Frank Mauer was aware of what was in store for him and his teammates. “We knew that they play like that,” said the EHC Red Bull Munich striker when the Munich guest game against the Krefeld Pinguinen, bottom of the table in the German Ice Hockey League (DEL), came to an end on Sunday afternoon. He was able to explain in a few words the way in which the Krefeld vehemently braced themselves against the threat of relegation: “They are with five men at the back and are closing the middle.” Playing against such an opponent is “always unpleasant” – even for an EHC who started with the self-confidence of five wins in a row in Krefeld.
This time it was not only uncomfortable – but also unsuccessful. The Munich team lost 2:3 after a penalty shoot-out, Mauer spoke of a “very frustrating day” because “actually we were the only ones who played,” he thought. The fact that the EHC would have jumped to second place in the table with a three-point victory, which was within reach due to a 2-1 lead until six and a half minutes before the end of regulation time, fitted to the frustration. Instead, he is now fourth, just behind the Adler Mannheim and the Grizzlys Wolfsburg.
Frederik Tiffels, who has just been named the most valuable CHL player, misses the best chances
While the Krefeld team could only muster four defenders, EHC attacker Austin Ortega returned to the team after his injury break, Justin Schütz was missing from the squad. The EHC goal was guarded by Henrik Haukeland, who had an impressive catch rate of almost 96 percent in his previous seven DEL games. And there was little that the Norwegian goalkeeper could have celebrated after 13 seconds played. Ben Street had a free shot just in front of the Krefeld box, but Penguine goalkeeper Sergei Belov deflected the disc wide of the goal with his saver. After Haukeland had to intervene twice, the men in front increased the pressure on the goal of the bottom of the table from the middle of the third period. National player Frederik Tiffels, who was named the most valuable player in the Champions Hockey League (CHL) a few days ago, missed the best chances. In the 12th minute he was denied by Belov from a central position, four minutes later he had a lot of free goal in front of him after a cross from Ben Street, but Belov reacted brilliantly.
The middle third began with a Munich penalty – and the resulting 0:1 deficit by Lucas Lessio (23rd). The EHC’s answer was a regular fixation in the Krefeld third, but without becoming too dangerous, since the penguins just closed the center, the Munich players pushed far to the outside and set pinpricks with counterattacks. Nevertheless, the Munich team went into the second third break with a lead. Defender Andrew O’Brien equalized from the blue line as Ben Smith blocked Belov’s view (30′). And a few seconds before the end of the middle third, the guests were lucky when a Krefeld player broke his bat trying to shoot and Zach Redmond was able to start a solo effort, which he completed six seconds before the third whistle to make it 2-1.
“We want to put the target in the middle, where they are with five men,” complains defender Yannic Seidenberg
“We’re playing it a little dangerously,” said EHC defender Yannic Seidenberg after the middle third at Magentasport, despite the lead due to his team’s “unnecessary disc losses”. Offensively, he criticized the complicated style of play: “We want to put the disc in the middle, where they are with five men.” In the final third, the Munich team then switched to administration mode. A late penalty from Ben Street and the second goal from Krefeld by 41-year-old Eduard Lewandowski, who crowned his 600th DEL game, thwarted their plans.
“The power play saved our ass today,” said Krefeld defender Tom-Eric Bappert. The Munich majority game, on the other hand, did not ignite, not even in four against three in overtime. So it went into the penalty shoot-out, where Robert Sabolic and Jeremy Bracco scored for the Penguins and their powerful goalkeeper Belov prevented Yasin Ehliz and Redmond from scoring. Munich’s next game is scheduled for next Tuesday, at home against Eisbären Berlin, the defending champions and current leaders. It is not yet certain whether the game will take place in the Munich Olympic ice rink, as the polar bears have been in an officially ordered corona team quarantine since last Thursday.