Johan Rosén came up with the game-winning score 145 seconds from the final horn when he one-handedly knocked the puck past DEG netminder Andrej Trefilov.
"It was a hard piece of work," Barons head coach Sean Simpson said. "This was certainly not one of our better games. But we somehow found a way to win it, anyway."
With less then ten minutes to go, Düsseldorf seemed en route to an upset, leading 3-2.
But a dumb penalty cost them the game. Ralf Reisinger received a minor when he continued to play despite losing his helmet, which is a violation under DEL rules. DEG coach Michael Komma was so in rage about the call that he climbed onto the boards. He lost his balance, though, and stumbled into the rink - an action that will certainly be fined by the league.
But more controversy was on the way: Mike Kennedy scored the equalizer when he deflected a Greg Johnston blast into the net on the ensuing powerplay. As Düsseldorf demanded the goal to be disallowed because of high-sticking, heavy discussions interrupted the game for several minutes.
Defenseman Jason Herter made his return for the Barons after a nine week injury break: "It's like a premature Christmas present," Herter stated. "I felt well, but it ain't easy to return after nine weeks. My knee felt ok. The mental part is the hardest after such a long injury break."
Munich Barons - Düsseldorfer EG 4-3 (1-2, 1-1, 2-0)Scoring: 1-0 (4:59) Alexander Serikow (Simon Wheeldon, Mike Kennedy), 1-1 (14:52) Trond Magnussen (Leo Stefan, Tore Vinkingstad), 1-2 (17:20) Ivan Droppa (Mike Pellegrims, Trond Magnussen - 5:4), 1-3 (20:34) Craig Teeple (Chris Bartolone, Neil Eisenhut), 2-3 (27:09) Andrej Strakhov (Thomas Dolak, Jörg Handrick), 3-3 (50:26) Mike Kennedy (Greg Johnston, Andy Schneider - 5:4), 4-3 (57:35) Johan Rosén (Simon Wheeldon, Jörg Handrick).
Penalties: Munich 16, Düsseldorf 16.
Attendance: 2,276 (Olympia-Eisstadion, Munich)
