Overtime setback: Düsseldorf EC suffers a tight 4-5 defeat at the hands of Adler Mannheim
In a thrilling encounter, Düsseldorfer EG (DEG) faced Adler Mannheim last week, with the away team playing three consecutive games on the road - first in Frankfurt (February 23), then Nuremberg (February 26), and finally Bremerhaven (February 28).
The match in Mannheim started with DEG showing aggression in forechecking, but it was Mannheim who took the lead. Leon Gawanke scored the opening goal at 31:16, followed by another from Luke Esposito that ended the game in overtime.
DEG responded quickly, with Alex Blank scoring the first goal for the away team in the second period at 21:06. The game remained tight, with both teams creating chances and moments of confusion. Sinan Akdag equalised for DEG at 35:16, but Mannheim regained the lead through Jordan Swarz at 30:37 and Tom Kuhnhackl at 36:42.
However, DEG showed resilience, with Philip Gogulla scoring the game-tying goal in overtime at 62:28. The game went into a tense and exciting extra period, but it was Mannheim who clinched the victory with Esposito's winning goal.
There was a delay of game penalty on Laurin Braun for DEG in the ninth minute, but the team handled their first penalty kill smoothly. Henrik Haukeland was in goal for DEG, while the exact goalkeeper for Mannheim who secured the victory remains unclear based on the provided search results, though it is likely to be Dennis Endras or another main goalie of Adler Mannheim during that period.
Alexis Serge Nicolas Gravel scored an own goal for Mannheim at 37:05, and Leon Gawanke added another goal at 46:03 to extend Mannheim's lead. Despite some uncertainty in previous games, DEG showed no signs of this in their play during the match.
Alec McCrea replaced Moritz Wirth in the lineup for DEG, and Luis Üffing returned to the ice for the away team. Jacob Pivonka was not part of DEG's team for the match.
DEG will look to bounce back from this loss when they face their next opponents in Frankfurt. The team will be hoping to carry the resilience shown in this match into their upcoming games.
