Will the Grizzlys remain winless against Bremerhaven this year?
The long-distance duel continues! It’s no surprise that DEL leaders Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven are favorites to win against the Grizzlys Wolfsburg. But if the northerners fail to secure a home win on Saturday, record champions Berlin will still have a say in whether Bremerhaven finish the successful 2023 as league leaders
For the Grizzlies, the last game of the year is about ending their own slump after three defeats in a row without a point. A truly thankless task when you consider that this is to be achieved against the team with the best form in the entire league. On top of that, the seventh-placed team in the table is struggling with a number of injury concerns. Nevertheless, Wolfsburg will not be intimidated by the upcoming challenge in the Eisarena Bremerhaven. After all, Wolfsburg almost managed to cause problems for the reigning champions in their last match
Notwithstanding the final result, one thing is certain: a series will break on Saturday. Either a defeat for the Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven against the Grizzlys Wolfsburg will, contrary to the betting odds, put an end to their current run of seven wins in a row or Wolfsburg will pick up their first points in three games. At 14:00, both teams will take to the ice one last time in the eventful year 2023. After that, sporting ambition will temporarily take a secondary role before the tightly scheduled league schedule resumes shortly after the New Year
Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven – Statistics & current form
To adequately describe the Penguins’ current starting position, a lot of superlatives are needed. Bremerhaven is enthroned at the top of the table, is the most in-form team in the league and has the best defense. In addition, two Bremerhaven attackers, Jeglic and Urbas, are ranked first and second respectively in the DEL top scorers list. The fact that the Northern Lights have the second-best goal tally in the league duly rounds off the performance package of the ambitious league leaders.
Before the start of the season, nobody would have expected the Fischtown Pinguins, for whom the play-offs always ended in the quarter-finals at the latest, to deservedly take their place in the sun at the end of the year. After Bremerhaven got off to a weak start to the season, everyday league life had a few surprises in store for many a DEL team
Bremerhaven holds off Berlin in the long-distance duel
While the German Ice Hockey League was in the throes of the big upset of the favorites, the Penguins played themselves into a veritable winning frenzy and conjured up one winning streak after another on the ice. Of the championship favorites, only the Eisbären Berlin managed to live up to expectations. The record champions are therefore hot on the heels of the northerners in the thrilling duel for the top of the table. Only one point currently separates Bremerhaven from the Berliners. The Polar Bears, on the other hand, have a comfortable nine-point cushion over the third-placed Straubing Tigers.
In the hunt for the top of the table, Berlin has the equally strong Ingolstadt team in front of them in the long-distance duel against Bremerhaven. The latter put up a tough fight against the Fischtown Pinguins in their most recent match, but lost 2:1 after leading 0:1 and were unable to prevent the Nordlichter’s seventh win in a row. With 20 out of a possible 21 points from the past seven games, the Penguins are on course to repeat and perhaps even surpass their longest winning streak of nine consecutive triumphs.
The Penguins impress at home and away with consistency
In the last five matches, the Northern Lights are currently the most in-form team in the league. The Red & Whites are also robust at home. An analysis of the last ten home matches shows eight wins and 24 points. Only defending champions Munich have scored as many points in this context. The Penguins thus surpass their almost as strong performances away from home in Bremerhaven’s home ice arena.
Bremerhaven has therefore managed to remain a model of consistency even under the adverse circumstances of the Christmas period. The DEL schedule did not allow time for relaxed contemplation for the northerners. After the home game against Munich, head coach Thomas Popiesch’s charges had to play an away match in Villingen-Schwenningen the day before Christmas Eve. The Penguins therefore had to travel around 800 kilometers.
The next away duel followed on Boxing Day in Iserlohn. Bremerhaven secured the full six points in both encounters, before the Penguins faced Ingolstadt at home two days later and after another 300 kilometers and also bagged the maximum possible points here. The Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven will be spared the hassle of traveling ahead of their upcoming encounter against the Grizzlys Wolfsburg
Grizzlys Wolfsburg – Statistics & current form
Unlike their red and white opponents, Wolfsburg are not currently riding a wave of success. The Grizzlies have lost three matches in a row recently. However, it would be premature to call the current negative streak a crisis. The three defeats in question came against the three biggest favorites for the DEL title.
