The Düsseldorfer EG and the Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven are only one win away from the playoff quarterfinals in the DEL.
The Düsseldorfer EG and the Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven are only one victory away from the quarterfinals of the German ice hockey championship.
In the first game of the pre-playoffs on Tuesday, DEG confidently prevailed 5-0 (0-0, 3-0, 2-0) against Löwen Frankfurt. Alexander Blank (32′), Cedrik Schiemenz (34′), Stephen MacAulay (37′), Alexander Barta (44′) and Daniel Fischbuch (57′) were successful for Düsseldorf in front of their own crowd.
After an impressively strong main round, DEG only slipped out of the top 6 in the league in the last game of the season on Sunday and therefore has to go the “detour” via the pre-playoffs in order to qualify for the quarter-finals of the DEL. In the event of another victory, DEG would meet ERC Ingolstadt.
Urbas did Nuremberg single-handedly
Led by winger Jan Urbas, Bremerhaven also celebrated a 3-1 (1-0, 0-1, 2-0) win against the Nuremberg Ice Tigers. Urbas struck for the first time in the first minute of the game. The 34-year-old completed a counterattack dryly. Nuremberg needed to recover from the shock, but then came into play better. Daniel Schmölz (21st) then equalized with a majority. As a result, a balanced game developed at eye level.
The Fishtown Pinguins celebrate the lead against Nuremberg.
In the final section it was Jan Urbas again who made the hosts celebrate – twice over. First the Slovenian increased with a slap shot (49th), shortly before the end Urbas then hit the empty goal from his own third and thus became the match winner.
Decisions can be made as early as Friday
The second games of the “Best of three” series are scheduled for Friday. Possible decisive games would take place on Sunday. The worst-placed team after the main round that makes it into the quarter-finals then meets Ligaprimus Munich there. The round of the top eight in the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) begins on 14/15. March.