DEL top quartett without points on Friday

Augsburger Panther - Eisbären Berlin 5:1

Berlin ended up with a very heavy defeat in Augsburg despite trying almost everything to score goals. In the first TJ Trevelyan and John Zeiler managed to get a two-goal lead for the hosts which was even increased at the beginning of the second through Greg Moore. Just a minute later Jens Baxman used one of 21 shots this period by Berlin to get the guests on the scoreboard but this should stay the only goal for the Polar Bears. Later in this period Mario Valery-Trabucco in power play made everything clear for the hosts. In the third the race to catch up by the Polar Bears continued but despite outshooting their opponent 17 to 7 in the last the puck didn't want to cross Augsburg's goal line a second time this night. Instead Greg Moore used the chance to make it 5-1 with an empty-netter with more than two minutes to go when Berlin made the desperate try to cut distances by pulling out their goalie very early. Home goalie Tyler Weiman made an almost perfect game by getting 49 saves and only allowing one goal against. Augsburg defend their three-point distance to the 11th placed Krefeld Pinguine and now is only five points behind top-6 team Hamburg Freezers.

DEG Metro Stars - ERC Ingolstadt 5:4

A tight game between Düsseldorf and Ingolstadt found a lucky winner in the home side. In an attempt to get closer to a top-6 position and far away from a non-playoff spot, Düsseldorf started the match against the favourites from Ingolstadt with two early goals by Tyler Beechey and Jeff Ulmer. Still in the intitial phase of the match it was Derek Hahn who brought hope back to the guests which was even increased when Rick Girard managed to tie the result in the 26th minute. Around "half time" again Beechey brought the lead back to Düsseldorf. The first ten minutes of the third were played without any further goals but then very eventful six minutes were enought to let both teams score a total of four goals. First Connor James get the two-goal lead back to the Metro Stars, then Thomas Greilinger and again Derek Hahn tied it for the guests. With 81 seconds left to play Evan Kaufmann decided the game in favour of Düsseldorf. Although Ingolstadt tried to come back again by pulling out their goalie Ian Gordon in the final minute, the result didn't change anymore. Ingolstadt now missed the chance to reconquer the leadership in the DEL standings while Düsseldorf's playoff dreams come closer to reality.

Adler Mannheim - Iserlohn Roosters 1:4

Iserlohn probably was the surprise of the gameday in the DEL with a solid away win in Mannheim. In a pretty even first period the guests went away with three consecutive goals by Mike York, Collin Danielsmeier and Christian Hommel. In the middle period the Eagles intensified their attacking efforts but they had to wait until the 48th minute to get on the scoreboard when Christoph Ullman found a way to get the puck past Roosters goalie Sébastien Caron. The decision came through an empty-net goal by Robert Hock with 73 seconds left to play. Iserlohn defended their two-point lead over the non-playoff spots while Adler Mannheim missed the chance to get the same number of points (84) as the first two teams of the DEL table.

Krefeld Pinguine - Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg 3:2

The hosts from Krefeld had a three-point win against Wolfsburg which is even more important as all the four teams in front of them won their games. With five games left the Penguins have two points less than the 10th placed Iserlohn Roosters who are on the last pre-playoff spot at the moment. In the first period Francois Méthot gave Krefeld the well-deserved lead in power play. Early in the second Herberts Vasiljevs - also in power play - even increased this lead. With 30 seconds left in the middle period a power play goal by Norm Milley cut distances but Krefeld regained the two-goal lead in the 54th through Mitja Robar. With eight seconds left to play Kai Hospelt only could get the one-goal distance back but this goal came far too late for a come back. With that loss Wolfsburg let out a good opportunity to get closer to the regular season title.   

Nürnberg Ice Tigers - Hamburg Freezers 3:2

The Ice Tigers used another chance to make their fans happy at home despite a very disappointing season where they simply overslept the first half of it. Only 2:18 were played when Björn Barta opened the score for the Bavarians but in the middle of the period Serge Aubin scored the equalizer for Hamburg in power play. In the middle period both teams had only seven shots on goal each but Nürnberg was the one to be more effective and run away with goals by James Pollock and Vitalij Aab - the first one in a man advantage. With 6:34 left to play in the last period the Freezers cut the lead through a goal by Kevin Schmidt but it was to late to stop the Ice Tigers win. Theoratically Nürnberg can even improve their position to the 12th place where the Kölner Haie are at the moment with ten points more and one game less played. Hamburg now really endangered their top-6 finish. With eight points more than the 11th placed Krefeld Pinguine even their playoff participation at all is not yet sure.

Kölner Haie - Straubing Tigers 2:3

Cologne just cannot stop the free fall. After a home loss against Straubing they now have six points left then the 10th Iserlohn Roosters which are on the last pre-playoff spot. In their last five matches - three of them at home - the Sharks could only get a single point. Despite a good start against the Tigers with an early goal by Greg Claaßen in the fifth minute, the hosts allowed Straubing to come back when a horrible pass to an opposing player let to the equalizer by Karl Stewart late in the first period. Another two stupid defensive mistakes let Straubing go away with a two-goal lead in the middle period where Cologne forgave several good opportunities. In the 48th it was Cologne captain John Tripp who made it 2-3 but also pulling out goalie Danny aus den Birken didn't help to get the game into ovetime and so the guests from Bavaria stole all three points from Cologne. The home side had again major problems in creating chances in the power play where five opportunities were wasted. Straubing now has two points less than fourth placed Wolfsburg.

EHC München - Hannover Scorpions 4:2

Munich defended their two-point distance towards 11th placed Krefeld Pinguine by getting a deserved home win against bottom club Hannover Scorpions. Sören Sturm had opened the score for the EHC already in the fourth minute but six minutes later it was Ryan Maki who scored the equalizer for the Lower Saxons. Still this goal had more a motivating effect for the home side than for the guests as Munich went back in front only 17 seconds later with a goal by David Wrigley. In a middle period where Munich was clearly dominating, the hosts managed to extend their lead through Eric Schneider. In the 46th minute Sascha Goc let the rest of the game become exciting again and in a period with 17 shots on each side the home fans had to wait until four seconds before the end when Jason Ulmer made everything clear with an short handed empty-netter. Hannover now has lost 11 of its last 12 games and a total of 32 of their 46 regular season games. Hardly to believe they were crowned as DEL champions not even two years ago.

 

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