Veteran German international forward STEFAN USTDORF, who skated 54 games (7 go, 17 pts, 16 pim) over two seasons for the Washington Capitals in the mid-1990s, contributed two goals in Eisbaeren Berlin's clutch 5-3 playoff defeat of the Augsburg Panthers in Bavaria. The defending German champions entered the match staring elimination in the face. (eisbaeren.de photo)

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Champions fight when backed up against a wall…

Veteran Canadian international forward and Stanley Cup winner JEFF FRIESEN found the back of the net for EISBAEREN BERLIN to snap a 3-3 tie with 4:06 remaining in regulation to give the defending Deutsche Eishockey Liga titlists the result they desperately needed to stay alive in the quarterfinal playoff tie with the AUGSBURG PANTHERS.

Facing classic ‘do-or-die’ circumstances for Game Four at the Curt Frenzel Stadion in Bavaria, Berlin outshot Augsburg 20-13 and built a 3-1 lead thru the first forty minutes of play.

36-year-old German international STEFAN USTORF, who had two seasons for the Cincinnati Cyclones in the old International Hockey League at the turn of the millenium, led the Eisbaeren charge with his first two goals of this playoff campaign.

German Olympic forward SVEN FELSKI, with an assist from Ustdorf, also added his first post-season goal for Berlin.

However, as if Augsburg suddenly remembered it could win the series with a victory on home ice, the Panthers clawed back into the match in the final period.

Defenseman CHRISTIAN CHARTIER, the former Toronto Maple Leafs farmhand, concluded a Panthers comeback with a pair of goals; the second such from the former seventh round pick of the Edmonton Oilers (1999, # 199 overall) coming eight and a half minutes into the third on the power play.

And so it was left to Friesen to put things right for Eisbaeren Berlin, who have captured the DEL championship four of the last five seasons in Germany.

Friesen earned his Stanley Cup ring with the New Jersey Devils in 2003. The 33-year-old also won two international titles each for Canada at both the junior and senior level. Friesen earned gold medals at both the 1994 and 1995 IIHF World Junior Championships as well as the 1997 and 2004 IIHF World Championships.

American defenseman MARVIN DEGON (University of Massachusetts-Amherst), who spent two seasons in the American Hockey League with the Hartford Wolf Pack and Hamilton Bulldogs before joining the Wolfsburg Grizzly Adams the summer of 2008, added the empty net goal for Eisbaeren Berlin in the last minute.

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37-year-old Canadian captain STEVE WALKER (27) and Eisbaeren Berlin will clash with the Augsburg Panthers for the final time in the DEL quarterfinals on Wednesday, April 7, at the 02 World Arena in Berlin. (del.org photo)

Frankfurt Lions forward JEFF ULMER (44) lifts the puck over Koelner Haie's Swiss goalkeeper LARS WEIBEL in Deutsche Eishockey Liga action from the Lanxess Arena in Cologne. (Getty Images photo)

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Ex-Hershey Bears forward JEFF ULMER bagged the scoring championship in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga for the 2009-10 campaign.

Ulmer, a 32-year-old native of Regina, Saskatchewan, registered a symmetrical 37 goals and 37 assists to total 74 points for Frankfurt Lions, who finished second overall in the DEL regular season standings.

Ulmer finished one point ahead of German Olympic forward THOMAS GREILINGER of ERC Ingolstadt. Greilinger, however, did nip Ulmer by one goal for the honor of Meister Torjaeger.

Ulmer, an NCAA champion with the University of North Dakota in 1997, rejoined Frankfurt this season after a 2008-09 campaign spent with three clubs across Europe — Mo Do Ornskoldsvik of Sweden, HC Fribourg Gotteron of Switzerland and Belarussian club Dynamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League.

Previously, the one-time New York Ranger (21 ga, 3 go 0 as, 3 pts, 8 pim) had played two seasons for Frankfurt after an inaugural year in the DEL with the Hamburg Freezers.

Ulmer, who has also played professionally in Finland (Lukko Rauma) and Great Britain (Cardiff Devils), last skated for a North American club with Hershey (80 ga, 22 go 29 as, 51 pts) in the American Hockey League during the notorious winter of 2004-05.

