EHC chicken feed for the Roosters, lose 4-0 at home

Olympia Eissportzentrum, January 21 -  EHC München was looking to win their third game in a row after sweeping the DEG Metro Stars last weekend. There was some hope that they could keep the wins coming but they were not so lucky against Iserlohn, giving up early goals and never got back into it, losing 4-0.

At the beginning of the first period Munich looked like they were going to breeze past the last place Roosters but that was not the case. EHC started strong on offense but it wouldn't help them. Ten minutes into the first period and Robert Hock scored putting the visitors in the lead 1-0. Munich had some good shots but none would go in. Iserlohn's goaltender, former NHL star Manny Legace was like a wall, nothing got past him.

It seemed as though everything was going right for the Roosters and nine minutes after their first goal Pat Kavanagh scored, increasing their lead to 2-0. Munich tried but just couldn't manage to score, "We didn't fight well enough, we didn't compete hard enough in our defensive zone," said EHC head coach Pat Cortina. Both clubs had two power plays each but could not take advantage of them.

In the second period both teams were more reckless on offense and defense because they doubled their penalties to 4 each from the previous periods' 2 a piece. With only 5:26 into the second period the Roosters' Tobias Wörle scored, making it 3-0. Despite the abundance of penalties from both teams, neither team was able to capitalize on their power plays except for the final Rooster goal of the night. As Cortina said, "Power plays are usually a reflection of your compete level and that wasn't were it need to be to".

With 19:55 into the second period, both teams were shorthanded by one guy and Jeff Giuliano from the Roosters scored their fourth and final goal of the night. The pressure for a comeback from Munich was now immense.

In the third period it was very clear that Munich was becoming frustrated and started making mistakes by causing unnecessary fouls. EHC was not the only ones causing fouls; the Roosters committed the same number of fouls (2 each). The Munich fans hoped that their team would be able to make a comeback but they had no such luck. "Tonight we wanted to win and we forgot that to win we have to compete hard all the time," said Cortina.

Munich lose on the road

SAP Arena, January 23 - EHC München was hoping to come back after a hard loss on Friday but fell victim to Adler Mannheim 4-3. Munich was able to play more focused than their previous game, which resulted in goals from Mike Kompon, Ryan Ready, and Bryan Adams, and they were able to keep their penalties down to only 3 for the night.

In the first period Munich jumped out to an early lead when Kompon scored, but Mannheim scored 3 goals in four minutes establishing a lead that they would not relinquish.

The second period would not be so easy for Mannheim. Munich was able to play well offensively and score quickly at the start of the second period, making it 3-2 Mannheim. Ryan Ready scored 21 seconds in.  But the Eagles also scored in the period, their second shorthanded goal of the game and increased their lead 4-2.

In the third period Munich's Bryan Adams scored a power-play goal making it 4-3, but were unable to score again and Mannheim came out with the win. The loss drops them to 6th in the table, the last spot that receives a bye in the playoffs.  Clubs that finish 7-10 have to play in a best-of-3 'pre-playoffs' while the top 6 rest for a week.  Mannheim sit in 7th and now only 5 points behind Munich after the win.

EHC return to action on Friday against the Straubing Tigers. Face off at the Olympia Eissportzentrum on Friday is at 19:30.