The Kölner Haie missed out on a place in the DEL playoff quarter-finals after a defeat against Ingolstadt. The third game of the series will take place again in Cologne.
The Kölner Haie have missed out on making it to the playoff quarter-finals for the time being and have to play a decisive third game against Ingolstadt. In the 2:3 (1:2, 1:1, 0:0) on Wednesday (March 13, 2024), Maury Edwards (1st), Casey Bailey (11th) and Charles Bertrand (36th) scored for Ingolstadt. David McIntyre (8th) and Frederik Storm (39th) were the KEC goal scorers. On Thursday (March 14, 2024) the teams will meet in Cologne for the playoff.
DEL, Pre-Playoffs arrow right
Ingolstadt with a lightning start
The game started with a bang: Ingolstadt took the lead with their first attack after just 30 seconds. Edwards pulled away from the blue line. Cologne goalkeeper Tobias Ancicka saw the target too late and was no longer able to prevent it from hitting the target. After that, the Haie found their way into the game better. First Nick Bailen was denied by ERC goalkeeper Michael Garteig, then McIntyre scored to equalize.
But Ingolstadt remained in control and exploited the first advantage mercilessly: Bailey cleverly deflected a shot with his bat – the ERC was in the lead again. Kammerer narrowly missed the equalizer after a strong cross pass, but Cologne were lucky on the other side when Wayne Simpson hit the crossbar on the counterattack.
Balanced middle third
After the third break, the game picked up speed: first the KEC missed a double chance, then Ingolstadt narrowly missed a hard slap shot. The hosts seemed too unimaginative or failed in their chances because of Garteig. Ingolstadt was different: A counterattack made it 3-1 for the guests, Bertrand converted a shot into the top right corner.
The ERC’s celebration only lasted three minutes: Storm beat an opponent in a solo effort and scored the goal for Cologne. A wild phase followed shortly before the last third break: there were chances on both sides almost every second – but the score remained 2:3.
Garteig saves Ingolstadt’s victory
In the final section, the sharks initially seemed completely changed. The hosts acted powerfully and often looked for a finish. Garteig prevented Kammerer from equalizing with a world-class save (45th). After two more Kammerer chances, the Sharks’ pressure eased again. The Ingolstadt team defended cleverly and countered dangerously: Wojciech Stachowiak only hit the right outside post (52′).
Afterwards, little happened in front of the gates. It was only when the Haie replaced the goalkeeper with an additional field player a minute before the end that things became dangerous again – Stanislav Dietz was denied by Garteig, who was once again strong. Bailen tried again, the ERC goalkeeper was there again and secured the victory for the guests.