Berlin dethrones Ingolstadt - Kassel edges Hamburg

The Eisbären Berlin got a shorthanded goal and an empty-netter from Patrick Jarrett and moved into first place in the standings after posting a 6-3 road win against the Kölner Haie.

Gameday

50

Berlin dethrones Ingolstadt - Kassel edges Hamburg

Saturday, March 4, 2006

Köln 3, Berlin 6

The Eisbären

Berlin got a shorthanded goal and an empty-netter from Patrick Jarrett and

moved into first place in the standings after posting a 6-3 road win against

the Kölner Haie.

The two teams

put up a dynamic and fast-paced game that got the spectators wild with

excitement. Köln had several great scoring chances in the first period, but

Berlin goalie Tomas Pöpperle turned aside everything that came at him. At the

other end of the ice, Köln netminder Oliver Jonas had help from teammate

Andreas Renz who cleared a shot by Florian Busch, who was staring at an open

net with Jonas out of position.

After nearly 15

minutes had passed, three goals within 2:03 led to a 2-1 Berlin lead. Köln

opened the scoring when Philip Gogulla sent a pass along the blue line to

Stéphane Julien who let go a shot that Eduard Lewandowski deflected into the

top right corner of the net.

Berlin replied

55 seconds later after a holding penalty to Köln youngster Torsten Ankert.

Drake Berehowsky passed the puck to Sven Felski who was standing at the right

extension of the goal line, and Felski moved it to Kelly Fairchild near the

left post. The American center had plenty of time to tee up the puck before

lifting it into the net.

Shortly

afterwards, Fairchild set up Derrick Walser who beat Jonas with a low shot.

A maddening

misplay by Jonas led to Berlin extending its lead to 3-1 midway through the

second period. While the Eisbären were playing shorthanded, Jarrett fired a

shot towards the Haie net that Jonas

tried to catch, but he fumbled the puck that dropped to the ice and bounced

across the line.

Köln, however, refused to admit defeat and closed to

3-2 when Renz found the back of the net with an unprompted slap shot at 15:59.

The German international was not meant to enjoy his

first goal of the season for a long time, since Berlin restored its two-goal

lead a good minute later. Micki DuPont, just back on the ice after serving a

roughing penalty, passed the puck across the ice to Fairchild on a two-on-one.

Fairchild failed to score, but DuPont stuffed in the rebound at the third

attempt.

Lewandowski kept the 17,789 spectators at the

Kölnarena in suspense when he pulled the Haie within 4-3 on a power play at

4:13 of the final period from a long pass by Dave McLlwain, but Jonas shattered

Köln's hopes as he allowed Florian Busch's shot to get by with his team one man

up.

Jarrett wrapped up

the scoring with his second

tally into the empty net with 18 seconds left.

Sunday, March 5, 2006

Frankfurt 3, Mannheim 4,

SO

The Adler

Mannheim preserved their chance of earning a playoff berth by virtue of a 4-3

shootout victory over archrivals Frankfurt Lions.

Frankfurt

dominated play in the opening period, outshooting Mannheim 12-1 inside the

first ten minutes. Chris Bright had the first two chances to get the Lions on

the scoreboard but was denied by Ilpo Kauhanen. However, the Adler goalie was

unable to do anything on Patrick Boileau's power-play goal at 8:23. With Markus

Kink serving a minor penalty and a ten-minute misconduct for checking to the

head, Boileau one-timed a powerful slap shot from the blue line off a cross-ice

pass from Steve Kelly.

Mannheim had

its first real opportunity in the eleventh minute and created further chances

toward the end of the period, but Lions goaltender Ian Gordon stood his ground.

The second

period was goalless, as both teams struggled to play constructively. Though

they combined for 20 shots on goal, excellent opportunities and exciting

incidents were pretty rare.

After the

soporific middle period, things started happening very fast in the third. With

only 35 seconds gone, Kelly rang a shot off the post to miss a great chance of

adding a second goal for Frankfurt. At the other end, Mannheim tied the game

1-1 when Peter Ratchuk beat Gordon with a slap shot at 2:10, just six seconds

into a tripping penalty against Lions defenseman Petr Macholda.

Less than two

minutes later, Francois Bouchard's power-play goal put Frankfurt back in the

lead. Shortly afterwards, at 6:22, Jeff Shantz made it 2-all when he deflected

John Tripp's backhander after a mistake by the Lions' defense. The hosts

replied three minutes later on a four-on-four situation, as Macholda got an

open shot and scored his first goal and a 3-2 lead for his new team.

After scoring

four goals within seven minutes, the two teams took a breather until the

closing minutes of regulation. With 1:57 left, Mannheim was on the power play

when Stephan Retzer poked the puck across the goal line from a scrum in front

of the Frankfurt net, forcing the shootout.

Christoph Ullmann then clinched victory for the Adler, beating

Gordon on the 18th overall attempt for the only goal in the shootout.

NOTE: Frankfurt defenseman Jonas Stöpfgeshoff is to be sidelined for the rest

of the regular season with a severe concussion after colliding with backup

goalie Boris Ackers during practice on Friday. ¼ Lions goal-getter Dwayne Norris, 36, has returned to the line-up

after recuperating from a groin and thigh injury.

