Munich, Germany - The Munich Barons registered their first home loss of the season as they were edged out by the Mannheim Adler, 3-4, on Friday. Goalie Mike Rosati was the man of the day in the rematch of last season’s DEL Finals as Mannheim managed to hang on to an early third period lead, turning aside 39 of 42 shots.

With the road win, Mannheim defended its top spot in the standing. The Barons dropped to fourth, but still have two games in hand. Munich also had a six game home winning streak snapped.

”We can beat the Adler”

„We actually played better than Mannheim tonight,” Barons goaltender Boris Rousson, who allowed four goals on 26 shots, remarked. “We weren’t able to capitalize on our powerplay opportunities, though. But we saw that we can beat the Adler down the stretch.”

Munich got off to a great start, jumping out to a 2-0 lead halfway through the first period. Andy Schneider, helping out as a defender once again, picked up the puck at center ice and wristed a shot past Rosati for the 1-0 lead. Only 52 seconds later, Mannheim’s netminder got beaten again when a shot by Barons defender Christoph Schubert slipped past him through heavy traffic.

Wake-up call

Coach Bill Stewart, known for his bag of tricks and unusual coaching methods, decided to pull Rosati and send youngster Robert Müller between the pipes. Obviously a wake up call for his team. Only 41 seonds later, Adler forward Michel Picard cut the lead in half on a breakaway. And Rosati returned.

Said Stewart: “I had to do something. A game lasts 60 minutes. So why not substitute your goalie for a minute? Munich appeared to be hungrier in the beginning, in all three zones.”

Mannheim was back in it and managed to turn the momentum midway through the second. Todd Hlushko tied the game on a backhand deke. Only 127 ticks later, a blast by Devin Edgerton beat Munich’s Boris Rousson right through the five-hole. The puck didn’t cross the line and was uncovered in the goal crease for a couple of seconds until Mike Stevens knocked it across for the 3-2 lead.

Strong finish

The Barons managed to hang in there and showed a lot of poise in the final twenty minutes. Only 48 seconds in, Derek Plante came up with the equalizer when he hammered a shot past Rosati on the powerplay.

But the Adler reclaimed the lead only three minutes later. With a man down, Barons netminder mishandled a shot from Mike Stevens and Devin Edgerton scored on the rebound to make it 4-3 in favor of Mannheim.

Late rally not enough

The Barons didn’t give in and kept penetrating Mannheim’s. However they were denied again and again by an outstanding Rosati. Munich even wasted a 40 second 5-on-3 powerplay opportunity late in the game and Edgerton’s goal turned out to be the game-winner.

„We gave everything,” Barons coach Sean Simpson stated, “but unfortunately that wasn’t enough to win it. Their goalie Rosati was absolutely mind-boggling tonight.“

Munich Barons - Adler Mannheim 3:4 (2:1 0:2 1:1)
Goals: 1-0 (7:42) Andy Schneider (Peter Douris, Derek Plante), 2-0 (8:34) Christoph Schubert (Jörg Handrick, Thomas Dolak), 2-1 (9:15) Michel Picard (Andy Roach, Stéphane Richer), 2-2 (30:43) Todd Hlushko (Stefan Ustorf), 2-3 (32:50) Mike Stevens (Stefan Ustorf, Devin Edgerton), 3-3 (40:48) Derek Plante (Shane Peacock, Hans Lodin - 5:4), 3-4 (43:53) Devin Edgerton (Mike Stevens, Todd Hlushko - 5:4).
Penalties: Munich 12, Mannheim 20.
Attendance: 4,263.