German ice hockey champions Red Bull Munich have continued their downward slide and suffered their sixth defeat in a row across all competitions. The team of former national coach Toni Söderholm lost 1:3 (1:0, 0:1, 0:2) at the Schwenninger Wild Wings on Friday and, as ninth in the table, is already eleven points behind leaders Eisbären after their fourth DEL defeat in a row Berlin.
“We really stepped on the gas in the first 20 minutes and actually played a relatively good game,” said Munich’s Maximilian Kastner on “MagentaSport”: “Our problem: We score too few goals. We have to get on our game and be more consistent Goal. We have to deliver on Sunday in the derby against Augsburg.”
After an initial struggle at the Löwen Frankfurt, the Berliners won 5:2 (0:0, 1:1, 4:1) and remain first with 27 points ahead of their pursuer Adler Mannheim (26). Mannheim won 6:2 (2:1, 3:1, 1:0) against the Nuremberg Ice Tigers and celebrated its fifth win in a row. The previous third-placed Grizzlys Wolfsburg, after leading 4-2, lost 4-5 (3-2, 0-0, 1-2, 0-1) after extra time against the Kölner Haie and fell back to fifth place.
The Düsseldorfer EG is still deep in crisis. The old master, who parted ways with assistant coach and club icon Daniel Kreutzer during the week, lost 1:2 (0:0, 1:0, 0:1, 0:1) to the Straubing Tigers after extra time and conceded the seventh defeat in the last eight games. DEG is second to last with eight points, only the Iserlohn Roosters (7) are still behind.
Munich took the lead early in Schwenningen through Maximilian Daubner (6th), but then lost the line again. Benjamin Marshall (39th), Peter Spornberger (43rd) and William Weber (59th) turned the game around. Surprise team Schwenningen climbed to third place.
The Eisbären only got going late, but four goals within eleven minutes in the final third were enough for an ultimately clear victory. The game was decided with a 5-1 win by Vice World Champion Marcel Noebels (54th). At Mannheim, Kris Bennett was the most noticeable player with one goal and two assists.