed completely against Schwenningen in the final third. For the first time after three wins, Don Jackson’s team left the ice as losers. Berlin’s condition is worrying after four defeats in the past five meetings. 48 hours after the 1:6 home slap against Iserlohn, a 2:0 lead was not enough to win again. Nigel Dawes sealed Berlin’s third loss in a row in the seventh round of the penalty shootout.
In the bottom of the table, the Bietigheim Steelers confirmed their reputation as the shooting gallery of the league: After conceding 15 goals in the last two games, the bottom team conceded another half a dozen in the 3: 6 (2: 2, 0: 3, 1: 1) at the Nuremberg Ice Tigers hit. As a result, the Augsburg Panthers did not fall back to the bottom of the table with 0:1 (0:1, 0:0, 0:0) at ERC Ingolstadt despite their fourth bankruptcy.
Grizzlies Wolfsburg – Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven 5: 7 (1: 1, 1: 4, 3: 2). – Goals: 1-0 Rakjshani (19:10), 1-1 Urbas (19:52), 1-2 Vikingstad (31:43), 1-3 Bruggisser (32:54), 1-4 Verlic (34: 53), 1: 5 Mauermann (35:53), 2: 5 Morley (39:34), 3: 5 Morley (40:30), 4: 5 Brown (54:07), 4: 6 Friesen (54: 40), 5:6 Archibald (56:12), 5:7 Urbas (59:40). – Penalty minutes: Wolfsburg 2 – Bremerhaven 4. – Spectators: 2261
Eisbären Berlin – Adler Mannheim 2:3 (2:0, 0:2, 0:0, 0:0, 0:1) nP – Goals: 1: 0 Noebels (04:11), 2: 0 Noebels (05:41), 2: 1 Rendulic (28:53), 2: 2 Dawes (35:39), 2: 3 Dawes (65: 00). – Penalty minutes: Berlin 4 – Mannheim 6. – Spectators: 10439
Düsseldorfer EG – Löwen Frankfurt 2: 4 (0: 0, 1: 0, 1: 4). – Goals: 1:0 Blank (23:50), 1:1 Bokk (43:38), 1:2 Broad Cross (47:59), 1:3 Ranford (53:47), 2:3 Harper (56: 41), 2:4 broad cross (59:48). – Penalty minutes: Düsseldorf 4 – Frankfurt 6. – Spectators: 7446
Iserlohn Roosters – Straubing Tigers 4: 1 (0: 0, 2: 0, 2: 1). – Goals: 1-0 Daugavins (27:45), 2-0 Bergmann (29:21), 3-0 Bailey (55:02), 3-1 Lipon (57:01), 4-1 Cornel (58: 20). – Penalty minutes: Iserlohn 10 – Straubing 8. – Spectators: 3597
Red Bull Munich – Schwenninger Wild Wings 1: 5 (0: 0, 1: 2, 0: 3). – Goals: 0: 1 Bassen (22:27), 1: 1 Desousa (28:28), 1: 2 Hungerecker (36:21), 1: 3 Spink (43:48), 1: 4 Bassen (57: 01), 1:5 Lajunas (58:18). – Penalty minutes: Munich 8 – Schwenningen 10. – Spectators: 4852
ERC Ingolstadt – Augsburg Panther 1: 0 (1: 0, 0: 0, 0: 0). – Goals: 1: 0 Höfflin (05:32). – Penalty minutes: Ingolstadt 2 – Augsburg 4. – Spectators: 3623
Nuremberg Ice Tigers – Bietigheim Steelers 6: 3 (2: 2, 3: 0, 1: 1). – Goals: 1-0 Macleod (00:35), 1-1 Wilkie (04:09), 1-2 Jasper (05:56), 2-2 Schmölz (10:22), 3-2 Sheehy (29: 12), 4:2 Karrer (35:27), 5:2 Weber (37:01), 5:3 Lepaus (40:42), 6:3 Macleod (46:24). – Penalty minutes: Nuremberg 17 – Bietigheim 17. – Spectators: 3213