Munich, Germany - Although still being troubled by injuries, the Nürnberg Ice Tigers continue to thrive in 2003. Led by Terry Yake, the Tigers recorded their fifth straight win on gameday 39. Elsewhere, hot ERC Ingolstadt gave the league-leading Eisbären a tough time Friday.

Despite being outshot, the Nürnberg Ice Tigers managed to edge the Mannheim Adler on the road. Terry Yake converted the winning penalty shot, his second score of the night, as Nuremberg skated to a close 3-2 (1-1, 1-0, 1-1) win.

Rob Shearer scored the game-winner in the penalty shootout as the Berlin Eisbären rallied from a two-goal deficit to snap a two-game losing streak with a 4-3 (0-0, 2-2, 1-1, 1-0) win over hot ERC Ingolstadt. Coming off two straight road wins under new coach Olle Öst, Ingolstadt showed great confidence again. They took a 2-0 lead on back-to-back goals from Sean Tallaire (shorthanded) and Niki Mondt at the start of the middle frame. Berlin rallied to tie the game at 2-2 at the end of the period with goals by Yvon Corriveau and Keith Aldridge. Kelly Fairchild put them ahead 3-2 early in the third, but Glen Goodall came up with the equalizer just half a minute later.

Minnesota Wild draftee Christoph Brandner scored a pair of goals as the Krefeld Pinguine thrashed the Iserlohn Roosters 7-2 (1-0, 4-1, 2-1), picking up valuable points in the battle for a playoff berth.

Panther, Freezers eyeing postseason action

The Augsburger Panther are also in postseason contention after downing the Kassel Huskies 3-1 (0-1, 2-0, 1-0) at home. Zdenek Nedved put the visitors ahead midway through the first, but the goal could not stop Augsburg from clearly dominating the game. The Panther took the lead on back-to-back scores from Armstrong and Sergej Vostrikov early in the second. Eric Dandenault sealed the win with an empty-netter.

The Hamburg Freezers established their position in the playoff race with back-to-back home wins. In the only game in the DEL on Tuesday, defenseman Jeff Tory scored with 2:33 to go in regulation and Andy Schneider added an empty-netter to lift the Hamburg Freezers to a 6-4 (3-1, 1-2, 2-1) win over the Kassel Huskies. Hamburg’s Ted Drury had four points on the night, including two first-period goals. On Friday, Jesse Belanger was the man of the game, scoring two powerplay goals and an assist as the Freezers edged the Frankfurt Lions 4-3 (2-0, 1-2, 1-1).

Elsewhere, the Düsseldorfer EG rallied from a two-goal deficit to edge the last-place Schwenninger Wild Wings 4-3 (1-1, 2-2, 0-0, 1-0) after penalty shooutout. Jeff Christian, who also had an assist, converted the game-winning attempt. Vadym Slivchenko scored a goal and a pair of assists for Schwenningen.

On Thursday, Tino Boos and Alex Hicks both scored a pair of goals as the Kölner Haie skated to an easy 5-1 (1-0, 1-0, 3-1) road win over the Hannover Scorpions.