All In – Krefeld claims last Playoff spot

There are only rare occasions when sport teams are having a hard time celebrating a home win. Tonight was one of those for the Kölner Haie. In what was headlined as their last chance, they managed to keep their heads high and fought through a tough game against the Straubing Tigers, one of the few teams still behind the two time finalist in the last two seasons. The decisive moment for the game came when Manuel Wiederer was ejected for a high sticking penalty, which send the Sharks on a 5 minute powerplay. Alexander Weiß scored what should turn out to be the game winner and so all was set to be a great evening. But Köln’s luck depended on what happened in Augsburg.

The 5 point gap to Krefeld could only be closed if Krefeld happened to lose against the Panthers. But last sunday’s victory over the top placed Adler Mannheim should give Krefeld the confidence to enter this game relaxed, yet concentrated. Daniel Pietta and Istvan Sofron managed to give Krefeld a 2-goal lead by the end of the first period. They could keep the lead through the next period since Greg Moore’s shorthander for Augsburg was answered by another powerplay goal through Robin Weihager. And as the last period only saw Spencer Machacek cut the lead in half, it was Krefeld’s time to celebrate.

Which team they will face in the pre-playoffs is still an open question as Düsseldorf, Iserlohn, Wolfsburg, Nürnberg, Berlin and Krefeld are still battling for the exact layout of the standings between places 5 and 10. The only settled things are the home teams in the quarterfinals.

Adler Mannheim will finish the regular season atop, but after 3 losses in the last 4 games they need to take care not to lose their rhythm. In second place we will definitely see EHC München, who also lost tonight against Schwenningen and even got shutout 4-0. Luckily for the Bavarians they don't have to fear this will happen again as Schwenningen will be on holiday after sunday.

The two other home teams in the quarterfinals will be champion Ingolstadt, who will start the quest to defend their title from a much higher seeding than last year, and the Hamburg Freezers.

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