Defending champions Red Bull Munich defended their place at the top of the standings in the DEL with great difficulty. The Munich team beat the Krefeld Penguins 3-2 (1-1,0-0,1-1,1-1,1-0) after a penalty shoot-out. The Nuremberg Ice Tigers won the top game at Eisbären Berlin 3-2 (0-0,2-0,0-0,0-2,1-0) after extra time.
This means that the franc is now after the age of 33. On the first day of the second match, the team was still level on points with the front runner Munich (69 in each case) and jumped past the Berliners (68) to second place.
Vice champion Grizzlys Wolfsburg lost at home to Schwenninger Wild Wings 2:3 (0:2,0:0,2:0,0,0:1) after extra time. This means that the fifth place finishers are now only five points behind the fourth place Wolfsburg (55). The crises-stricken Adler Mannheim missed out on their second victory against the Augsburg Panther 1-5 (0-3,1-2,0-0) under coach Bill Stewart. The Panthers (39) jumped to twelfth place thanks to their canter victory past the penultimate table in Krefeld. Mannheim (46) is ninth.
In Munich, Jason Jaffray (9th) and Brooks Macek (50th) equalled the Krefeld leaders’ goals with Nicolas St-Pierre (6th) and Timothy Miller (44th). In Berlin, John Mitchell (28th) and Petr Pohl (32nd) met for Nuremberg. Nicholas Petersen (44.) and Mark Olver (53.) were successful for the polar bears. Philippe Dupuis met in the third minute of extra time to win the Ice Tigers.
Andree Hult (2nd) and Stefano Giliati (8th) took Schwenningen into the lead. International players Gerrit Fauser (43rd) and Robert Bina (58th) secured extra time for the grizzlies before Will Acton Schwenningen won the match.
In the SAP Arena in Mannheim, Germany, Arvids Rekis (10th), Gabriel Guentzel (12th), Evan Trupp (17th), Trevor Parkes (27th) and Matthew White (30th) scored goals for the visitors. Chad Kolarik (32nd) scored the honour goal for the eagles.