What a drama. In the extension, Wolfsburg’s Trevor Mingoia withdrew, but due to the scramble in front of the Berlin gate, the rods jumped out. Gate or not gate? The referees decided this question through video evidence – and then ultimately against the Berliners. This was the bitter third home defeat of the polar bears with a 2: 3 (1: 2, 0: 0, 1: 0, 0: 1).
Right from the start, the Wolfsburg team presented itself less statically than it might have been known from the previous season. Under the new coach Mike Stewart, the structure of the game seems to be aggressively more aggressive, without losing compactness and physical strength in defense.
This has already borne fruit this season: The Grizzlys have won four wins after their opening defeat at the Kölner Haien, scored points in all five games and came to Berlin as the first in the table to expand their series.
With the polar bears, however, the weakness at home continued after failures against Mannheim and Munich. The problems were particularly evident in the structure, where coach Serge Aubin’s team initially acted too hectically, made a few pass errors and coordination problems became clear.
In the fifth minute it was captain Frank Hördler who wanted to push the puck forward, but shot into space. Ex-polar bear Thomas Reichel caught the target and hit it without any problems. Just a few minutes later, it was Anthony Rech from the Wolfsburg parade attack line who made it 2-0.
The defensive was now secure
A wake-up call for the Berliners, which was initially shown by the special teams. After Wolfsburg’s Phil Hungerecker had to leave the ice for two minutes because of killing, Leo Pföderl took advantage of the brief confusion when refilling and was able to shorten it to 1: 2. Equally noteworthy was the double penalty killing shortly before the first break siren. Wolfsburg continued to apply pressure, but the Berlin defense did not owe anything.
What was missing – and this is such a rush again – were the gates. Despite a good chance, Aubin’s team did not succeed in accommodating the play equipment. However, since the Wolfsburg were also losing their precision, the Berliners were able to force extra time with a goal from Yannick Vellieux in the 54th minute. But then followed the drama that let the committed catch-up race of the Berliners in the void, so that there was once again no victory for the polar bears on home ice.
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