The Bietigheim Steelers have finally been relegated from the German Ice Hockey League (DEL). The Augsburg Panthers meanwhile celebrate an important victory against the Adler Mannheim, but also have to tremble for relegation. The polar bears receive a bitter setback.
The relegation of the Bietigheim Steelers from the German Ice Hockey League is finally certain. The team lost 2:3 (0:1, 1:0, 1:2) at ERC Ingolstadt on Tuesday in the third to last matchday of the main round and has to return to the DEL2 after only two years in the upper house. On the remaining two game days, the Steelers can no longer leave the last place in the table. "It's a stupid feeling. We still have two games to fight in," said Steelers coach Pekka Kangasalusta at MagentaSport.
The Augsburg Panthers won 5:4 (1:2, 2:1, 1:1) after extra time against the Adler Mannheim and will end the main round in penultimate place 14. This means that the Bavarian Swabians can still be relegated despite the victory on Tuesday. But only if Kassel, Krefeld or Dresden win the playoffs in the DEL2. Only these teams meet the economic requirements for promotion to the DEL. Since the league will be reduced again to 14 teams for the coming season, there will only be two relegations if one team is also promoted. Until that is certain, Augsburg is now threatened with a week-long stalemate without planning security.
The mood in Mannheim is really bad. The Eagles lost the fifth game in a row. "We'll score a goal again, stop playing again. We have to wake up. It can't be that we always play shit like that together," scolded Mannheim captain Denis Reul.
In Düsseldorf, long-time international Philip Gogulla was the eleventh player in the DEL to play his 1000th game. The 35-year-old striker won with the Düsseldorfer EG against the Schwenninger Wild Wings 3:2 (0:1, 2:1, 0:0) after a penalty shoot-out, but still has to play for the direct playoff qualification two games before the end of the main round fear The scorer of the decisive goal in Germany's entry into the 2010 World Cup semi-finals was honored before the game by DEL Managing Director Gernot Tripcke, among others. Numerous companions of Gogulla also paid their respects via video message.
The Eisbären Berlin still have to tremble for a place in the play-offs. Due to a 2:3 after a penalty shootout (0:1, 2:1, 0:0, 0:0, 0:1) at the Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven, the gap to the required tenth place in the table is two points. "We weren't ready right from the start," complained Jonas Müller. "We didn't play hard enough at the back. We just didn't do enough checks, didn't defend enough and then got into the game better - in the end we lost bitterly."
