Munich, Germany - Powerplay goals by Peter Douris and Derek King were not enough as the Munich Barons had an eight game unbeaten-streak snapped Sunday when they were edged 3-2 by the Hanover Scorpions on the road. Munich not only suffered its first loss in 2002. The Barons also missed the chance to close the gap to the top two teams in the league.

After falling behind 0-2 midway through the game, Peter Douris gave the Barons some hope when he cut the lead in half on the powerplay with 2:32 to go in the second period.

However Len Soccio got the Scorpions back on the winning track only 82 seconds later with his second goal of the night.

Oliver returns, Künast between the pipes

Munich’s Derek King also scored on the man advantage 4:20 into the final period, cutting Hanover’s lead to 3-2. But despite outshooting the Scorpions 31:24, that was as close as the Barons could get.

„We somehow couldn’t create enough pressure,“ Barons sports director Max Fedra remarked. „We were a little too lazy, not determined enough. And the Scorpions were pretty sharp. I don’t wanna blame goalie Christian Künast. But after conceding three goals, you can’t say that he played exceptionally well either.”

David Oliver was back in the line-up after suffering a charley horse in the win at Oberhausen last Tuesday. Peter Abstreiter, who had lost a couple of teeth in the same game, was unfortunate again. He had to leave early after being slashed on the hand. The 21-year-old will have to undergo further examinations.

Adler still on top of the league

Despite being upset 1-4 by the Berlin Eisbären at home, the league-leading Mannheim Adler (101 points) still have an eight-point lead over the Barons (93). Krefeld (97) stays in second place, four points ahead of Munich, after being downed 5-2 by the Kassel Huskies.

The Nuremberg Ice Tigers (84) have obviously overcome their midseason slump, winning their fourth straight, 3-1 over the struggling Frankfurt Lions. Trailing Munich by nine points, the Tigers remain in sole possession of fourth place, which would give them home-ice advantage in the first-round of the playoffs.

The thriving Düsseldorfer EG (75) continued its recent surge with a 4-2 win at the Augsburger Panther (76). Cologne (72), Kassel and the Eisbären (both 71) are battling for the final two playoff spots.

Despite winning ten out of their last eleven, the Hanover Scorpions (62) seem to be out of contention.

Hanover Scorpions - Munich Barons 3-2 (1-0, 2-1, 0-1)
Scoring: 1-0 (4:48) Len Soccio (Patrik Zetterberg, Mattias Lööf), 2-0 (27:36) Mark Pederson (Rob Murphy, Peter Jakobsson), 2-1 (37:28) Peter Douris (Mike Kennedy, Simon Wheeldon - 5:4), 3-1 (38:50) Len Soccio (Mattias Lööf, Peter Jakobsson), 3-2 (44:20) Derek King (Derek Plante, Shane Peacock - 5:4).
Penalties: Hanover 10, Munich 6.
Attendance: 5,208 (Preussag Arena, Hanover).