Will Schwenningen’s dream of the semi-finals come true?
All or nothing! The Wild Wings lived up to their reputation as the best home team in the DEL in their last duel and tied the playoff series 3:3. On top of that, Schwenningen goalie Eriksson celebrated a shutout in the 4-0 triumph. Nevertheless, the Straubing Tigers enter the ice against the Schwenninger Wild Wings as clear favorites to win
In addition to the ignominy of not having beaten Schwenningen goalie Joacim Eriksson once, who was in top form, the Tigers had to put up with a shorthander from Swans attacker Phil Hungerecker right at the start of the second period. Although Straubing did not cut a bad figure overall, the aggrieved Lower Bavarians were probably eager to restore their own honor by advancing to the semi-finals.
Those who believe the home-strong Tigers can triumph with at least a two-goal lead will find tempting odds of 2.40 for corresponding handicap bets at Interwetten.
Betting tips on an above-average number of goals are particularly interesting on Saturday at 15:00 in the highly anticipated deciding game between the Straubing Tigers and Schwenninger Wild Wings. At Bet365, top odds of 2.10 are available for bets on over 5.5 goals, which can be claimed completely tax-free. Another advantage of the popular provider are the betting credits worth up to €100, which are available at Bet365:
Straubing Tigers – Statistics & current form
The quarter-final between the Tigers and Wild Wings remains true to the pattern that the balance of power is often different than it may appear on paper. Viewed in isolation, the Lower Bavarians’ most recent 4:0 defeat could give the impression that Straubing gloriously blew the match-puck game at the Helios Arena. The visitors had a 3:2 lead in the play-off series and could have secured their place in the semi-finals with a win.
It was foreseeable that the Swans, the strongest home team in the German Ice Hockey League, would be difficult to beat at home. However, it was unexpected that the offensively strong Tigers failed to score a single goal. Joacim Eriksson played a big part in this. The 33-year-old Wild Wings goalkeeper was in top form and drove Tom Pokel’s away team to despair.
In order for the Straubing Tigers and Schwenninger Wild Wings not to confirm Straubing’s prediction of being the favorites, the Swedish-born goalkeeper will have to produce another masterful performance on Saturday.
The Tigers are the clear favorites against the Wild Wings
Unlike in the sixth match of the series, the Wild Wings are clear underdogs in the decisive seventh duel. One of the reasons for this is that the Swans, as the best host team in the DEL, have a much worse away record than at home in the Helios Arena. Even though Schwenningen have managed to beat the Tigers in Straubing at least once this season in the play-offs, the fact that the other meetings at the Eisstadion am Pulverturm have all gone to the Pokel team should give the home side cause for optimism.
In general, home advantage has always proved to be an influential factor in encounters between these two teams in the current season. In addition to the Swans’ pronounced weakness on the road, the Lower Bavarians are just one point behind Schwenningen in second place in the DEL home table. It will be exciting to see whether the Swabians can withstand the home side’s offensive pressure on foreign soil of all places to make the play-off sensation perfect and advance to the semi-finals.
Betting operator Betway predicts that the attacking home team will prevail in a potential overtime at the latest with a probability of around 66.7 percent for the Straubing Tigers vs Schwenninger Wild Wings clash
Schwenninger Wild Wings – Statistics & current form
The Wild Wings have managed to get back on track after two playoff defeats in a row and deny the favored Tigers a place in the semi-finals. At the same time, Schwenningen goalie Joacim Eriksson celebrated a shutout in the 4-0 home triumph against a disillusioned Straubing team. Nevertheless, the Swans are now back in the underdog role in the all-important Game 7 at the Pulverturm.
Head coach Steve Walker’s squad has already managed to overcome its vehement weakness on the road once in the current quarter-final and snatch a victory from the Tigers on home turf with a final score of 3:4 after overtime. Another away win would be tantamount to a sensation for Schwenningen’s surprise club. Apart from the fact that the Swabians have not had a sniff of play-off air for almost three decades, the last time they reached the semi-finals was 34 years ago.
However, the bookmakers’ odds between the Straubing Tigers and the Schwenninger Wild Wings rightly suggest that it will be a mammoth task to knock the home side out of the playoffs.
Is Schwenningen’s plan working again in Straubing?
In order to seize the chance to beat the home-strong Tigers at the Pulverturm, the Swans must try to take some important ingredients of their previous recipe for success with them to Straubing. For example, Schwenningen once again managed to defuse the Lower Bavarians’ highly dangerous overpayment game recently.
Together with Straubing’s three fruitless power plays in the last match, the Wild Wings have fended off a total of 23 out of 25 Tigers overtime situations in the past four duels without conceding a goal. This corresponds to a Straubing success rate of only eight percent! In comparison: In the main round, the blue-and-whites were the second-best overtime team with a powerplay goal rate of 21.77 percent.
Another prerequisite for victory is that goalie Eriksson once again has an absolute cream day against the Tigers, who are now throwing everything into the scales. It is also essential that the Tigers are able to score as many chances as they did in their sixth play-off encounter. However, the top betting providers tend not to believe the Swans can pull off another coup. Against the Straubing Tigers, the Schwenninger Wild Wings are considered underdogs with odds of up to 3.60 for bets on a regular away win
Straubing Tigers – Schwenninger Wild Wings head-to-head comparison / H2H result
This season, Straubing and Schwenningen have an even winning record both inside and outside the playoffs. Of the ten encounters in the current season, each of the two teams has recorded one away triumph. In the remaining matches, the home team always came out on top.
As the best-of-seven series is tied 3-3, the winner will advance to the semi-finals on Saturday! Between the Straubing Tigers and Schwenninger Wild Wings, the odds of the bookmakers imply an increased probability that it will once again be the home team that comes out on top
Straubing Tigers – Schwenninger Wild Wings betting tip
It is conceivable that the Tigers will focus on their offensive strengths at home in the Eisstadion am Pulverturm in order to bring the eventful quarter-final series against Schwenningen to a positive conclusion. Straubing displayed an unusual inefficiency against the Swans when outnumbered. This must be gradually eradicated in the final match in order to keep the pressure on the Wild Wings, who are weak away from home, as high as possible
We expect the home side to put a lot of emphasis on seizing the initiative as early as possible to avoid falling behind quickly again. The weakening powerplay of the Lower Bavarians is a problem against the Swabians. However, Pokel’s team, which is strong in offense, has not had to rely excessively on overpaying situations to score goals.
If Schwenningen do not take another early lead, we also expect the Swans to adopt an offensive approach. With this in mind, we prefer to bet on over 5.5 goals between the Straubing Tigers and Schwenninger Wild Wings. Bet365 has interesting odds of 2.10 for more than 5.5 goals to be scored before the semi-finalists are determined in what is sure to be a hard-fought last match in the quarter-finals
