Munich, Germany - Four-time DEL champion Mannheim Adler is just one game away from its sixth trip to the DEL Finals after beating defending champ Frankfurt Lions at home Sunday. The other DEL semifinal series is wide-open again after the Berlin Eisbären edged out ERC Ingolstadt on the road.

Mannheim up 2-0 over Frankfurt

Jochen Hecht and defenseman Yannick Tremblay each recorded a goal and an assist as the Mannheim Adler beat the Frankfurt Lions 3-1 at home to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-five semifinal series. Devin Edgerton's goal put the hosts on the scoreboard 5:49 into the tilt. Edgerton tucked home the rebound after Jason Podollan got stopped on the breakaway by Lions goalie Ian Gordon. Jochen Hecht doubled the lead on a 5-on-3 advantage 1:48 into the second period.

Frankfurt was assessed a bench minor for unsportsmanlike conduct after Lions GM Lance Nethery complained to the referee coming out of the locker room. Defenseman Francois Bouchard then was sent to the sin bin for tripping. A shot by defender Yannick Tremblay from the left point got deflected right to the wide-open Jochen Hecht, who was all alone near the right goal post. Frankfurt found back into the game a little later when David Sulkovsky cut Mannheim's lead to 2-1, knocking home the rebound after a fine solo effort by Christian Kohmann at the 6:41-mark.

The Adler regained a two-goal lead when Tremblay blasted a one-timer past Lions goalie Ian Gordon on the power-play 5:07 before the second intermission. The Adler held on for a 3-1 win as Frankfurt couldn't find a way to solve Mannheim's goalie Cristobal Huet, who recorded 29 saves on the night.

Frankfurt played its fourth straight game without top defender Stephane Robidas, who returned to Montreal last week to be with his pregnant wife.

Berlin and Ingolstadt knotted at 1-1

The other DEL semifinal series is knotted at 1-1. A goal by defenseman Derrick Walser early in the third period went down as the game-winner as the 2nd-seeded Berlin Eisbären skated to a 3-2 (2-1, 0-0, 1-1) road win over 5th-seeded ERC Ingolstadt.

Ingolstadt drew first blood midway through the opening frame when Andy McDonald went top-shelf from the slot on Eisbären goalie Oliver Jonas' glove hand on the man advantage. Berlin responded with a power-play tally of their own. Mark Beaufait scored from the left slot to knot the score at 1-1 at the 15:38-mark. With momentum on their side, the "Polar Bears" kept pressing and took a 2-1 lead two minutes later on a lucky bounce. Sven Felski dumped the puck on net from the left boards. ERC goalie Waite stopped the shot, but Aaron Ward's clearing attempt deflected off Eisbären forward Sven Felski right into the Ingolstadt net.

Berlin failed to take advantage of a five-minute power-play late in the middle frame after Ingolstadt's Andy McDonald was assessed a major plus game misconduct for spearing Eisbären defenseman Shawn Heins. Ingolstadt caught a break when Cameron Mann was not penalized after headbutting Micki DuPont.

After a scoreless second period, Ingolstadt scored the equalizer early in the third. A deflected one-timer by defenseman Ken Sutton found its way past Jonas to even the score at 2-2 at the 3:09-mark. Just 37 seconds later, defenseman Derrick Walser put Berlin back into the lead, 3-2. Walser skated around the corner, pulled to the middle and found the back of the net as ERC goalie Jimmy Waite got knocked over by sliding teammate Brad Burym. Ingolstadt had several opportunities to get back into the game. But Berlin held on for the win as Ingolstadt failed to convert on three straight power-play opportunities late in the third.

Oliver Jonas got the nod to start between the pipes for Berlin in place of NHLer Olaf Kolzig, who looked shaky in Game 1 playing with an injured knee. Jonas made 19 saves on the night. Ingolstadt's Jimmy Waite turned aside 38 of the 41 shots he faced. The Eisbären were missing forward Kelly Fairchild, who suffered a season-ending injury in Game 1 Friday, pulling a muscle in his thigh.