Munich, Germany - Defending champion Kölner Haie scored three first-period goals and held on for a 5-1 (3-0, 1-1, 1-0) game seven victory over the Kassel Huskies. The second-seeded Haie will play the fourth-seeded Mannheim Adler in the DEL semifinals while the top-seeded Berlin Eisbären will face off against the sixth-seeded Krefeld Pinguine.

Miami (Ohio) University product Tim Leahy and Haie captain Mirko Lüdemann both scored a pair of goals.

With 10,004 in attendance at the KölnArena, the Haie were firing on all cylinders right from the opening faceoff. Leahy scored on a rebound just 65 seconds into the contest. Four minutes later, Lüdemann added a powerplay goal. Tino Boos extended the lead to 3-0 on a short-handed breakaway midway through the opening period.

Pat Mikesch got Kassel on the scoreboard with a powerplay tally 72 seconds into the middle frame. But just seconds later, a penalty crushed any hopes of another Husky rally. Forward Thomas Daffner hit Cologne’s Ron Pasco with a high stick and received a five-minute major plus game misconduct. Lüdemann cashed in on the ensuing man advantage when he rifled the puck high past netminder Rich Parent to make it 4-1. Tim Leahy put the game away with his second goal of the night just 43 seconds into the final period.