Tigers advance to Quarterfinals

Straubing Tigers vs ERC Ingolstadt 2-1 OT, series 2-0

Ingolstadt with their backs against the wall after the loss at home came out fighting their hearts out and since Straubing was also playing a physical game, the puck got moved up and down the ice a lot. With 17:43 minutes off the clock Dustin Friesen received the puck on the right wing during a fast break and could beat Matt Climie in Straubing's goal to give Ingolstadt a deserved lead.

In the second period the game shifted back and forth. First Straubing pushed towards the equalizer and suddenly Ingolstadt was on top again. Another goal was not added.

The last period saw Straubing pressuring all over the place, but Timo Pielmeier played a terrific game in Ingolstadt's net. It needed a really weird billiard goal by Steven Zalewski to beat him with 2 minutes to go and force overtime.

This changed momentum. In overtime Maury Edwards could bring home the series for Straubing with his second playoff goal. With the 2-1 win over Ingolstadt, a team they had 12 consecutive regulation losses against bafore this series, Straubing made its way to the quarter finals.

Adler Mannheim vs Kölner Haie 5-2, series 1-1

The physical element was as present in the first period in Mannheim as in Straubing, but both teams learned from their mistakes in game 1 and focused on defense. Köln had two powerplays in the first frame, which went by without being a big threat to Mannheim's goal.

Those missed opportunities should come back to haunt Köln, when Mannheim turned up the heat in the second period and gave the game a decisive turn. Jon Rheault on the powerplay, Christoph Ullmann, Matthew Lashoff and Jochen Hecht managed to get a 4-0 lead on the board before Köln finally converted a powerply through Johannes Salmonsson with 20 seconds left before the last break.

The last period could not bring any significant changes to the score. Ullmann scored his second goal of the night and Dragan Umicevic added another one for the Sharks. With the 5-2 win Mannheim evened the series. Both teams will meet on sunday for a last game.

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