Munich, Germany - Special teams made the difference as the Munich Barons extended their unbeaten streak to a franchise record eight straight games. Behind short-handed tallies from Christoph Schubert and Andy Schneider, the Barons skated to a 4-1 home victory over the Kassel Huskies Friday.

“It’s definitely nice to post a streak like that,” Barons netminder Boris Rousson said, who turned aside 25 shots, “especially in a league as tight as this.”

Munich also converted one of its four powerplay opportunities. Captain Simon Wheeldon and Andy Schneider had big nights, tallying three assists each.

Handrick scores go-ahead goal for the second game in a row

With 3,814 in attendance at Munich’s Olympia-Eisstadion, both teams got off to a rather slow start. After opportunities at both ends of the ice, it was Jörg Handrick who got the Barons on the scoreboard with just over two minutes left in the opening period. Handrick, who had also scored the first goal in Tuesday’s win at Oberhausen, knocked in the rebound of an Andy Schneider shot right at the doorstep.

Penalties dictated the flow of the second twenty minutes. And better special teams would eventually let the Barons prevail.

Kassel had the better start, though. With Wheeldon (holding) and Shane Peacock (cross check) out in the penalty box, the Barons successfully killed off a 68-second 3-on-5 situation. But just as Wheeldon returned, Kassel’s Tobias Abstreiter tied the game at one apiece.

Two short-handed tallies seal Barons win

The Barons fought back almost immediately, though. Down a man once again, Christoph Schubert hammered a point blast past Husky netminder Ilpo Kauhanen to reclaim the lead at 2-1.

Munich got a motivational edge when Mike Kennedy netted a powerplay goal from the near slot to give the Barons a 3-1 lead heading into the final intermission.

Trailing by two, the Huskies showed some poise and tried to fight their way back into the game. But Rousson denied all their efforts.

With just over ten minutes left, Andy Schneider capped the scoring at 4-1 in favor of the Barons. He also scored a shorthander after a terrific solo effort.

Munich Barons - Kassel Huskies 4-1 (1-0, 2-1, 1:0)
Scoring: 1-0 (17:53) Jörg Handrick (Andy Schneider, Hans Lodin), 1-1 (24:36) Tobias Abstreiter (Thomas Daffner - 5:4), 2-1 (27:52) Christoph Schubert (Simon Wheeldon, Andy Schneider - 4:5), 3-1 (37:24) Mike Kennedy (Simon Wheeldon, Johan Rosén - 5:4), 4-1 (49:50) Andy Schneider (Simon Wheeldon, Shane Peacock - 4:5).
Penalties: München 10, Kassel 8.
Attendance: 3,814 (Olympia-Eisstadion, Munich).