The Eisbären Berlin took over the lead in the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) shortly before the turn of the year.
The record champions won 4-0 (0-0, 3-0, 1-0) at ERC Ingolstadt and pushed Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven out of first place. The North Germans had previously celebrated their eighth win in a row, but the 6:5 (1:2, 1:2, 3:1, 1:0) after extra time against the Grizzlys Wolfsburg was not enough to start the new year in top position .
Leonhard Pföderl (22nd), Ty Ronning (26th), Zachary Boychuk (38th) and Kai Wissmann (58th) scored the Eisbären’s twelfth away win in a row.
The Berliners thus equaled Adler Mannheim’s record from the 2001/2002 season. In Bremerhaven, double packer Colt Conrad was the match winner for the home team: The Canadian scored the decisive goal in extra time, after previously making it 4-4 (43′).
The Kölner Haie suffered a setback just two days after their celebrated derby victory against Düsseldorfer EG (3:1). Coach Uwe Krupp’s team lost 0-1 (0-0, 0-1, 0-0) to former champions Adler Mannheim and missed the chance to climb to third place, at least temporarily.
Defending champion Red Bull Munich also suffered a setback. Former national coach Toni Söderholm’s team lost 1:3 (0:0, 1:2, 0:1) in Düsseldorf and remains in fifth place. The Iserlohn Roosters celebrated another victory with a 4-0 (2-0, 1-0, 1-0) against the Löwen Frankfurt after seven defeats in a row, but remain at the bottom of the table.