The Tölzer Löwen struggled to a 4-2 at the bottom of Heilbronn and found themselves in second place.
Heilbronn / Bad Tölz - Always the power.
This time it was only half the strength that the Tölzer used in phases.
They therefore had a hard time with the bottom of the table in DEL 2, although they dominated the game for the Heilbronner Falken for a long time on Friday evening, but failed to ensure clear conditions early on.
"We weren't hot," complained Löwen coach Kevin Gaudet.
Sometimes they acted too agitated, too inattentive in front of their own box, missed many chances and thereby kept the hosts in the game.
But because they won the duels in the crucial situations, held the disc and were usually just smarter than the bottom, whenever they took the game seriously enough, they still brought the 4-2 win with a goal into the empty goal in dry towels.
Dirty victory despite the lack of sharpness
It got really tricky in the final third.
The lions led 3-2, but switched to overdrive too early.
We were lucky that a penalty against Matthew Neal temporarily broke the Heilbronn pressure phase.
But the Tölzer made nothing of the fourth power play of the game, and then let the Falcons come back.
so that Heilbronn would have deserved the compensation.
Josh Nicholls or Bryce Gervais were close.
Only Sasa Martinovic's goal in the empty goal two seconds before the end of the tremor ended.
The lions shouldn't have made it so exciting.
They determined the game over long stretches, were usually one step ahead of Heilbronn, faster on and with the target.
But they did not capitalize on their superiority.
A few successful individual actions were enough for the falcons to keep Maximilian Franzrebs Kasten in danger.
Despite Tölzer dominance, the score was even after the first third - due to two short hits.
Lubor Dibelka had grabbed the disc in Heilbronn Powerplay, cleverly put down on Mario Lamoureux, who did not hesitate - 1-0.
But in their own power play no Tölzer felt responsible for Falken top scorer Dylan Wruck in the Bandeneck, who calmly fit Gervais in the middle, equalization.
"Our outnumbered game was bad - just like our passing game," criticized Gaudet.
Suddenly they even ran after a residue
The Lions seemed too sure of their cause even after the first change of sides.
Soon they even ran after a deficit because Marcus Götz hit the target from a short distance.
It was almost only the North American faction in the Tölz group that showed hunger for goals.
After Lamoureux's goal, it was now Reid Gardiner who, after a face-off following another unsuccessful power play, hit the target to equalize 2: 2.
A counterattack against Marco Pfleger, who easily matched Lubor Dibelka, led to the 3-2.
Gaudet: "I'm very happy that I made three points, a dirty victory," admits the Löwen coach.
"In the third period Heilbronn was clearly the better team." He highlights his goalkeeper who held the Tölz victory.
"We had a strong keeper and the necessary luck - but you need that with such a small squad." With that, the Tölzer have now advanced to second place in the DEL2 table.
Heilbronn - Tölzer Löwen 2: 4 (1: 1, 1: 2, 0: 1)
Goals:
0: 1 (3:14) Lamoureux (Dibelka / Heinzinger, 4-5), 1: 1 (10:08) Gervais (Wruck / Maginot, 4-5), 2: 1 (20:48) Götz ( Wruck / Gervais), 2: 2 (28:59) Gardiner (French), 2: 3 (32:42) Dibelka (Pfleger / Martinovic), 2: 4 (59:58) Martinovic (Schlager / French, ENG), -
Penalty minutes: Heilbronn 8, Tölz 6, - Referees: Stephan Bauer, Bruce Becker.