The Krefeld Penguins have little hope of staying up in the German Ice Hockey League.
The bottom of the table lost 2:5 (1:3, 0:2, 1:0) at the Grizzlys Wolfsburg and conceded the fifth defeat in a row. The two-time German champion seemed overwhelmed at times. Two days earlier, Krefeld had lost 5-1 at home to Wolfsburg.
“We just have to deliver and if we don’t do that, it goes into the second division,” striker Laurin Braun complained at “MagentaSport” and criticized too many penalties: “It’s really our own fault. It’s rarely stupid.”
The penguins were lucky that their direct competitors Schwenningen (2:5 against Ingolstadt) and Iserlohn (2:3 against Augsburg) were not able to pull away further. Five games before the end of the main round, penultimate Schwenningen is six points ahead of Krefeld, Iserlohn, third from last, has a nine-point lead and still has one more game to play. This season, the last player in the preliminary round is relegated to the DEL2.
In the battle for the playoffs, the Straubing Tigers beat Adler Mannheim in fourth place with a 3-1 (1-1, 1-0, 1-0) win at Bietigheim. The Eagles lost 2-0 (0-0, 0-0, 0-2) against Bremerhaven and now have to worry about home advantage in the playoff quarterfinals on April 10th.
The German champions Eisbären Berlin achieved their second win within 24 hours with a 2-1 (0-0, 1-0, 1-1) win at the Nürnberg Ice Tigers. Only the day before, the leader had won 2-1 at EHC Red Bull Munich.
Catch-up game from matchday 40
Grizzlies Wolfsburg – Krefeld Pinguine 5: 2 (3: 1, 2: 0, 0: 1). – Goals: 1: 0 Furchner (04:15), 2: 0 Rech (07:25), 3: 0 Gaudet (09:28), 3: 1 Lessio (11:01), 4: 1 DeSousa (28: 29), 5:1 Fauser (39:55), 5:2 Brown (51:36). – Penalty minutes: Wolfsburg 2 – Krefeld 8. – Spectators: 1604
Catch-up game from matchday 43.
SChwenninger Wild Wings – ERC Ingolstadt 2: 5 (0: 0, 1: 2, 1: 3). – Goals: 0-1 Bourque (21-18), 1-1 Spink (29-13), 1-2 Simpson (37-25), 1-3 Pietta (44-10), 2-3 Spink (50- 36), 2: 4 Defazio (57:32), 2: 5 Höfflin (58:43). – Penalty minutes: Schwenningen 8 – Ingolstadt 8 plus disciplinary penalty (Bodie). – Viewers: 2940
Catch-up game from matchday 45
Adler Mannheim – Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven 0:2 (0:0, 0:0, 0:2). – Goals: 0:1 Urbas (40:31), 0:2 Mauermann (51:03). – Penalty minutes: Mannheim 6 plus game misconduct penalty (Melart) – Bremerhaven 4. – Spectators: 7139
Catch-up game from matchday 46
Iserlohn Roosters – Augsburg Panthers 2: 3 (0: 1, 1: 1, 1: 1). – Goals: 0: 1 Eisenmenger (07:45), 1: 1 Bailey (23:10), 1: 2 Payerl (34:16), 1: 3 Saponari (59:02), 2: 3 O’Connor ( 59:48). – Penalty minutes: Iserlohn 6 – Augsburg 8. – Spectators: 3418
Catch-up game from matchday 51
Nuremberg Ice Tigers – Eisbären Berlin 1: 2 (0: 0, 0: 1, 1: 1). – Goals: 0:1 Boychuk (37:02), 1:1 Sheehy (57:09), 1:2 Jensen (59:32). – Penalty minutes: Nuremberg 10 – Berlin 10. – Spectators: 3899
Catch-up game from matchday 53
Bietigheim Steelers – Straubing Tigers 1:3 (1:1, 0:1, 0:1). – Goals: 0:1 Elsner (07:45), 1:1 Sheen (11:25), 1:2 Connolly (30:24), 1:3 Tuomie (45:50). – Penalty minutes: Bietigheim 8 – Straubing 6. – Spectators: 2533