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Erstwhile Edmonton Oiler PETER SARNO (22) celebrates with German Olympic forward KAI HOSPELT (8) for Wolfsburg Grizzly Adams. Wolfsburg became the first German team to advance to the semifinal stage of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga playoffs. (NDR photo)

• March 30 — Wolfsburg 4 – Dusseldorf 2
• April 1 ——- Dusseldorf 3 – Wolfsburg 6
• April 3 ——- Wolfsburg 3 – Dusseldorf 1

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Pacing Wolfsburg in the Dusseldorf tie with three goals apiece were a pair of Boston University alumni — Maine native JOHN LALIBERTE, in his first season of German hockey after a year with IK Odense in Denmark, and Canadian KEN MAGOWAN, who made four appearances for the Philadelphia Phantoms in the American Hockey League the 2005-06 season.

35-year-old Swedish defenseman JAN-AXEL ALAVAARA, German international SEBASTIAN FURCHNER as well as former Buffalo Sabres 2nd round draft pick NORM MILLEY each contributed two goals apiece for Wolfsburg in the Dusseldorf series.

Center JASON ULMER (North Dakota Univ), who skated three times for the AHL’s Hershey Bears during the 2000-01 campagin, topped the Grizzly Adams’ scoring chart with seven points (six assists). 

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With goals at a premium in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga quarterfinal series, the AUGSBURG PANTHERS exploded at the 02 World Arena for four unanswered goals in the second period of the all-important Game Three versus EISBAEREN BERLIN on the way to a critical 5-3 away victory in the best-of-five playoff tie.

As was the case in Game Two, defenseman JEFF LIKENS (Wisconsin Univ) and CHRIS COLLINS (Boston College) accounted for the game’s first goals on behalf of Augsburg. Former Pittsburgh Penquin CONNOR JAMES (Denver Univ), who spent the past three seasons skating mostly in the American Hockey League for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, connected for a third Panther goal with Augsburg on the power play.

BRETT ENGELHARDT (Michigan Tech) extended Augsburg’s advantage to 4-0 with less than a minute remaining until the second intermission.

While the Panthers were piling up the goals, German Olympic netminder DENNIS ENDRAS maintained the outstanding form he has shown for Augsburg this series. The 24-year old kept out 27 Eisbaeren shots over the first two periods and ultimately finished with 39 saves. In three quarterfinal contests versus Berlin thus far, Endras has halted 107 of 113 shots (94.69 save percentage).

Berlin applied even more pressure in the final frame and broke through for goals from defenseman JENS BAXMANN and outgoing Auslaender DENIS PEDERSON to half the deficit with roughly half a period to play.

But, defenseman T.J. KEMP (Mercyhurst College), who began his professional career with the Reading Royals of the East Coast Hockey League in 2005 and spent half of last season with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the AHL, killed the rally shortly thereafter with a fifth Augsburg goal at the 12:39 mark.

A second goal from Baxmann for Berlin fourteen seconds from time with Eisbaeren employing the extra skater was merely window dressing for head coach DON JACKSON’s troops.

As for Augsburg boss LARRY MITCHELL, his Panthers are one game away from a major upset.

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BRETT ENGELHARDT, the 29-year-old native of Wisconsin who made his professional debut for the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL in the spring of 2004, finished with a goal and three assists for Augsburg and was chosen as Game Three’s first star.

Eisbaeren Berlin goalie ROB ZEPP keeps his eye on the puck as Augsburg Panther forward MATT RYAN (23) literally crashes the net in DEL playoff action from the Curt Frenzel Stadion in Bavaria. Also on hand is CONSTANTIN BRAUN (90) for Eisbaeren Berlin. (eishockey-magazin.de photo)

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The Augsburg Panthers and German Olympic goaltender DENNIS ENDRAS turned the tables on visiting Eisbaeren Berlin and evened the Deutsche Eishockey Liga quarterfinal series with a 2-1 victory skating on home ice at the Curt Frenzel Stadion in Bavaria.

Augsburg defenseman JEFF LIKENS, an NCAA titlist with the University of Wisconsin in 2006, broke a scoreless deadlock and lit the lamp roughly five and a half minutes into the second stanza.

Erstwhile New York Islander STEVE JUNKER, in his 13th season skating in Germany, drew an assist on the play. The 37-year-old had accumulated just seven helpers in 54 regular season games for the Panthers. On the evening, Junker was selected as the second star.

Former Boston College forward CHRIS COLLINS, who scored 23 times in 47 games for Augsburg this winter, collected his first playoff goal with just under seven minutes remaining in the game with the Panthers on the power play.

DENIS PEDERSON pulled one goal back for Eisbaeren Berlin with 48 seconds to go, but to no avail.

Endras earned his distinction as the game’s first star by stopping 32 shots for the Panthers. The 24-year-old was particularly needed by in the final frame with Eisbaeren outshooting Augsburg 13-6.

