With a great moral performance in the Rhineland derby, the Düsseldorf EC has kept up its chances of pre-play-offs in the DEL.
On the last matchday before the Olympic break, DEG turned the game against rival Cologne shark and won 3-2 (0-2,2-0,0-0,1-0) after extra time. With 65 points, Düsseldorf’s distance to the Schwenninger Wild Wings is now only three points, ranking tenth.
At the top of the standings, Nuremberg Ice Tigers and Eisbären Berlin shortened the gap to champion Red Bull Munich. Nuremberg won the Krefeld Pinguinen with 4:2 (1:1,1:0,2:1) and defended with 94 points the second place ahead of Berlin (92 points), which won 2:1 (1:1,1:0,0:0,0:0) in Villingen-Schwenningen.
The ERC Ingolstadt (66 points) advanced to the direct play-off rank sixth with a clear 5:1 (4:0,0:0,1:1) in the Augsburg Panthers. Taillight Straubing Tigers celebrated his third win of the past four games with a 5-1 defeat of Iserlohn Roosters (1-0,3-0,1-1).
T.J. Mulock (3rd) and Fredrik Eriksson (12th) had taken Cologne in the derby ahead of 13,205 spectators early in the lead. However, DEG came back on his birthday with goals from Brandon Burlon (25th) and Alexander Barta (38th). After only 40 seconds in extra time, Jeremy Welsh rewarded Düsseldorf’s chase to catch up.