Bremerhaven took all three points against Iserlohn Roosters on Sunday, winning 2:1 in their DEL opening fixture at home. The result followed closely on the prediction that the hosts would prevail, though confidence sat at just 54 per cent. By then the outcome was already clear enough to settle the first-day debate.
Five points behind the early leaders, Bremerhaven moved into fifth place after their solitary win. Iserlohn dropped to ninth after the defeat, but with both sides having played only one game the table remains largely theoretical. The gap between them is negligible in a season this young.
The hosts had been building something through their first week of preparation. They beat Kreфельд Penguins 3:1 on Wednesday before losing 2:3 to the same side three days earlier. A 3:2 victory over ХК Олимпia and heavier wins against Криммишау and Мунтфилд rounded out the run-up. The pattern suggested a team finding its rhythm rather than dominating it.
Iserlohn's recent form told a different story. They lost 3:4 to ЕРЦ Ингольштадт on Wednesday but had bounced back with a 4:2 win over Кассель and another 4:2 against Нюрнберг Айс Тайгерс. A narrow 2:3 defeat to Крефельд followed, then a 1:2 loss to Либерец Белые Тигры. They had been scoring but not closing out games consistently.
The prediction model had flagged Bremerhaven as the slightly more likely outcome, and the final score reflected that lean. The hosts kept knocking on the door through the opening period before finding the breakthrough. Iserlohn pushed back but couldn't equalise.
Two points separate the sides now, though neither has played enough to matter much. The real test will come when the fixtures thicken and the early results stop looking like warm-ups.