Eisbaeren Berlin Auslaender forward DENIS PEDERSON (20) has announced his retirement effective the end of this season. (Eisbaeren.de photo)

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“The work is not done”, the four-time German league titlist stated with his forthcoming announcement.

But, Eisbaeren Berlin’s veteran Canadian forward DENIS PEDERSON has, indeed, disclosed that this 2009-10 campaign will be the last of his distinguished professional career.

“The decision was not easy, but it was primarily a family decision,” Pederson professed in a report at the team’s official website, www.eisbaeren.de.

“I want to thank my teammates and all the Polar Bears organization,” the former first round draft pick of the New Jersey Devils added. “I could think of no better place to end my career than Berlin.”

The 34-year-old, one-time Canadian junior international concluded his service for the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League and started his professional career in the spring of 1995 with the Albany River Rats in the American Hockey League playoffs. After a full year of apprenticeship in the AHL, Pederson spent the next seven seasons skating full-time in the National Hockey League (435 ga, 57 go 71 as, 128 pts, 398 pim) for the New Jersey Devils, Vancouver Canucks, Phoenix Coyotes and Nashville Predators.

The veteran center first inked a pro contract with Eisbaeren in the summer of 2003 and has skated exclusively for Berlin ever since, save a one-game appearance for the AHL’s Peoria Rivermen in the fall of 2006.

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(Eisbaeren.de photo)

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Pederson, as an influential contributor to a powerful club, played 299 Deutsche Eishockey Liga regular season games (115 go 164 as, 279 pts, 457 pim) his seven seasons in Germany.

Entering this spring’s playoffs, Pederson has also added 54 points (26 go 28 as) in 60 post-season contests while collecting four German championships in his time with Eisbaeren Berlin.

“A player like Denis Pederson’s personality is unique,” Eisbaeren Berlin general manager PETER JOHN LEE, the former Pittsburgh Penquin, reflected. “We have to thank him very much. He has not only led us with his goals and indomitable fighting spirit to four championships, he is also the model for countless young players in our team.”

“The guys that have played long with him and learned from him will carry on his work ethic, and pass on to the younger players.”

ROB ZEPP (72) built a wall in front of Eisbaeren Berlin's net in the opening game of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga quarterfinal series with the Augsburg Panthers. (eisbaeren.de photo)

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A little R and R combined with some serious Z benefited EISBAEREN BERLIN a great deal as head coach DON JACKSON’s German club completed its first step towards a fifth domestic championship the past six years.

A pair of first period goals from German Olympic forward ANDRE RANKEL and veteran American Auslaender ANDY ROACH inside the opening nine and a half minutes as well as goaltender ROB ZEPP provided all the Polar Bears needed to dispatch the Augsburg Panthers 2-1 in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga quarterfinal opener.

The 24-year-old Rankel got Eisbaeren off to the right start by redirecting former Calgary Flames defenseman RICHIE REGEHR’s slapshot past Augsburg’s German international goaltender DENNIS ENDRAS in the game’s fifth minute. The Polar Bears were enjoying the power play after Panthers forward TYLER BEECHEY, a one-time Trenton Titan in the East Coast Hockey League, had been boxed for hooking. Rankel, now in his seventh season with Eisbaeren Berlin, scored a career high 25 goals from 54 games in the DEL this term. 

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Erstwhile Washington Capital forward STEFAN USTORF (14) sees the puck that German Olympian ANDRE RANKEL (24) has redirected bulge the back of the net for Eisbaeren Berlin’s first goal against Augsburg in the DEL quarterfinal opener. (DPA/tagesspiegel.de)

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Rankel then assisted as Roach, the former Ferris State University rearguard, rifled a shot home from the blueline to extend the Eisbaeren lead with 9:23 elapsed in the match.

Roach, playing his third season for the Polar Bears, also has spent four seasons with Adler Mannheim in addition to a year skating for the Krefeld Pinguine in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The 36-year-old had returned to Germany and signed for Berlin in the summer of 2006 after a season split between the St. Louis Blues and it’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen, as well as SC Zurich of Switzerland’s Nationalliga A.

Augsburg did answer five minutes plus two seconds later. DARIN OLVER, a New York Rangers’ 2nd round pick who signed to play in Germany after completing his studies at Northern Michigan University, lit the lamp following vorarbeit (before work) from BRETT ENGELHARDT and COLIN MURPHY, former teammates at Michigan Tech University.

