DEL weekend recap

Friday:

Kai Hospelt won the match for outsiders Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg in the Northern derby against top team Hamburg Freezers when he turned the result around with a double after the initial first period lead by the guests through Julian Jakobsen. The second goal by Hospelt came in overtime at 63:18.

Another game that went into overtime was the one between the then still league leaders Kölner Haie and ERC Ingolstadt. In an entertaining middle period Cologne gained a 3-2 lead, with two goals scored by Sharks players Charlie Stephens. At 47:10 Robert Sabolic's equalizer extended the game to overtime where Joe Motzko only needed 21 seconds to give the guests from Bavaria the extra point.

Augsburg missed their last chance to stay in touch with the top-6 spots when they lost on home ice against Adler Mannheim with 2-4. In a game with lots of good scoring opportunities on both sides, Augsburg were not able to come back after an initial two-goal lead for Mannheim.

Last in the DEL table Düsseldorfer EG tied a 0-2 deficit against the pre-playoff candidates Straubing Tigers late in the second period just to lose in regulation through a Tigers goal by Carsen Germyn at 50:41.

In a goal festival the Bavarian derby between München and Nürnbrg, two direct competitors for a playoff spot, was decided with the close result of 5-4 in favour of the guests. München lay behind 0-3 and 1-4 before cutting the lead to just one. With his second of the night Steven Reinprecht scored the game winner for Nürnberg at 50:54 in power play. The hosts only were able to get the one-goal difference back when Bryan Adams scored with just 21 seconds left in regulation.

In the Western German derby between Iserlohn and Krefeld the hosts were not able to stop their losing streak. Despite tying a 0-2 deficit they were beaten in shootout which was a heavy setback for their pre-playoff ambitions.

In a with 14,200 fans sold out O2 World in the German capital home side Eisbären Berlin defeated the Hannover Scorpions with 4-2. Florian Busch, Constantin Braun and André Rankel earned a solid 3-0 lead for the hosts in the first 10 minutes before Sascha Goc and Alexander Janzen made it 3-2 until the start of the second period. With a shorthander Contantin Braun made everything clear for Berlin at 25:09.

Sunday:

Cologne lost for the second time in a row against a top team this weekend when they were beaten on the road by Hamburg. In front 10,120 spectators Moritz Müller opened the score for the guests at 36:56 in power play. At the start of the third period David Wolf with a 5 on 4 power paly and Eric Schneider during a 5 on 3 men advantage turned the result around in favour of the local Freezers who didn't give up this small 2-1 lead anymore.

The setback by the Sharks was used by their rivals Adler Mannheim who regained the first place in the league table after defeating EHC München 4-2. The guests from Bavaria were in front with a 2-0 lead during the first half hour before Mannheim answered with four consecutive goals.

In a crazy match in a once more sold out O2 World DEL record champions Eisbären Berlin blew away a 4-0 lead against clear outsiders Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg before the second intermission. Still Florian Busch won the game for Berlin with a very late goal at 58:24.

In a match with huge importance for the pre-playoffs Hannover Scorpions beat Nürnberg Ice Tigers 2-1. Patrick Reimer brought the guests in front at 16:09 before Stephan Wilhelm and Sascha Goc answered for Hannover in the following two periods. Now both teams are tied at 71 points and have a three-point advantage towards the non-playoff spots with two games left to play.

Krefeld also won their second derby this weekend when they defeated neighbouring Düsseldorf with 4-2. Daniel Pietta, Mitja Robar and Josh Meyers earned a solid 3-0 lead for the Penguins before the DEG answered with a double through Colin Long in the third period. With three seconds left on the clock Herberts Vasiljevs made everything clear for Krefeld with an empty netter.

Ingolstadt ended even the last playoff hopes for Iserlohn when they beat them 3-0 through goals by Robert Sabolic, John Laliberte and Patrick Hager. For Ingolstadt on the other side these three points mean the direct entry to the DEL quarterfinals.

Despite points for both teams the 2-1 shootout win by Augsburg in Straubing was a big disappointment. Karl Stewart and Chad Bassen had scored in regulation before again Bassen transformed the decisive penalty shot in the shootout. Straubing stay 11th and thus outside of the pre-playoff zone while Augsburg's two points were not enough to stay in touch with the top-6 group as Ingolstadt have seven points more and only two games are left to play.

What can still happen?

Despite several possible position changes, Mannheim, Cologne, Berlin, Krefeld, Hamburg and Ingolstadt are already qualified for the playoff quarterfinals. The lats two in the table, Iserlohn Roosters and Düsseldorfer EG can't reach even the pre-playoffs anymore.

The following teams still can make positions 7 to 10 which give a ticket to the pre-plaoyffs.

7 Augsburger Panther 50 21 4 3 22 132:149 74

8 Nürnberg Ice Tigers 49 19 3 8 19 150:151 71

9 Hannover Scorpions 50 21 3 2 24 117:139 71

10 EHC München 50 18 3 8 21 121:134 68

11 Straubing Tigers 50 19 4 3 24 124:141 68

12 Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg 50 17 6 4 23 134:147 67

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