Munich, Germany - After ending 2002 with the suspension of captain Jason Young, the new year brought another major personnel change for struggling DEL expansion team ERC Ingolstadt: After a dismal performance against local foe Augsburg, head coach Jim Boni decided to call it quits. Elsewhere on gameday 35, the Kolner Haie looked sluggish in their first game back from the Spengler Cup.

After posting a 1-10 record in December, Boni had tried to rattle his lacklustre team by sacking veteran captain Jason Young on New Year’s Eve. The team did not respond, though, losing 4-1 (1-0, 1-1, 2-0) at home to the Augsburg Panther Friday night. Christian Lukes, Philippe Audet, Xavier Delisle and Eric Dandenault scored for Augsburg while Jean-Francois Jomphe tallied Ingolstadt’s only on the powerplay, temporarily cutting the lead to 2-1 late in the second period.

Boni booted out?

In the postgame press conference, Boni announced he would step down from his head coaching position immediately. Assistant Ben Davis will serve as interim head coach.

Although the move came as a surprise to many, Boni’s decision apparently was not as voluntary as it appeared. Although the three-year head coach had been continuously backed by the club’s front office, sources close to the team claim that the team was not willing to continue with Boni any more and allegedly urged him to call it quits.

The Italian-born Canadian had been hired by Ingolstadt in 1999 when the team was still competing in the Zweite Bundesliga. In three seasons, Boni led Ingolstadt to one championship and two vice-championships in Division-2, ultimately qualifying for promotion to the DEL this summer.

Düsseldorf snaps Hamburg’s win-streak

Elsewhere on gameday 35, the league-leading Berlin Eisbären and fourth-place Düsseldorf skated to wins while the other two top teams suffered surprising home losses.

The last-place Schwenningen Wild Wings had to lead three times but ultimately had to surrender to the first-place Berlin Eisbären. Steve Walker and Kelly Fairchild each had a goal and an assist as the Eisbären rallied to down the Wings 4-3 (2-2, 2-1, 0-0) on the road.

Norwegian Trond Magnussen had a goal and two assists as the Dusseldorfer EG Metro Stars snapped Hamburg’s five-game win streak, beating the Freezers 4-1 (2-1. 1-0, 1-0). Two quick strikes set the tone early on. Goals by Tommy Jakobsen and Mike Pellegrims (powerplay) gave the DEG a 2-0 advantage just 105 seconds into the contest.

Martin Reichel converted the winning-penalty shot as the Nurnberg Ice Tigers downed the Kolner Haie on the road, 2-1 (1-0, 0-0, 0-1, 1-0) after shootout. With Nuremberg still being troubled by injuries and the Haie obviously tired from their participation in the Spengler Cup in Switzerland, 10,000 in the KolnArena got to see a rather mediocre game. Rob Guillet put Nuremberg ahead in the first period, but Cologne hung in and tied the contest on defenseman Shane Peacock’s powerplay goal with 5:37 in regulation.

Kassel stuns Mannheim

Zdenek Nedved had a goal and an assist as the Kassel Huskies stunned the Mannheim Adler 5-3 (2-0, 0-2, 3-1) at home. Behind goals from Nedved and Victor Cherbayev, Kassel jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but Mannheim rallied back. The contest was tied at 2-2 after second-period tallies from defenseman Chris Joseph and Tomas Martinec had. But just when Mannheim seemed to be back in it, Kassel responded with three straight scores: Brent Peterson, Tobias Abstreiter and Doug Derraugh put the game out of reach before a powerplay tally from Mannheim’s Wayne Hynes capped the scoring at 5:3 with less than two minutes to go.

Former Rochester American Cipolla gets first score for Roosters

Colin Beardsmore scored two powerplay goals as the Iserlohn Roosters defeated the Frankfurt Lions 4-1 (2-1, 2-0). Newly signed Roosters forward Jason Cipolla opened the scoring only five minutes into the tilt. Doug Ast also had a goal for Iserlohn while Jackson Penney came up with Frankfurt’s only score, temporarily cutting the lead in half near the end of the first period.
Todd Simon’s empty-netter with 13-seconds to go gave the Hannover Scorpions a hard-fought 6-4 (1-0, 2-3, 3-1) win over the Krefeld Pinguine. Simon also had two assists on the night. With the contest tied at 3-3 after two periods, goals by Fredrik Öberg and defenseman Steve Wilson put Hannover up 5-3 only three minutes into the final frame. Krefeld battled back, but only got one more goal when sniper Christoph Brandner scored on the powerplay with just over a minute left.