Nuremberg takes the lead – Iserlohn does not use power plays
In a fast-paced early phase Iserlohn had the first good chance through Joe Whitney (4th), who was unable to accommodate the disc in a rebound in Nuremberg’s keeper Niklas Treutle’s case.
Iserlohn then had the majority, Treutle parried a one-timer from Taro Jentzsch (6th) from the blue line with a flash reflex. On the other side, the Roosters were lucky when Nuremberg’s Charlie Jahnke (7th) failed after a counterattack on the lower edge of the bar.
Nuremberg conceded three time penalties within the first seven minutes, but Iserlohn was unable to capitalize on them. The Ice Tigers then had their first power play, in which Iserlohn’s goalkeeper Andreas Jenike was just able to prevent the deficit with a pike save against Patrick Reimer (10th) and steered the puck to the crossbar.
Then the Franconians took the lead: Seconds after Iserlohn’s fourth advantage was over, Nuremberg’s Gregor MacLeod drove the puck forward and Reimer put it across to Daniel Schmölz (18′), whose slightly deflected shot slipped into the near corner.
Iserlohn equalizes – Nuremberg strikes back twice
The Roosters came out of the dressing room with a lot of pressure in the second half and scored the equaliser: Whitney (23′) used a rebound after a shot from a tight angle. Augsburg immediately struck back. Jenike was able to fend off a shot from Chris Brown in a 2-on-1 situation in Nuremberg, but Dane Fox (25′) put the disc into the bottom right corner with a slap shot from the back to make it 2-1.
Shortly after, the Roosters had a 2-on-1 situation, with Ice Tigers keeper Treutle brilliantly parrying a try by Casey Bailey (30′) with the schooner. Outnumbered, the Roosters still had a huge opportunity through Bailey (34th), who conquered the target against Nuremberg’s Nick Welsh in front of the opponent’s slot, but then found his master again from close range in Treutle.
Instead, the hosts increased to 3:1: Tim Bender (37th) hit the left side of the blue line with a wrist shot right into the corner, Iserlohn’s keeper Jenike was blocked from view.
Fox hits again from the backcourt
At the beginning of the last section, the Ice Tigers upped the ante again. After a scramble in front of Roosters keeper Jenike, Dennis Lobach brought the puck to Fox (43rd), who hit again from the backcourt. Hubert Labrie (47th) had the next big chance for Iserlohn on a counterattack, but he couldn’t overcome Treutle either.
Alec McRea (55th) shortened the lead to 2:4 for Iserlohn with a flick from the blue line. A little later, the Roosters keeper Jenike took off the ice, Schmölz (57th) used the situation seconds later to score an empty net to make it 5:2. Fleischer (58th) also hit the empty Iserlohn goal.