Oh, polar bears, what to make of that? 2:3 (0:1, 2:1, 0:0/0:1) after penalties at the Fischtown Pinguins in front of 4149 spectators in the Eisarena Bremerhaven. Is that one point exactly what makes the difference in the end? Or is it two (or just one) short of the pre-playoffs? After the victories in Mannheim (5:2) and against Ingolstadt (5:1), the rapid race to catch up has come to a halt. What’s up now?
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There are still two games to play (Friday in Augsburg, 7:30 p.m. and Sunday against Schwenningen, 2 p.m./MB Arena), with a maximum of six points still up for grabs. This is the situation: Nuremberg and thus 9th place are gone after the Ice Tigers 7:4 against Straubing. But then it gets exciting like Alfred Hitchcook.
Polar bears without captain Frank Hördler …
The polar bears are finally, finally away from the regular 13th place of the season, moving up to 12th place. The crazy thing: Despite the bankruptcy, they are closer to the pre-play-offs. Frankfurt is in 10th place and after the 1:5 against Cologne only two points away. Schwenningen on 11 is only because of the better goal difference (minus 7) in front of the polar bears (minus 11). What a tight box!
All the more bitter: With a three-point victory, the champion of the past two years could have settled in 10th place. Frankfurt has minus 16 goals on the cover … It doesn’t matter, wipe your mouth, carry on.
Because: In Bremerhaven, the polar bears have to put up with a lot even before the first face-off. It was to be expected that Frank Hördler would not be there after the nasty check by Ingolstadt’s Tye McGinn. When the polar bears made their way to the North Sea coast, the DEL record champion (9 titles) was still sitting at the MRT.
… and surprisingly also without Marcel Noebels
But then the name of Marcel Noebels is also missing on the game report sheet. “Smashed”, nothing more gets out. Without the captain and defense chief and the offensive brain (16 goals, 39 assists) – that’s tough. And somehow the EHC also has a lot to do with shaking it off.
Only after the 0:2 deficit by Jan Urbas in the power play (8th) and Markus Vikingstad (29th) does the knot open. Because polar bears stay calm. Defender Eric Mik on his 23rd birthday: “The 0-2 was like a wake-up call for us. Unlike in the past, we haven’t lost the line either.”
134 seconds later there is the first sign of life when Leo Pföderl completes a great combination via Zach Boychuk and Matt White to make it 1:2 (31st). When Morgan Ellis equalized with a shot past friend and foe 30 seconds before the third siren to make it 2:2 (40th), everything is possible again.
Polar bear goalkeeper Tobias Ancicka strong again
Also because Tobias Ancicka simply hides all the rumors of a change about the polar bear goal, shows a very strong performance again and in the end saved 26 shots.
crackle, crackle! In the final section, both teams are more concerned not to concede a goal. The five-minute extension also remains without a hit. In the penalty shoot-out, Alex Grenier, Peter Regin and Pföderl fail to ex-EHC goalie Maxi Franzreb in the Bremerhaven goal, Gregory Kreutzer scores on the other side – so the EHC remains with one point. Oh, polar bears, what to think of that…
Read more about the polar bears here >>
