A matter of seconds
Following a hard-fought and deserved 4-1 win over Cologne on Friday night at home, EHC Red Bull Munich travelled to high-flying Krefeld on Sunday in hope of bringing back additional champion points to close the gap on the Playoff rankings.
The Penguins, who signed former NHL-star Christian Ehrhoff for the duration of the NHL lockout, were desperate to keep their winning-streak alive and took the lead after just 55 seconds through the deceptively named Boris Blank. EHC responded with a goal through Hinterstocker only 23 seconds later, before Boris Blank again failed to live up to his name, restoring the Penguins lead one minute and 16 seconds later. Those who were three minutes late to the game really had missed a lightning start.
Most of the 4,080 home support, excluding the few hardcore travelling fans from Munich, were ecstatic with the start of the game. However, the goal flurry failed to continue. Despite both teams creating plenty of scoring opportunities, the finishing touch of the opening three minutes had disappeared.
EHC worked hard but were cruelly denied the chance to level after Stastny's equaliser was ruled out after a somewhat debatable refereeing decision. It proved a killer blow for the away side as Krefeld went on to seal the game 4-1 thanks to a late brace from Francois Méthot.
"I can't hold anything against the guys tonight", said EHC managing director Christian Winkler afterwards. "They fought hard and never gave up. It's tough with so many guys out injured at the moment and the referees did not help matters either. Krefeld played a great game tonight though and ran out deserved winners."
EHC Red Bull Munich's next game will be at the Olympic Ice Arena in Munich on Friday December 7th from 7.30 CET against Nürnberg Ice Tigers. It will be a double-brother duel with Patrick and Jochen Reimer, as well as Paul and Yan Stastny lining up against each other. "I'm really excited. It's going to be fun to play against my older brother. I look forward to playing against him in front of the whole family, especially as it doesn't happen too often these days", said EHC star Paul Stastny.
