Reichel fooled goalie Robert Müller on a wrap-around with 5:30 left in regulation to lift the Frankfurt Lions to a 3-2 (0-1, 2-1, 1-0) home win over the Krefeld Pinguine. The defensive-minded Pinguine had the lead twice after goals from Marc Beaucage and Eric Bertrand (power-play), but eventually had to succumb to Frankfurt’s offensive firepower. The Lions, who outshot Krefeld 31-19 over three periods, tied the game at 2-2 on a two-man advantage late in the second period when defenseman Peter Ratchuk connected for his 11th goal of the season. Just two minutes earlier, Andrej Grygiel had the opportunity to double Krefeld’s lead, but got denied by Lions netminder Ian Gordon on the breakaway. Defender Paul Stanton tallied Frankfurt’s first goal, also on the power-play.
Rousson, Freezers get 6th shutoutBoris Rousson made 20 saves as the Hamburg Freezers defended second-place in the standings, blanking the Hannover Scorpions 3-0 (0-0, 1-0, 2-0) at home. Defensemen Patrick Köppchen, Kent Fearns and forward Mark Greig notched goals for Hamburg, center Wayne Hynes added a pair of assists. Rousson increased his league-leading shutout total to six and is just one shy of tying his career best of 7, set with the Munich Barons in their championship season in 1999-2000 (regular season and playoffs combined).
Berlin scores two short-handers, routs MannheimNot much has changed in Mannheim after the release of players Stefan Ustorf and Yves Racine. The slumping Adler got steamrolled by the third-place Berlin Eisbären 6-1 (2-0, 3-1, 1-0). Rob Leask, Keith Aldridge, Steve Walker, David Roberts and Denis Pederson each tallied a pair of points. The homecoming of former Eisbären goaltender Richard Shulmistra lasted just over a period. After conceding three goals on twelve shots, Mannheim’s starter was pulled 3:17 into the middle frame and replaced by Mark Seliger. Eisbären goalie Oliver Jonas had an almost perfect night, turning aside 40 shots.
Berlin jumped out to a 2-0 lead on back-to-back goals midway through the opening period. Steve Walker scored on the man advantage at 12:10. Swedish defenseman Ricard Persson, making his first appearance of the season after suffering a preseason hand injury, connected on a wrister to double the lead just 55 seconds later. A power-play blast from Rob Leask, his eight goal of the season, ended Shulmistra’s night early in the second period. Mannheim’s goalie change seemed to spark the team when Robert Hock poked the puck past Jonas to put the Adler on the scoreboard two minutes later, cutting Berlin’s lead to 3-1.
But just when the momentum seemed to change, the Adler allowed back-to-back short-handed goals by David Roberts and Rob Shearer that broke their backs within a five-minute span in the middle frame. Yvon Corriveau capped the scoring at 6-1 with under two minutes left in regulation.
Wins for Ingolstadt, Kassel, Düsseldorf and CologneERC Ingolstadt recorded its third straight win, beating local rival Ausgburger Panther 5-3 (2-1, 3-1, 0-1) at home. After falling behind 1-0 early on, Ingolstadt scored five straight, including three power-play tallies, to jump out to a 5-1 second-period lead. Cameron Mann, Niki Mondt, Doug Ast and defender Jakub Ficenec all had multiple-point nights for Ingolstadt.
The Düsseldorfer EG Metro Stars also managed to bounce back from an early deficit. Jeff Tory, Clayton Young, Daniel Kreutzer and Christian Brittig scored as the DEG skated to a 4-1 (1-1, 2-0, 1-0) home victory over the Nürnberg Ice Tigers.
Defenseman Stephan Robitaille converted his second game-winning penalty shot of the season as the Kassel Huskies edged the last-place Freiburg Wölfe on the road, 2-1 (1-0, 0-1, 0-0, 1-0).
Defenseman Brad Schlegel had three assists as the visiting Kölner Haie downed the Iserlohn Roosters 3-1 (1-1, 0-0, 2-0).
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