The near-capacity crowd of 14,000 at the 02 World Arena in Berlin saw no more goals from the remainder of the match, however.

The Germans’ third-string goaltender at the Vancouver Games, Endras, enjoyed an outstanding evening despite defeat and ended with 36 saves for the Augsburg Panthers. But, the native Canadian and by-now-naturalized German at the other end for Eisbaeren was even better. Zepp, a four-year veteran of the ECHL’s Florida Everblades, blocked 34 of 35 Augsburg’s attempts-on-goal.

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ANDRE RANKEL butts heads with Eisbaeren Berlin's heroic goaltender, ROB ZEPP, at the conclusion of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga quarterfinal match versus Augsburg Panthers at the O2 World Arena. In the foreground is Eisbaeren's retiring veteran, DENIS PEDERSON (20), who has bagged four German championships in Berlin. (Bild.de photo)

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ERC Ingolstadt's American defenseman TIM HAMBLY (#14, dark shirt) and Koelner Haie's Swedish forward DANIEL RUDSLATT (#14, white shirt) haggle for possession of the puck behind the net at Saturn Arena in Bavaria. ERC Ingolstadt elminated Koelner Haie two games to one and advance to the quarterfinals of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga playoffs. (Stefan Jonat/Eishockey.Info)

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German Olympic forward THOMAS GREILINGER snapped a 3-3 stalemate with less than seven minutes to go in the winner-take-all match as ERC INGOLSTADT advanced to the Deutsche Eishockey Liga playoff quarterfinal round with a 6-3 win over visiting KOELNER HAIE in Bavaria.

Slovak international IVAN CIERNIK had given the Cologne a 2-0 first period lead with a pair of goals for a promising Shark start this Palm Sunday. The one-time Portland Pirate struck a second time on the power play after Ingolstadt’s TYLER BOUCK was bounced from the game for a hit to the back of Czech DUSAN FROSCH’s head. Bouck, the 30-year-old, two-time Canadian IIHF World Junior international and former second round draft choice of the Dallas Stars, signed for ERC Ingolstadt this past off-season after two years in American Hockey League with the Portland Pirates.

Ingolstadt rallied at home to even the score in the second period at the Saturn Arena (attendance – 3,426), however.

German MICHAEL WAGINGER, with the man-advantage, and former University of Minnesota Golden Gopher BEN CLYMER were able to lift the Bavarian club out of the hole heading into the final frame. 

The defenseman Clymer presented Ingolstadt with their initial lead of the matinee match on the power play roughly three minutes into the third period. But ex-Michigan State University Spartan BRYAN ADAMS, an NCAA tournament champion a dozen years ago, brought Koelner Haie level just past the nine-minute mark.

Greilinger, who led the Deutsche Eishockey Liga with 38 goals during the regular season, shot Ingolstadt out front for good exactly four minutes later.

Former Philadelphia Flyers second round pick PAT KAVANAGH converted a pass from Clymer past Koelner Haier netminder NORM MARACLE with three minutes minus one second remaining to increase the Ingolstadt margin and effectively seal matters.

German Olympic defenseman JAKUB FICENEC tacked on an empty-netter with nineteen seconds to go.

The 31-year-old Clymer, a former second round selection of the Boston Bruins and veteran of 438 National Hockey League contests, last played in North America with the AHL’s Hershey Bears before leaving to link with Belarussian club Dynamo Minsk to start the 2008-09 campaign. In his first year with Ingolstadt this season, the United States international totaled eight goals and 32 points in 37 DEL games.

Clymer was Herculean with his two goals, four points versus the Sharks and was easily selected as the man of the do-or-die playoff match by the official website of the Detusche Eishockey Liga, www.del.org.

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ERC Ingolstadt forward PAT KAVANAGH (15) confronts Koelner Haie netminder NORM MARACLE (34) at the side of the goal in win-or-go home German league playoff action. (del.org photo)

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KOELNER HAIE could not take advantage of its opportunity on home ice and allowed ERC Ingolstadt to even the Deutsche Eishockey Liga quarterfinal qualification series with a 3-2 victory in overtime at the Lanxess Arena.

Czechoslovak-born German Olympic defenseman JAKUB FICENEC, who played junior hockey in British Columbia before skating 125 games (24 go 27 as, 51 pts, 77 pim) for the Portland Pirates in the American Hockey League at the beginning of the millenium, found the back of net for Ingolstadt in the 14th minute on the power play.

