Munich, Germany - A convincing home win moved the Berlin Eisbären into sole possession of first place in the DEL Wednesday night. The hot Augsburg Panthers stormed into second place while the Mannheim Adler got upset at home.

Berlin’s high-powered offense was running on all cylinders once again as the Eisbären thrashed the hapless Frankfurt Lions 6-2 (1-0, 2-1, 3-1). The league’s-leading scorer, Eisbären defender Ricard Persson, had another big day, contributing two goals and a helper. Steve Walker, Mark Beaufait (both 3 points), John Gruden, Sven Felski and Dave Roberts (all 2) also recorded multiple point games.

The Mannheim Adler (18 points) failed to keep pace with Berlin (21 points). Alex Hicks scored two goals as the Kölner Haie managed to end their five-game losing streak, upsetting the Adler on the road, 4-2 (2-1, 0-1, 2-0). Mannheim clearly outshot the guests 39-24, but it was Cologne that came up with crucial scores. With the contest tied at two apiece after 40 minutes, Andreas Morczinietz and Hicks scored back-to-back goals within 85 seconds that put the Haie ahead 4-2 just 3:24 into the final period.

Augsburg, Düsseldorf move past Mannheim

Mannheim got surpassed by the thriving Augsburg Panthers (19 points) and the Düsseldorfer EG Metro Stars (18 points)

Augsburg cruised to its fifth straight win, crushing the Nuremberg Ice Tigers 5-2 (2-0, 1-1, 2-1) on home ice. Behind goals from Greg Leeb, Frederic Bouchard and Maxim Galanov, the Panthers were up 3-0 early in the second frame. Thomas Schinko gave Nuremberg some hope, cutting the lead to 3-1 midway through the period. But a powerplay tally by Ronny Arendt put the game out of reach 6:23 into the final twenty minutes. Augsburg’s joy was spoiled by an injury. Starting netminder Magnus Eriksson might be out for a couple of weeks after hurting his groin.

In Düsseldorf, the Metro Stars broke out to an early lead behind three powerplay scores and hung on for a 4-2 (3-1, 1-1, 0-0) victory over the Iserlohn Roosters. Playing in place of injured Andrej Trefilov, Düsseldorf’s backup goaltender Alexander Jung had a solid night, turning aside 24 shots.

Meanwhile, the Kassel Huskies (15 points) slipped to fifth place in the standings after being routed on the road by the Krefeld Pinguine, 6-1 (2-0, 2-1, 2-0). Young defenseman Christian Ehrhoff scored two goals against the injury-riddled Huskies.

The Hannover Scorpions worked their way to a 4-2 (1-1, 1-0, 2-1) win over expansion team ERC Ingolstadt. The guests rallied back from two deficits, but two late scores secured Hannover’s win.

Andy Schneider registered three assists as the Hamburg Freezers skated to their second win of the season, beating the Schwenningen Wild Wings 4-1 (1-1, 1-0, 2-0) on the road.