Admittedly, the 3-0 defeat against Mannheim was anything but glamorous. However, the Grizzlies were not far away from beating the favorites in the two subsequent showdowns with record champions Berlin and defending champions EHC Red Bull Munich with a final score of 2:1 and 2:3 respectively
Grizzlies are stronger away from home than in Wolfsburg
The 2:3 loss against the reigning champions in the last home game of the year was particularly bitter for the Wolfsburg fans. After the Red Bulls had won the first period 1:3, the Grizzlies managed to take an early step towards equalizing in the second period with a 2:3 goal from Machacek. However, a frustratingly high number of missed chances on both sides prevented further goals, which ultimately resulted in a 2:3 home defeat.
The lack of points once again underlines the fact that Wolfsburg have room for improvement at home. Although the Grizzlies are only tenth in the home table, the four-time German runners-up are much stronger away from home. Both in the away table and in terms of the last five encounters in foreign stadiums, Wolfsburg are in third place – just one place behind the in-form Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven. Against the Grizzlys Wolfsburg, odds of 1.85 indicate a probability of around 54 per cent that the regular season will end in either a draw or a win for the orange and black.
Wolfsburg will have to make do without top scorer Matthew White
In the first phase of the DEL season, the Grizzlies were largely spared more extensive personnel worries. But now head coach Mike Stewart’s team has been hit all the harder. The Wolfsburg team has been hit by a series of injuries, which has recently also affected top scorer Matthew White. The American is expected to be unavailable until the international break in February. The 34-year-old will leave a gap in the attack that will be difficult to compensate for. White has scored eleven goals in his 30 matches this season. His tally also includes 15 assists and 26 scoring points.
Furthermore, striker Chrobot has still not returned after his injury in the recent clash with Munich at the beginning of December. Fabio Pfohl is another attacker missing through injury. The orange-and-black defense is also not unaffected by injury: Ryan Button suffered a serious leg injury against Ingolstadt that will require surgery and keep the German-Canadian off the ice for an extended period of time
Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven – Grizzlys Wolfsburg head-to-head comparison / H2H result
The H2H comparison between Bremerhaven and Wolfsburg paints a picture analogous to the betting odds in favor of the Penguins. In 53 encounters, the Northern Lights prevailed 34 times. Wolfsburg managed one win in the remaining 19 games. As expected, the hosts of the upcoming clash have been more prolific scorers with 185 goals than the Grizzlies, who have scored 146 times against Bremerhaven so far.
In the meantime, the Fischtown Pinguins have developed into a truly frightening opponent for Wolfsburg. Across all competitions, Popiesch’s team has currently won seven in a row against the Orange and Blacks. Accordingly, the Grizzlies have not yet managed to stand up to the success-accustomed Northern Lights this season.
Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven – Grizzlys Wolfsburg betting tip
While the Penguins are in a long-distance duel with the Eisbären, the Grizzlys are also eyeing another rival’s place in the table. Wolfsburg are in seventh place, one place behind ERC Ingolstadt, who are level on points. The sixth-placed team is at the bottom of the guaranteed play-off places and has a tough draw ahead of it with Berlin as its opponent at the end of the year.
Lurking behind the Grizzlies, just one point behind them, are the Schwenningen Wild Wings. Wolfsburg have built up a big cushion of 13 points between themselves and tenth place in the DEL, but will still fight for every point to avoid playoff qualification
Nonetheless, the Grizzlies travel to the in-form Penguins with three defeats on their shoulders. The fact that the defeats were all against strong opponents is only partially encouraging in view of the current injury worries. One ray of hope is Wolfsburg’s strength on the road. However, whether this will be enough to put the league’s strongest team on the run in front of their own fans is another question.
We see this scenario as unlikely enough to place value between the Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven and the Grizzlys Wolfsburg in the betting tip for a home win in the regular season
