Drama in Memmingen: Indians promoted, Deggendorf fails after 4:2 lead in overtime

ECDC Memmingen has secured sporting promotion to the DEL2. The Indians won the sixth final of the best-of-7 series against Deggendorfer SC 6:5 after overtime, thus claiming the decisive fourth victory. In the sold-out Alpha Cooling Arena (3,700 spectators), a long promising match for Deggendorf turned – despite a 4:2 lead after 31 minutes.

Promotion to the DEL2

The success means a leap for Memmingen from the Oberliga to the DEL2. In practice, this means not only sporting triumph: promotion is also regularly tied to fulfilling the DEL2 licensing criteria – economic and organizational requirements that a club must prove in addition to sporting results.

Deggendorf remains in the Oberliga Süd

Deggendorf, on the other hand, remains in the Oberliga Süd after the 5:6 defeat in overtime. Particularly painful: a win would have forced a seventh final game on Sunday in Deggendorf.

Deggendorf does not capitalize on its strong phase

The match began as wild as a promotion final would suggest. Brett Humberstone put DSC ahead in the 3rd minute, but Memmingen responded immediately: Linus Svedlund equalized a minute later. When Sam Verelst put the Indians in front in the first power play (11th), it seemed Memmingen would briefly take control – until Deggendorf used the closing phase of the first period. Niklas Heinzinger and Luke Weilandt turned the game around in the 19th minute within 54 seconds to make it 3:2 for Deggendorf.

Even in the second period, DSC initially remained in a comfortable position. Marco Baßler made it 4:2 in the 31st minute. It was exactly the kind of lead that, in an away game in a cauldron like Memmingen, could open the door to a decisive seventh game. But Deggendorf did not get through this phase – and that was the crux of the evening: despite five own goals, a few defensive lapses and too many shorthanded situations were enough to let the game slip away.

DSC authorized officer Stefan Liebergesell summed up the mood after the game clearly: “At the moment it just hurts, but we will attack again next year.” And regarding the course of the game: “The players gave everything, if you score five goals in Memmingen, you really have to win the game.”

Memmingen turns the game – and Deggendorf responds once more

Memmingen came back from 2:4 via special teams. Tyler Spurgeon cut the deficit again in the 34th minute on the power play – a signal that Deggendorf paid dearly for penalties in this phase. The pressure from the Indians increased, Deggendorf lost clear assignments for minutes. Dominik Meisinger equalized in the 37th minute to make it 4:4, Maximilian Menner turned the game around just a minute later to 5:4.

But even that was not enough for a preliminary decision. Deggendorf struck back immediately: Petr Stloukal scored 34 seconds after Memmingen's lead, also on the power play, to make it 5:5 (38th). After 40 minutes, the score reflected the series as a whole: high tempo, many transitions – and an efficiency that punished every little lapse immediately.

Audience reaction and atmosphere

Every turnaround in the stands intensified the already electrified atmosphere. More than 300 fans from Lower Bavaria had traveled to Memmingen, including District Administrator Bernd Sibler and Mayor Christian Moser. While Memmingen wanted to clear the last hurdle in their own stadium, Deggendorf clung to the chance to bring the series back to the “fortress at the Trat.”

The decision in overtime

No goals were scored in the final period. Deggendorf survived the home side's pressure phases, Memmingen, despite visual advantages, could not find a way past the opposing goalie and a self-sacrificing defense. The decision had to come in overtime – and it came in the 74th minute.

There are two different attributions for the winning goal: in one goal sequence, Brett Ouderkirk was initially listed as the scorer, but in the match report, the goal was credited to Felix Brassard. According to the report: Brassard decisively deflected a shot from Connor Blake – the 6:5 that sealed promotion.

When the puck hit the net, the arena erupted in celebration. Memmingen celebrated the fourth win of the final series and thus the sporting promotion, while the chant “No one wins at Hühnerberg” echoed in the stands. On the Deggendorf side, emptiness prevailed. Liebergesell summed up the moment: “In the end, it was really luck.”

For Memmingen, a high-scoring, nerve-wracking series ends with the step up to the DEL2. For Deggendorf, the main realization remains how close the door to game seven already stood open – and how quickly it can slam shut again in a single, overheated playoff night.