Manuel Wiederer (middle) and Alexandre Grenier (right) after Wiederer’s 2:1 Photo: City Press GmbH
From BZ/dpa
The Eisbären Berlin have further improved their playoff chances in the German Ice Hockey League (DEL). On Friday evening, the reigning champions won against the Löwen Frankfurt 3-1 (1-1, 1-0, 1-0) and thus celebrated their second win in a row.
Leonhard Pföderl contributed two goals to the success against the direct competitor for tenth place, and Manuel Wiederer also scored.
In the sold-out arena at the Ostbahnhof with 14,200 spectators, the hosts benefited from two time penalties against the guests after a hectic opening minute: Pföderl scored with a double advantage.
Kevin Clark (right) celebrates Leo Pföderl’s 1-0 lead (not in the picture) Photo: City Press GmbH
The Berliners now dominated the game, but did not convert their chances to score. The Hessians were able to equalize shortly before the first break. The Berliners allowed Carter Rowney a solo run across the entire ice surface, Jerry D’Amigo used his preliminary work.
After the restart, the polar bears took advantage of the negligence of the opposing back line: Wiederer took the lead again, completely free-standing.
In the final section, the hosts got off to a better start again: Pföderl scored his second goal on the power play. Despite numerous opportunities, the polar bears missed out on making a preliminary decision, but ultimately managed to maintain their lead with great effort over time.