Ice hockey: Decision about DEL descent is made on the last match day

The Augsburg Panther won the relegation thriller against Düsseldorfer eG on the penultimate matchday of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL). After the acclaimed 5: 1 (1: 1, 1: 0, 3: 0) In their own hall, the team of coach Larry Mitchell released the red lantern to Düsseldorf. Augsburg can now save itself on the last main round game day (Friday, 7.30 p.m.) on his own with a win in Iserlohn. The DEG receives Wolfsburg. At the eight -time master Düsseldorf, to whom the first sporting descent from the DEL threatens, there was beekeeping: “We let the club, the city and history down,” said Topscorer Brendan O’Donnell. Coach Steven Reinprecht, who has kept his job so far, admitted: “The Augsburgers have invested more than we do.”

If Düsseldorf stays last, the DEG would have to hope that no second division will meet the economic requirements for the DEL like Augsburg 2023 and 2024. However, five of the six DEL2 top teams would be entitled to promotion. The statement by DEG managing director Harald Wirtz was all the more astonishing: “All of our contracts are geared towards the DEL.”