Kassel 4, Hamburg 3

The

relegation-threatened Kassel Huskies completed their six-point weekend with a

narrow 4-3 win against the Hamburg Freezers.

With their

backs against the wall and only three games left in the regular season, Kassel

enjoyed a good opening. After killing off two successive penalties in the

opening minutes, the Huskies turned five consecutive power plays to profit and

took control of the game.

However, they

did not take the lead until the end of the first period. Chris Nielsen put

Kassel ahead on a power play at 16:18, deflecting Dale Clarke's thundering slap

shot. Ryan Kraft capitalized on the next man advantage and made it 2-0 with 1 ½

minutes to play in the first.

The opening

minutes of the middle stanza saw Kassel bring more of the same. Christian

Kohmann and Drew Bannister missed two great scoring chances, before referee

Richard Schütz signaled another Hamburg penalty. On the following power play,

defenseman Justin Harney beat Freezers goalie Roman Cechmanek through the

five-hole for a 3-0 Kassel lead at 4:09.

Just moments

later, penalties against Eric Bertrand and Tobias Abstreiter gave Hamburg a

two-man advantage. In front of the Kassel net, Jeff Ulmer passed across to

Benoit Gratton at the right post who redirected the puck into the net to cut

the deficit to 3-1.

Shane Peacock

trimmed the lead to 3-2 when he beat goalie Joaquin Gage from an acute angle at

7:54.

Both teams went

on the offensive after the goal. The game went back and forth, giving the

goalies the chance to shine by making several big saves. Unfortunately, it was

Gage who faltered first as he conceded an unlucky goal that wiped out Kassel's

lead at 4:13 of the final period. Hamburg was on the power play when Jeff

Ulmer's wrister bounced off the inside of the post, hit Gage's skate and

deflected into the net.

Neither of the

contestants seemed to be content with the tie and the prospect of deciding the

game in a shootout as they both started pressing for the game-winning goal

right away. The decider eventually came at 11:10 and again on a power play. A

holding penalty against Hamburg's Heiko Smazal set up Bannister's tally from

the faceoff circle.

Hamburg left no

stone unturned in its attempt to get back into the game. They even made a complaint against

the dimension of Sven Gerbig's stick blade. The referee

sustained the complaint after measuring the stick and assessed a minor penalty

against Gerbig, but the Freezers could not cash in on the power play.

Kassel's victory was assured when Jeff Ulmer received a major

penalty and a game misconduct for spearing with three minutes left in the game.

NOTE: Kassel left wing Steffen Ziesche, 33, will miss the remainder of the

season with a torn collateral and cruciate ligament, respectively, in his right

knee. He suffered the injury midway through the second period of Sunday's game.

Krefeld 3, Nürnberg 1

The Krefeld

Pinguine wangled three much-needed points out of the Nürnberg Ice Tigers as

they recorded a hard-fought 3-1 victory.

Right from the

opening faceoff, it was visible that the Krefeld players were determined to win

through in the end. Though they got off to a lively start and buzzed around the

Nürnberg end throughout the period, they failed to capitalize on several

opportunities. Herberts Vasiljevs, Chris Herperger, Alexander Selivanov and Ivo

Jan came closest to scoring, but Ice Tigers goalie Jean-Francois Labbé was

unbeatable and literally drove them to despair.

The goal that

brought the eager Pinguine down to earth with a bump came less than two minutes

before the intermission, as defenseman Rich Brennan converted a setup from Greg

Leeb and Christian Retzer into a 1-0 Nürnberg lead.

After

outshooting the defense-oriented Ice Tigers 16-6 in the first period, Krefeld

became even more aggressive in the second. Since Nürnberg started the session

shorthanded and then received seven straight minor penalties, Labbé was under

duress continuously and faced 21 shots while his Krefeld counterpart Robert

Müller had to clear only one single shot. Even so, Roland Verwey's equalizer at

5:59 came with the teams playing at full strength.

Eleven minutes

later, the hosts turned their second two-man advantage into a lead on Jan's

power-play goal, assisted by Rob Guillet and Mike Pudlick.

The Ice Tigers

loosened their tight defense in the final period and created some scoring

chances themselves, as they were spared penalties for much of the session.

Still, Krefeld could not put the game away until midway through the period with

Vasiljevs converting a penalty shot.

Krefeld

converted only one of 15 power-play chances, with Nürnberg going 0-for-6.

Despite the win, Krefeld remains in eighth place with 73 points but

is now three points ahead of ninth-place Frankfurt. Purely in terms of figures,

the Pinguine need just three points out of the remaining two games to clinch a

playoff berth.

Iserlohn 6, Düsseldorf 3

Brad Purdie had

two goals and an assist, and Rich Parent made 37 saves as the Iserlohn Roosters

downed the Düsseldorf Metro Stars 6-3.

In front of

4,500 fans, Iserlohn set the pace right from the first second and took lead

when Mats Trygg fired the puck over the glove of Düsseldorf goaltender Alex

Jung on the first power play of the game at 3:30.

