DEL Friday Recap

Adler Mannheim not only lost the top duel in Krefeld in the very last minute 3-4 against the local Penguins but they also lost the lead in the DEL table. Frank Mauer opened the score for the guests already at 02:30 but Daniel Pietta and Adam Courchaine with a 5 on 3 power play turned the result around even before the end of the first period. With a double at the start of the middle period Yanick Lehoux and Christoph Ullman restored the Mannheim lead before Tomas Kurka used a power play to score the equalizer for Krefeld at 41:58. With just eight seconds left in regulation Boris Blank won the match for Krefeld!

Cologne, after losing earlier this week on home ice against Mannheim, are back at the top of the league table after defeating Augsburg. Nathan Robinson brought the Sharks in front at 10:54 before Chris Minard and Alexander Weiß made everything clear at the end of the middle period. At 51:44 Weiß added his second goal of the night for the final score of 4-0. Sharks goalie Danny aus den Birken stopped all the 28 shots he faced and gained a shutout. The DEL leadership could change on Sunday already again when Cologne has to travel to Mannheim.

Current champions Eisbären Berlin defended their 4th spot but only did so in shootout against bottom side Düsseldorfer EG. Constantin Braun opened the score for Berlin in the first period before Colin Long and Calle Ridderwall turned the result around for Düsseldorf. Berlin answered themselved through goals by Corey Locke and Mark Katic until the start of the third period but Travis Turnbull and again Calle Ridderwall surprisingly restored the lead for Düsseldorf. When everything looked like the DEG would get the big surprise, Darin Olver extended the game to overtime with his strike at 57:51. This one stayed scoreless before Darin Olver crowned his performance with transforming the decisive penalty shot attempt to give Berlin the extra point in front of 14,100 fans in the O2 World.

The Hamburg Freezers made a big step towards a top-6 finnish when they beat Iserlohn on the road. Nicolas Krämmer and Julian Jakobsen scored for Hamburg in the first period while Robert Hock answered for the local Roosters. At the start of the second period Jerome Flaake restored the two-goal lead for the Freezers before Iserlohn came back through Mark Bell. Late in the third period again Krämmer and an empty netter by Garrett Festerling made everything clear for the guests. For Iserlohn this loss was another heavy setback in their fight for a playoff spot, leaving them on the 12th spot.
 
ERC Ingolstadt came a bit closer to a direct ticket for the playoff quarterfinals with a solid 4-2 win on home ice in the Bavarian derby against their direct competitors Nürnberg Ice Tigers. Alexander Oblinger, Derek Hahn, Sean O'Connor and Joe Motzko pathed the way for the hosts' success until the begin of the third period. Patrick Reimer scored a double for Nürnberg to cut the lead to the half but the guests couldn't close the gap anymore.

The Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg kept their playoff ambitions alive with a win in the derby of Lower Saxony against the Hannover Scorpions. Matt Dzieduszycki brought Wolfsburg in front around "half time" before the special teams should become decisive. First Tyler Haskins scored a shorthander at 44:35 before he added a power play strike four minutes later for the final score of 3-0. For Wolfsburg goalie Daniar Dshunussow 25 saves were enough to get a shutout. With 8 games left in regulation, Wolfsburg are four points behind the pre-playoff spots.

In another Bavarian derby Blaine Down was the man of the match when he scored the 1-0 game winner in power play at 26:36 for hosts Straubing Tigers against EHC München. Straubing was a lot better with 37-20 shots on goal but failed to make everything clear early so that they had to fear for the three points during the last minute when guest goalie Jochen Reimer left his net for an additional skater. On the other side Straubing goalie Jason Bacashihua kept his net clean. In the table both teams now changed positions with Straubing throwing Munich out of the playoff spots.

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