Munich, Germany - A late rally and their first win after penalty shootout gave the Kölner Haie sole possession of first place in the German Elite League Friday. The Haie edged out Iserlohn on the road while the Nürnberg Tigers squandered an early lead in a home loss to ERC Ingolstadt. Tied for third place, Ingolstadt and Frankfurt, which came from behind to beat Augsburg, are only a win away from the top of the DEL table. The Krefeld Pinguine gained a little ground in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot with a road win over the Berlin Eisbären.

The Iserlohn Roosters were just 103 seconds shy of beating the Kölner Haie at home. With Iserlohn leading 2-1, Haie defender Stephané Julien intercepted an outlet pass just inside the Roosters' blueline and quickly passed the puck to Dave McLlwain who one-timed it past netminder Dimitrij Kotschnew to tie the score at 2-2. Tino Boos scored the game-winner in the ensuing penalty shootout to give Cologne a 3-2 (0-0, 1-0, 1-2, 1-0) road win, their first overtime win in six tries this season. Elsewhere, Edmonton's Ty Conklin recorded a win in his first DEL start for Wolfsburg.

Christoph Melischko knocked home a wrister with 8:55 to go as ERC Ingolstadt came from behind to upset the Nürnberg Ice Tigers on the road, 3-2 (1-2, 0-0, 2-0), handing the Tigers their second straight home loss. Winning goaltender Steffen Karg, who started in place of the injured Jimmy Waite, made 36 saves on the night. Nuremberg jumped out to a 2-0 lead on back-to-back power-play tallies from Brad Tapper and Tomas Martinec. The momentum shifted when Aleksander Polaczek ripped a point shot past Tigers goalie Adam Svoboda to put Ingolstadt on the scoreboard late in the opening frame, 2-1. Ingolstadt dominated the middle frame, outshooting the hosts 21-10, but had no goals to show for it. It was a power-play that produced the well deserved equalizer four minutes into the final period. ERC defenseman Chris Armstrong sent the puck into the slot. Nicki Mondt, who had three assists on the night, was stopped by Svoboda, but Martin Jiranek was there to tuck home the puck to tie the score at 2-2. Nuremberg rebounded and regained control of the game, but it was an odd-man rush by Ingolstadt that led to Melischko's game-winner.

Pat Lebeau scored on the power-play with 7:23 remaining to lift the Frankfurt Lions to a 3-2 (1-1, 1-1, 1-0) come-from-behind win over the Augsburger Panther on the road. A power-play tally by Shawn Carter had given Augsburg a 2-1 lead midway through the middle frame. But the Panthers failed to put the game out of reach, going 1-for-8 on the man advantage. Even worse: They gave up a short-hander that changed the momentum of the game. With 2:30 left in the second period, Panthers defender Rich Brennan overskated the puck at the Lions blueline. Lebeau picked up the gift, sped along the left boards and then sent the puck across to Sean Pronger who ripped a hard shot from between the hashmarks past Jean-Francois Labbé to tie the score at 2-2.

Jason Cipolla scored on the power-play with 3:26 left in the game as the Hannover Scorpions recorded their fourth straight win, edging the DEG Metro Stars, 3-2 (1-1, 1-1, 1-0) at home.

With Augsburg, Düsseldorf and Iserlohn losing, the Krefeld Pinguine secured valuable points in the playoff race by beating the Berlin Eisbären on the road, 5-4 (2-2, 1-2, 1-0, 1-0) after penalty shootout. Berlin had a 3-2 lead after Eric Cole scored on a fine solo effort on the man advantage midway through the second period. Thanks to Robert Müller's goaltending, Krefeld managed to hang in and tied the score, 3-3, when Rob Guillet re-directed a wrist shot by Paul Dyck past Berlin's goalie Youri Ziffzer. It was also Guillet who scored the game-winner in the ensuing shootout.

Ty Conklin recorded 35 saves and a win in his first DEL start as expansion team Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg kept the Kassel Huskies at bay, 3-1 (2-0, 0-0, 1-1). The hosts were up 2-0 after scores from Petr Smrek and Jan Zurek late in the opening frame. Rainer Suchan put the game out of reach at 3-0 midway through the third. Kassel's Brian Swanson spoilt Conklin's shutout bid with 3:29 left in the game.

René Corbet had two goals and an assist as the Mannheim Adler squandered a 2-0 lead, but bounced back to beat the Hamburg Freezers 4-2 (2-0, 0-2, 2-0) on the road. With the game knotted at 2-2 and Freezers defender Darren Van Impe in the sin bin, Devin Edgerton intercepted a clearing attempt at the blueline and fired a slapshot past Boris Rousson to give the Adler a 3-2 lead 6:01 into the final period. Mannheim put the game out of reach three minutes later when Vitalij Aab tallied on an odd-man rush.