Just over three

minutes later, Linus Fagemo put the Roosters ahead 2-0 after the Metro Stars

defense fell into total disarray. Sebastian Jones extended the lead to a

comfortable 3-0 when Mark Greig's shot deflected in off his body and past the

screened Jung at 13:35.

Düsseldorf head

coach Don Jackson immediately called a timeout and pulled Jung in favor of

regular goalie Andrej Trefilov, who had no chance to stop Purdie's unassisted

shorthander that went into the right corner 3 ½ minutes later after defenseman

Tommy Jakobsen turned the puck over at Düsseldorf's blue line.

At least, Peter

Ferraro managed to narrow the margin 38 seconds afterwards, banging in a loose

puck after Parent was unable to handle the rebound of Thomas Jörg's shot from

the right side.

The Roosters

maintained control in the second period although they were outshot 17-8, but

Parent was on top of his game and kept the visitors out of the net. With DEG

left wing Andrew Schneider in the box for interference and defenseman Todd

Reirden next to him after he was given a minor for slashing, Iserlohn took

advantage of being up two men when Michael Wolf received Bryan Adams' drop pass

and scooped the puck into the top right corner midway through.

With 1:30 left

in the middle period, Jeff Tory's power-play goal on a pass from team captain

Daniel Kreutzer pulled Düsseldorf within 5-2.

The hosts were

not as dominating in the third period as they tried to save their strength for

the two remaining games of the regular season. The Metro Stars got more into

the game and created several scoring opportunities, but either they were

unlucky or Parent was in their way. Jakobsen and Craig Johnson each had two

chances to cut the deficit; Chris Schmidt, Kreutzer, Tory and Schneider also

failed on their attempts against Parent.

Eventually,

Jörg went on weaving run through the Iserlohn defense and put a shot on net

that was stopped by Parent. But the goalie could not get the rebound and

Florian Jung was in position to score Düsseldorf's third goal.

Down 5-3, Jackson pulled Trefilov with 1:19 to go, but the gamble

did not pay off, as Purdie finished the scoring with an empty-netter.

NOTE: Düsseldorf played without defenseman Alex Sulzer who sustained a bruised

bone and a contused collateral ligament in his right knee last Friday and is

out for the remaining games of the regular season.

Ingolstadt 3, Hannover 4

The Hannover

Scorpions clinched a playoff spot for the first time in five years with a

narrow 4-3 victory over dethroned league leaders Ingolstadt Panthers.

After leading

the league commandingly since the end of October 2005, Ingolstadt still looked

unable to shake off the rust from the Olympic break. The Panthers appeared flat

and listless for much of the contest, and their lackluster play triggered

whistles even from the most loyal fans.

Hannover's

go-ahead goal was symptomatic of Ingolstadt's performance. Just 4:43 into the

game, defenseman Phil Von Stefenelli lost the puck to Andreas Morczinietz

behind the Panther's net with goalie Jimmy Waite out of position. Morczinietz

did not waste any time and gave Hannover the lead with a wraparound shot.

The Scorpions

did not let up and had several more chances to score, but Waite kept it a

one-goal game with big saves on Jason Cipolla, Jonas Lanier and Morczinietz.

Christoph Melischko and Sean Tallaire had the best opportunities in the first

period for Ingolstadt.

After the

sluggish opening session, the Panthers came to life in the second and equalized

through an unassisted goal by Martin Jiranek who scored at the third attempt in

the fifth minute.

Hannover retook

the lead on a power play three minutes later, when Jeff Finley deflected Dan

Lambert's shot. Yannic Seidenberg got the Panthers back even at 12:15,

backhanding the rebound of a Melischko shot past Hannover goaltender Trevor

Kidd.

Ingolstadt had

some more chances to score during the remainder of the session, but struggled

to put the puck past the excellent Kidd. Ferguson failed to find the net when

he was unmarked in front of goal, and Doug Ast missed the gaping goal.

The Scorpions

took their third lead of the night on a power play at 7:14 of the final period,

when Sascha Goc powered the puck into the net form the blue line.

Ingolstadt's

will to win flared up briefly after the goal. With his team applying more

pressure, Rob Valicevic forged the game's third tie on another man advantage about

five minutes later.

That goal

finally gave the Panthers some momentum, but a rare mistake by Waite helped

Hannover to its biggest win in years. Less than a minute after Valicevic's

goal, Waite rushed out of his net to take a long pass from Hannover center

Marty Murray who cleared the puck out of the Scorpions' zone. Accidentally,

Waite passed the puck to Hannover's Steve Guolla who came rushing up and slid

the rubber through Waite's legs into the Ingolstadt net.

The Panthers

threw everything forward during the remaining minutes of the game but Hannover

shut them down the final 6:56.

Augsburg –, Duisburg −

The Augsburg City Council closed the Curt

Frenzel Stadium for reasons of safety Sunday morning because of heavy snowfall.

For this reason, the Augsburg Panthers' home game against the Duisburg Füchse

had to be canceled and was postponed to Tuesday, March 7.