After the sensational win against Adler Mannheim, the Dresden Ice Lions landed back on the hard DEL ground. The Saxons suffered an 8-1 home defeat against league leaders Kölner Haie on Sunday. It is the promoted team’s worst defeat of the season so far.
Cologne with a lightning start
Dresden slept through the initial phase and, being outnumbered, only conceded the early 0-1 (3rd minute) through Oliwer Kaski, before shortly afterwards Dominik Bokk (6th minute) surprised Ice Lions goalie Jussi Olkinuora with a shot near the right boards into the far corner. In the 11th minute, the Haie struck again in the power play through Maximilian Kammerer. Afterwards, Dresden got stronger, but remained too harmless in front of the goal. The Cologne team did better, when they were outnumbered by Juhani Tyrväinen (19th) and marked the final third against unsorted Saxony.
Stocker makes his DEL debut – consolation goal by LeBlanc
In the middle section, in which Paul Stocker was allowed to replace regular goalie Olkinuora and made his DEL debut, the Rhinelanders increased their number through Rayn MacInnis (25th). But Dresden didn’t give up and were rewarded with the 1:5 when Drew LeBlanc (28th) hammered the target under the crossbar. Dresden continued to try hard after that, but Cologne showed their renewed efficiency through Bokk (36′).
The guests also showed their offensive class in the final third, as Patrick Russell (44th) and Tanner Kero (49th) stepped up for the heavy favorites. Although Dresden continued to fight with united forces, a second goal was not achieved.
Vote for the game
Gerry Fleming (head coach Dresdner Eislöwen): “It was just one of those evenings where no matter what we did, every mistake ended up in our own goal. I thought the boys fought, especially in the second and third thirds – we didn’t give up. We put Paul in his first professional game, which was of course a big challenge, especially against one of the top teams in the league. Maybe it wasn’t the best situation for him, but the team worked hard for him. This game is worth checking on and to concentrate on the game against Bremerhaven.”
Spio spio
