Will Cologne advance to the quarterfinals against Ingolstadt?
Now Ingolstadt knows how the Cologne Sharks must have felt at the end of the main round. The Schanzer had high hopes of gaining an advantage at home against the stumbling Domstädter in the first match of the pre-playoff series. However, the visitors, who arrived with a devastating 6-1 defeat against Mannheim on their shoulders, made sure things were clear early on and opened up a whopping five-goal lead within the first two periods.
The Sharks are in an advantageous position in many respects on Wednesday. The euphoric 1:5 triumph against the Schanzer provides a real tailwind. With a second win, the cathedral city team could already book their quarter-final ticket.
In addition, Cologne can play at home both in the upcoming clash and in a potential third showdown, as the Sharks were unable to claim their home court in Game 1 due to a lack of hall availability.
Although ERC Ingolstadt have a tough task ahead of them at the Lanxess Arena on Wednesday at 7:30 pm, the game is far from over. When the two rivals have faced each other in playoff series in the past, the highest possible number of games was usually needed to determine a winner. In the current series between the Kölner Haie and ERC Ingolstadt, the prediction of over 5.5 goals for Game 2 provides unusually high odds of 2.45 at Bet365. So it’s perfect that the top betting provider is offering €100 in betting credits!
Kölner Haie – Statistics & current form
The last few weeks have been a rollercoaster of emotions for the Cologne Sharks. The 1:6 debacle against Mannheim at the end of the main round drew an unparalleled roar of whistles in the sold-out Lanxess Arena and destroyed the hopes of many fans for a good start to the pre-playoffs. The fact that the cathedral city team had secured a promising 3:5 triumph against the Schanzer just a week earlier was not enough to create optimism.
That start to the pre-playoffs went very differently than many critics had predicted in view of the mess against the Adler. As a result, the Cologne Sharks are now the favorites to win against ERC Ingolstadt
Kölner Haie have the best attacker of the season in Schütz
Cologne attacker Justin Schütz was able to celebrate in two ways. Firstly, the 23-year-old scored the first hat-trick in his history in the German Ice Hockey League against Ingolstadt. Secondly, Schütz was recently named striker of the year for the 2023/2024 DEL season. The award, which was presented to the regular in the award show on Monday evening, was well deserved by the goal scorer with 27 goals in 52 matchdays. No other attacker in the league has scored as often as Schütz. Due to Wednesday’s game 2 against the Panthers, however, the forward was unable to accept the award in person.
In the first match of the pre-playoff series against Ingolstadt, Cologne delivered a concentrated performance and, above all, convincing team play again after the teamwork against Mannheim had left a lot to be desired. As the final score of 1:5 against the Schanzers had already been decided in the first two periods, both teams took it easy in the final period without scoring any goals
Now Cologne wants to make the Sharks’ pool boil and end the series with the next win. Odds of 1.62 imply a probability of around 38.1 percent that the Cologne Sharks will confirm their prediction of a home win against ERC Ingolstadt in Game 2 in overtime at the latest.
ERC Ingolstadt – Statistics & current form
For ERC Ingolstadt, everything is at stake in Game 2 of the pre-playoff series. In addition to the underdog role that the top bookmakers’ odds ascribe to ERC Ingolstadt against the Cologne Sharks, the Schanzers have a double away disadvantage ahead of them – assuming there is a third game at all. If the Panthers beat the favorites in the Shark Tank, Ingolstadt will have to play again in the Lanxess Arena.
The Schanzers have their backs to the wall after the devastating 1:5 home defeat. Nevertheless, it would be foolhardy to write off the runners-up just yet. It would not be the first time in the seventh play-off series between Ingolstadt and Cologne that an exciting thriller with many ups and downs has unfolded. Four of the six previous play-off series have been decided in the last possible duel. Can the Schanzers still turn the tide in the Lanxess Arena?
Can ERC Ingolstadt make fewer mistakes in Game 2?
The Panthers made too many mistakes at home against Cologne. That the Sharks mercilessly punished Ingolstadt’s susceptibility is an understatement: the humiliated hosts were 5-0 down after just 34 minutes. In the aftermath of the game, ERC captain Fabio Wagner criticized in particular the Schanzer team’s puck management, which he felt was a major contributor to their misery.
In game 2, the aim now is to eradicate Ingolstadt’s major blunders and focus on their numerous strengths. In terms of puck possession and passing accuracy, ERC Ingolstadt was the lone leader in the DEL in the main round. The Schanzers’ strength in duels is also generally one of their strengths. The basis for getting a grip on their poor puck management after the horror start to the pre-playoff series is certainly in place.
Nevertheless, the bookies expect a low-scoring duel this time. With odds of 1.62, the user-friendly betting provider Oddset signals a probability of around 61.7 percent that fewer than 5.5 goals will be scored in the encounter between the Cologne Sharks and ERC Ingolstadt in Game 2.
Cologne Sharks – ERC Ingolstadt head-to-head comparison / H2H result
The recent H2H record is getting scarier and scarier against the Cologne Sharks for ERC Ingolstadt in terms of predicting a pre-playoff winner. With the triumph in Game 1, the Sharks now have four wins in their last five meetings against the Panthers.
In the six playoff series that Cologne and Ingolstadt have played so far, however, the picture is balanced. Each team has won three series. Four times it remained exciting until the last possible match. This time, despite the difficult circumstances, the runners-up have once again made it their mission to prevent a premature end to the playoff series
Kölner Haie – ERC Ingolstadt betting tip
In order to secure a third meeting and thus a last chance to advance to the quarter-finals, the Panthers need to analyze their mistakes in detail. The otherwise strong runners-up have been taken by surprise in their own stadium and would have to win twice in a row in Cologne’s Shark Tank to progress.
It’s no surprise that the Cologne Sharks are favorites to win against ERC Ingolstadt after their performance at the Saturn Arena. Of course, it would be unwise, especially in the playoff phase, to draw premature conclusions about the chances of success of the two teams based on a single game. In principle, however, we agree with the role of favorites for the now confident home side
However, as the bookmakers are assuming an unexpectedly high probability that the Sharks will be cautious in their second game against Ingolstadt and want to score few goals, there are interesting odds for betting tips on lots of goals.
