After four defeats, the Eisbären Berlin have celebrated a win in the German Ice Hockey League (DEL).
On Wednesday evening (January 4th, 2023), the champions won 3:2 (1:1, 2:0, 0:1) against the Kölner Haie and thus collected three important points in the relegation battle. Jonas Müller, Zach Boychuk and Morgan Ellis scored for the capitals, who were undeterred by an early deficit.
Many bugs – polar bears more efficiently
In front of 10,518 spectators in the arena at the Ostbahnhof, Nicholas Bailen gave the visitors the lead in the first power play. Both teams then made numerous bad passes and did not achieve much in attack, but shortly before the first break the home side also benefited from a majority situation: Müller equalized with a powerful long-range shot.
In the second third, the polar bears got off to a better start. Boychuk scored after a clever cross pass from Matt White. After both teams missed a few chances, most of which resulted from opposing defensive errors, the hosts were able to extend their lead. Ellis scored the second power play goal for Berlin. In the final section, the capitals missed numerous counter-attacking opportunities, so that Cologne’s Maximilian Kammerer caused excitement again with a late goal.
Straubing defeats the DEG
Both the Düsseldorfer EG and the Straubing Tigers both have hopes of directly qualifying for the playoffs in the upper half of the table. In a direct duel, Straubing prevailed 3:2 (1:1, 1:1, 1:0) in Düsseldorf and thus scored important points. Luke Adam scored the winning goal in the 51st minute of the third period. As a result, Straubing jumps to fourth place, while DEG slips down to seventh place.