The Tölzer Löwen provide Kassel with an amazing catch-up and only lose 4: 5 after extra time.
Bad Tölz - The fighting spirit is unbelievable: The Tölzer Lions face the DEL 2 front runner with just two rows of storms, and the Kassel Huskies soon show their limits.
In some cases, the home side are clearly overwhelmed by 0: 3 after a quarter of an hour.
But give up?
It's out of the question.
They keep trying their luck, attack after attack, shortening to 1: 3, later to 2: 4, as if there was actually something to be gained.
And really: the 3: 4 that is celebrated on the ice and by the few remaining teammates behind the gang like winning the championship.
Then double the majority, later the equalization.
Kassel has a ripped-off team, but who wouldn't brood over the course of the game?
The leader of the table kept his nerve, but only won the game 5: 4 in extra time.
"It was a big point for us," says Löwen coach Kevin Gaudet.
"I am satisfied and proud that we have found a way to get this point."
Big point with a small squad
The omens were anything but good.
Tölz had to do without captain Philipp Schlager (groin strain).
Then there was Thomas Merl, whose fitness level after corona illness was not yet sufficient for another assignment.
The striker comes back next week at the earliest.
That left six Tölzer offensive forces - the talents Oliver Ott and Anton Engel were only on the score sheet, not on the ice.
So it was hardly surprising that the guests were allowed to drive their attacks almost at will - even without top scorer Corey Trivino.
It wasn't long before Marco Müller, Philippe Cornet and Oliver Granz, who was still falsifying Joel Keussen Blueliner, met.
Gaudet: “0: 3?
Who would have thought that we would come back against this strong team, ”says the Löwen coach, and it sounds as if he didn't believe it.
But symptomatic of the Tölz fighting spirit and team spirit: In the last seconds of the first third, Marco Pfleger, who had already fired his targets from every position, steered steadfastly towards Gerald Kuhn's goal.
And this time his shot hit the target - 1: 3.
The lions just couldn't be beaten.
Not even when Ryan Olsen, who previously failed at the penalty against Max Franzreb, restored the old distance in the Kassel power play.
Instead of ticking off the game at 1: 4, the home side blew to catch up.
Reid Gardiner followed up after a counterattack against Lubor Dibelka and Andreas Schwarz, who rewarded his strong defensive performance with the fourth goal of the season, brought the Lions back on.
Whipped against the gang with bats to compensate
After the 3: 4, the alternate players hit the racket against the gang, whipped Tölz forward, and then: double the majority.
Shortly before the end of the power play, Pfleger fired a shot at Kuhn's box again, Max French deflected the target decisively, equalizer.
Then the lions also demonstrated their cleverness: In the final section they successfully defended themselves against the Kassel storms, patiently waiting for their options.
There were only a few of them, the best perhaps in excess, when Lubor Dibelka was defeated by Kuhn from close range.
Both teams stepped on the gas again despite the intense game.
Kassel had the better chance of winning.
“We tried to survive, to save ourselves in overtime,” says Gaudet.
And it succeeded.
The final third ended goalless.
In extra time, a nice move, which Cornet finished 5: 4, brought the decision.
Gaudet: "Kassel deserved to win, but we can be proud of the point."
Tölzer Löwen - Kassel nV 4: 5 (1: 3, 3: 1, 0: 0/0: 1)
Goals:
0: 1 (2:27) Müller (Shevyrin / Cornet), 0: 2 (14:13) Cornet (Spitzner), 0: 3 (15:16) Granz (Keussen / Cameron), 1: 3 (19 : 59) Pfleger (Lamoureux), 1: 4 (31:01) Olsen (Cornet / Rutkowski, 5-4), 2: 4 (33:13) Gardiner (Dibelka / Leitner), 3: 4 (35:02) Black (Lamoureux / Edfelder, 4-4), 4: 4 (39:37) French (Pfleger / Dibelka, 5-4), 4: 5 (60:40) Cornet (Moser / Keussen), -
penalty minutes: Tölz 6 , Kassel 10, - Referees: Alexander Singer, Ulpi Sicorschi.