Leader Red Bull Munich lost in the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) at home to Düsseldorfer EG. Last year’s champion Eisbären Berlin also failed.
DEG won 5:4 (3:1, 1:0, 1:3) and moved up one position in the table to fifth place. In a hectic final phase, DEG withstood Munich’s race to catch up and saved the narrow victory over time. In the 51st minute, the guests looked like they would be the sure winner after Stephen Macaulay made it 5:2, but with a double strike from Zachary Redmond and Austin Ortega in the 55th and 56th minute, Munich fought back to make it 4:5. In the end, a strong defense and a highly concentrated goalkeeper Henrik Haukeland were the guarantors of DEG’s success.
Master Eisbären is defeated in Iserlohn
The Eisbären Berlin conceded the second defeat in a row. The current champions lost 1:4 (0:2, 0:0, 1:2) to the Iserlohn Roosters and suffered another setback in the fight for playoff qualification. Matt White scored the only goal for the Berliners, who offered a weak performance over long stretches.
In front of 4,265 spectators in the ice rink at the Seilersee, the guests had a lot of trouble from the start with the powerful offensive game of the Sauerland team, who were strong in the tackle. Eric Cornel gave Iserlohn the deserved lead in the first power play, and the former Eisbären pro Sven Ziegler increased a little later.
Even after the first break, the Berliners hardly achieved anything in attack for a long time and were lucky not to fall further behind. Only in the course of the second third did the capitals find their way into the game a little better. Shortly after the start of the final period, a White goal closed the gap, but Iserlohn defender Ryan O’Connor restored the gap. Emile Poirier made sure of the final score after the polar bears had taken their goalie Tobias Ancicka off the ice in favor of an additional field player.
Chaser Straubing Tigers did not show any weakness. Fourth in the table won 5:2 at the Löwen Frankfurt.
Sharks narrow winners against Nuremberg
The Kölner Haie won for the fourth time in a row. In the 2:1 (1:0, 0:0, 1:1) against the Nuremberg Ice Tigers, Maximilian Kammerer scored the winning goal for the hosts one second before the final siren.