Will the Penguins decide the game in Ingolstadt?
Match puck in Ingolstadt! The current DEL season may be over for the Schanzer after the upcoming encounter between ERC Ingolstadt and Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven. The odds for betting tips on the winner indicate that the teams are on an equal footing – with a wafer-thin advantage on the part of the home side
So far, the Panthers’ three quarter-final games against the Penguins have all been close. The most recent two playoff duels even produced a winner only in overtime. However, the Northern Lights, who visit the Saturn Arena on Sunday at 3 p.m., always had the better end
With Bremerhaven now 3-0 up in the best-of-seven series, the main round winners from the north now have four chances to end the quarter-finals and advance to the semi-finals. The Fischtown Pinguins only need one more win to knock the Schanzers out of the title race. Anyone who believes that the surprise team of successful coach Thomas Popiesch can win, but also wants to protect themselves in the event of another overtime, can almost double the stake for successful bets on an away win at Interwetten.
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ERC Ingolstadt – Statistics & current form
ERC Ingolstadt is under maximum pressure at home. Although the Upper Bavarians made a good effort in their third match against Bremerhaven and dominated the first period, they suffered another bitter defeat in overtime. The Panthers started the game much better than the Penguins and rewarded themselves with a well-deserved lead in the 17th minute with a goal from Mirko Höfflin. However, Ingolstadt were handed two penalties before the end of the first period, meaning the Schanzers started the second half of the second period doubly short-handed.
Unsurprisingly, the best powerplay team in the league gratefully accepted the opportunity to equalize and tied the score at 1:1. Seven minutes later, the hosts managed to turn the contested match around to make it 2:1. However, the Panthers kept the evening’s tension alive and regained the lead with a 2-3 goal in the final period. All the more frustrating for the visitors was the 3:3 equalizer by Bremerhaven attacker Mauerman six-and-a-half minutes before the end.
The result was overtime, in which the Panthers suffered their next defeat of the series. Despite the fact that the deficit in the quarter-finals has now grown to three defeats, ERC Ingolstadt is the narrow favorite against Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven according to the odds of numerous bookmakers. However, the odds in the handy Oddset app show that not all bookies share this opinion. The betting provider with decades of bookmaking expertise sees the two opponents on exactly equal terms.
Will the defensively strong ERC Ingolstadt be more robust this time?
On paper, Ingolstadt’s dominant opening third and the lead they had built up gave them the best chance of using their own strengths to secure a playoff triumph. As one of the DEL teams with the strongest duels, the Schanzers, who have the best puck possession statistics in the German Ice Hockey League (33.50 percent), had already successfully defended their lead against Cologne in the pre-playoffs to win.
Against the attack-minded Penguins, this proved to be a hopeless endeavor for the second time in a row. In Game 2 of the series, Bremerhaven already managed to defeat the Panthers in the Saturn Arena after leading 3:1. Will the runners-up perform more confidently at home this time or will the championship fight come to an end for head coach Mark French?
The quarter-finals were always full of goals. Nevertheless, the odds for betting on the number of goals between ERC Ingolstadt and Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven imply that the bookmakers are leaning towards a showdown with a below-average number of goals.
Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven – Statistics & current form
In the exciting quarter-final, the fans of Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven have a lot to tremble and a lot to cheer about. Similar to the second match, the club from the coastal city initially fell behind in the most recent clash against Ingolstadt before the game turned around. However, the first period in particular against the visiting Schanzers revealed that their place in the semi-finals is anything but certain, despite their comfortable 3:0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
ERC Ingolstadt not only got off to a better start at home, but also performed better almost throughout the first period. While goalie Michael Garteig didn’t have much to do in the first quarter of an hour, the Panthers’ dynamic offense left its mark on the game and created several great chances.
The final triumph of the Northern Lights was not undeserved. The fact that the Penguins started the second period in double overtime and had the opportunity to equalize can nevertheless be described as a fortunate circumstance, without which the close game might have had a different outcome.
Are the Penguins, strong away from home, a match for the desperate Panthers?
It’s no surprise that the Northern Lights are hardly the underdogs in Ingolstadt. After all, the Schanzers also failed to convert their last home advantage against the Penguins into a win. What’s more, the Panthers are not one of the best DEL teams at home anyway, while Bremerhaven were the second-best away team in the main round behind record champions Berlin.
The fact that the Upper Bavarians are also more vulnerable in the Saturn Arena, despite scoring more goals, has meant that Ingolstadt have not posed a greater threat at home this season compared to their away performances. Nevertheless, even the coastal side, who are feared away from home, recently had noticeable difficulties with the dogged Schanzers in Ingolstadt and only wrapped up the triumph in extra time.
However, the picture was the same in Game 3 at the Eisarena Bremerhaven. Here, it was captain Jan Urbas who did not have to wait long in overtime, scoring after just four and a half minutes to secure a 4:3 victory. At the moment, a bet on the two-way market that ERC Ingolstadt will beat Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven in the semi-finals will almost double the stake if the home side succeeds in preventing the Popiesch team from reaching the semi-finals in overtime at the latest
ERC Ingolstadt – Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven head-to-head comparison / H2H result
The H2H record of the Panthers and Penguins is the wrong place to give Schanzer fans confidence. Thanks to their third triumph in the quarter-finals, the DEL leaders from Bremerhaven are 3-0 up in the play-off series. In addition, the Penguins have now won six of their last seven duels against the Upper Bavarians.
There is a glimmer of hope in the fact that the play-off matches between the runners-up and the team from the coastal town have always been close and hard-fought. It is also interesting to note that every quarter-final clash so far has broken the 5.5-goal barrier
ERC Ingolstadt – Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven betting tip
Although Ingolstadt never lost clearly against Bremerhaven in this year’s playoffs, it has to be stated that no approach of the Schanzer has led to a satisfactory result so far. After all, close results do not get the Panthers any further. To ensure that their title ambitions do not come to an abrupt end, a win is now imperative. Can the Upper Bavarians show enough nerve to reverse the trend in the best-of-seven series?
It is clear that the home side must and will give it their all on Sunday if they are not to bow out of the quarter-finals without having at least snatched a win from the main round winners. The fact that the defensively strong runners-up are vulnerable enough to the dangerous attack of the Northern Lights to turn the game around, even after taking an early lead, has been demonstrated several times recently.
However, instead of betting on the winner, we prefer to bet on over 5.5 goals in the match between ERC Ingolstadt and Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven in game 4.
