Defending champions Eisbären Berlin can still hope for participation in the first playoff round in the German Ice Hockey League despite a messed up season.
The capital club won 4: 3 (2: 0, 2: 1, 0: 2) against the Augsburger Panther, which is second to bottom in the table, and is two points behind the tenth-placed Frankfurter Löwen in the last matchday. The Hessians won the ninth Nürnberg Ice Tigers 6:1 (1:0, 4:1, 1:0).
The champion meets the Schwenninger Wild Wings on Sunday (2 p.m. / Magentasport) at the end of the regular season and at the same time has to hope for a blunder by Frankfurt against Augsburg. Schwenningen and Iserlohn, on the other hand, missed the knockout round.
Rhine rivals fight for sixth place
In the fight for sixth place and the direct qualification for the quarter-finals, the Rhine rivals Düsseldorfer EG (91 points) and the Kölner Haie (89 points) duel on the last day of the game. Düsseldorf lost 2:3 (0:0, 2:2, 1:0) at the Grizzlies Wolfsburg. Due to the success, the Lower Saxony made the quarter-final participation perfect. After extra time, the Haie won 3:2 (2:1, 0:1, 0:0, 1:0) against the Schwenninger Wild Wings. Düsseldorf receives the Adler Mannheim on Sunday. Cologne meets relegated Bietigheim.
Title contender Adler Mannheim impressively ended its negative run shortly before the start of the playoffs. After five defeats in a row, the eight-time champion defeated the second ERC Ingolstadt after trailing 1:3 6:3 (1:3, 3:0, 2:0) and climbed to third place. Markus Eisenschmid and Lean Bergmann each scored three goals for the Eagles.