Bitter evening for the Kölner Haie: Against Ingolstadt, the KEC set a historic negative club record for goals conceded.
The Cologne sharks have suffered another major setback after two wins in a row in the DEL. In the top game in Ingolstadt on Friday it was 3:10 (0:3, 2:3, 1:4). Riley Barber (14th/42nd), Kenny Agostino (16th), Leon Hüttl (20th), Abbott Girduckis (28th), Philipp Krauß (31st), Philipp Preto (31st), Alex Breton (45th), Edwin Tropmann (53rd) and Daniel Schmölz (58th) were the ERC goal scorers. Patrick Russell (28th), Brady Austin (38th) and Nate Schnaar (46th) scored for the Sharks. It was only the second time in the club’s history that Cologne had conceded so many goals.
KEC is defensively dismal
The first ten minutes or so of the game hardly offered any highlights; both teams were attentive defensively. Afterwards, Ingolstadt got into the game better and tested KEC goalkeeper Tobias Anicka several times. But then the goalkeeper was also beaten: Barber gave Ingolstadt the lead with the advantage, and Agostino increased it a little later. The first third wasn’t over yet, as Schmölz scored the third goal for Ingolstadt – the KEC now seemed helpless due to the hosts’ dominance.
In the second half of the game, the KEC appeared more agile and stabilized. The teams were now on the same level again – but this time the guests were the first to celebrate: Russell, who was in the majority, used a fantastic cross pass from Gragor MacLeod. However, Cologne’s hope only lasted for a short time, because in return Girduckis restored the old distance. This shocked the KEC – who now let themselves be shown off: Within 60 seconds, Krauß and Preto made it 6:1. Austin at least scored Cologne’s second goal of the evening.
ERC celebrates next offensive gala
In the final third, Cologne’s odyssey continued: DEL debutant Aaron Kaiser had to get the puck out of the net for the first time in his career when Barber made it 7-2 – only to concede KEC’s eighth goal of the evening three minutes later. And once again you had to say with these hits: The Haie were not up to speed at all, lost every duel and left their opponents far too much space. Schnarr shortened the score again from a tight angle to 3:8.
That didn’t change the fact that Cologne’s defense was not suitable for the first division, the KEC was just waiting for the final siren – but in vain: With seven minutes to go, the ex-Cologne Tropmann was able to celebrate when he sank the puck into the top right when he was outnumbered. Kaiser then prevented the tenth goal against Breton. Schmölz did this about three minutes before the end in a one-on-one against Kaiser.
Sharks set negative record
This was only the second time in their history that the Haie conceded at least ten goals – the other time was more than 27 years ago, when the KEC lost 4:10 against the Eisbären Berlin in March 1998. Kaiser prevented the only negative record with two brilliant saves. It was Ingolstadt’s third success in a row – the team always scored at least five goals against Straubing, Mannheim and now Cologne. The fans celebrated the team loudly during the game and afterwards.