Ingolstadt once again applied a great deal of pressure in the opening period, but, once again, as in the playoff opener, Koelner Haie goalkeeper NORM MARACLE managed to keep his club in the match with fifteen saves.

Five seconds following the midpoint of the game, forward RICK GIRARD added another goal for Ingolstadt, again with a Cologne Shark seated in the penalty box. For Girard, the former Canadian junior international who spent three seasons with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch (159 ga, 44 go 62 as, 106 pts, 74 pim) in the mid-1990s, it marked his second goal in as many games against Maracle. The Sharks’ puckstopper, of course, put in four AHL seasons himself in the mid-90s for the Adirondack Red Wings.

Koelner Haie did respond in the second half of the second period.

Mid-season free agent signing MARC CHOUINARD, who hit the post in the 32nd minute, drew Cologne within one with a goal five minutes from the end of the second session. Chouinard collected his first DEL playoff goal after a fine pass from the Czech forward DUSAN FROSCH.

With less than a minute to go in the middle period, Norwegian Olympic defenseman MATS TRYGG tied the score with the Sharks skating on the man-advantage.

In the third, Maracle was again a major factor with a further fourteen saves; the one-time Stanley Cup winner enjoyed another outstanding game for Koelner Haie and ended with an even 50 saves for the night. Meanwhile, German Olympic goaltender DMITRI PATZOLD rebounded from a dreadful performance in the playoff opener and also kept a cleansheet for ERC Ingolstadt. The former San Jose Sharks farmhand finished with 29 saves.

Thus, an extra session was required.

Ingolstadt dominated overtime as evidenced by the lopsiped 7-1 shots-on-goal total. Trygg would take a controversial penalty for Koelner Haie at the 8:18 mark of overtime. And so, with just 27 seconds left in added time, Ficenec facilitated the winner for Ingolstadt with his second goal of the game and tied the playoff series with Koeln at one win apiece.

A crowd of 9,293 turned out what for could be the final game of the season at the 18,500-seat Lanxess Arena Friday night in Cologne.

A final, winner-take-all match between Koelner Haie and ERC Ingolstadt will be contested Sunday at the SATURN ARENA in Ingolstadt, Bavaria.

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One Cologne Shark leapfrogs another during Deutsche Eishockey League playoff action at the Lanxess Arena. At left for Ingolstadt is former University of Minnesota defenseman BEN CLYMER (7), a veteran of 438 NHL games (52 go 77 as, 129 pts, 367 pim) for the Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals. Clymer arrived in Germany to start this season from Belarussian club Dynamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League. (Bild.de photo)

10th seed KOELNER HAIE (Cologne Sharks) received six goals from six different players and stormed to a surprise 6-1 opening-game victory on the road over 7th-seeded ERC Ingolstadt on the road in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga playoffs.

Cologne coach BILL STEWART made a significant move by benching Swiss international goaltender LARS WEIBEL, who had appeared in 48 (3.12 avg, 90.6 sv pct) of the Sharks’ 56 regular season contests.

Replacement netminder NORM MARACLE, a former Stanley Cup winner with the Detroit Red Wings, enjoyed an oustanding match and finished with 33 saves. The 35-year-old veteran, who arrived in January from Croatian club HK Olimpija Ljubljana of the Austrian Erste Bank Eishockey Liga, was of paramount importance in the opening period. Maracle kept ERC Ingolstadt off the scoreboard as the Sharks were heavily outshot 18-6 in the opening twenty minutes.

Maracle had played just five DEL games for Koeln (3.22 avg) and entered the playoff tie with ERC Ingolstadt sporting an 0-3 won-loss record in between the pipes for die Haie.

Ingolstadt did score eighteen seconds into the middle frame thru former Vancouver Canucks 1993 2nd round draft choice RICK GIRARD. But, the Sharks would respond with four second period goals despite again being outshot for the session. IVAN CIERNIK, BRYAN ADAMS, JASON JASPERS and CHRISTOPH MELISCHKO all lit the lamp for visiting Koeln. 

Die Haie, who reported played a very aggressive and physical match, added third period tallies from DANIEL RUDSLATT and CHRISTOPH ULLMANN.

Adams, Jaspers, Ullman and German Olympic forward MARCEL MUELLER, who mustered a pair of assists, all collected two points for Cologne in the contest.

“That was the first step, but Friday is a new day,” Stewart stated after the game. “Norm Maracle was the difference today.”

Cash-strapped Koelner Haie can put away ERC Ingolstadt in the short, best-of-three mini-series and advance to the quarterfinals of the DEL playoffs with a victory on Friday at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne.