Mark Greig led the way with a goal and three assists as the Hamburg Freezers pounded the Krefeld Pinguine 7-2 (0-1, 3-0, 4-1) at ColorLine Arena. An early goal by Adrian Grygiel had the Penguins up 1-0 at the first intermission. The momentum shifted when Hamburg scored three goals in just over three minutes early in the middle frame, capped by Jacek Plachta’s tally at 8:54, the game’s only power-play goal which also turned out to be the game-winner.
Only because of a better goal differential, Krefeld remains slightly ahead of the 13th-place Hannover Scorpions, who would have to face the last-place Freiburg Wölfe in a seven-game relegation series if the regular season ended today. Both teams got a preview of each other Friday. All-Star forward Patrik Augusta notched a goal and two assists as Hanover cruised to a 5-1 (1-0, 3-0, 1-1) victory over the hapless Wolves.
Big wins for Iserlohn and IngolstadtThe Iserlohn Roosters are already 8 points ahead of Krefeld and Hanover. Jason Cipolla and Matt Higgins each recorded a goal and an assist as the Roosters held on for a 4-3 (4-2, 0-1, 0-0) home win over the Augsburger Panther.
Doug Ast scored a hat trick as ERC Ingolstadt came from behind to upset the Mannheim Adler on the road, 3-2 (0-0, 1-1, 2-1). ERC defenseman Yves Racine, who was cut by Mannheim earlier in the season, recorded two assists. Ast scored the game-winning goal on a wrap-around with 2:56 left, the only power-play score of the contest.
Jonas, Gordon, Chabot register shutoutsMark Beaufait scored the only goal as the Berlin Eisbären swept the four-game season series against the Kölner Haie with a 1-0 (1-0, 0-0, 0-0) home win. Beaufait’s goal came on the first power-play of the night, only 3:24 into the game. Oliver Jonas stopped 31 shots en route to his fourth shutout.
Jesse Belanger scored a pair of goals as the Frankfurt Lions blanked the DEG Metro Stars on the road, 6-0 (1-0, 2-0, 3-0). Ian Gordon turned aside 26 shots for his second shutout of the season.
The third shutout of the night occurred in Nuremberg where the Nürnberg Ice Tigers skated to a 3-0 (0-0, 1-0, 2-0) win over the Kassel Huskies. Frederic Chabot turned aside 23 saves for his second shutout. Marian Cisar’s goal at 2:43 of the second, his 22nd of the season, turned out to be the game-winner. He beat Jan Münster on a 2-on-1 odd-man rush with Steve Larouche.