Iserlohn Rusters beat Grizzly Wolfsburg 3:2 at home on Sunday in the DEL, a result that felt unlikely given what both sides had been doing. We had backed the visitors at 44 per cent confidence and were wrong, and here's the thing — the match simply refused to go the way the form suggested. Iserlohn came out of five straight defeats with a win, something they hadn't managed since beating Krefeld 3:2 a week ago.
The visitors had looked comfortable enough in their own right, sitting seventh with four wins from seven games, but they arrived after a 5:0 hammering from Eisbären Berlin. By then Wolfsburg had already shown they could score — their 4:1 win over Mannheim was convincing — but they also conceded freely, losing 5:2 to Augsburg and 4:3 to Schwenningen. The game didn't open the way you'd expect from those numbers.
Iserlohn's own recent record tells a different story entirely. They had lost 11:4 to Straubing, then 6:1 to Mannheim, 4:0 to Berlin, and 3:2 to Augsburg. Seven games, one win, zero points — the table says nothing useful at this stage of the season, but the pattern was clear enough. They were second to everything until Sunday.
The three goals came at different stages, and to be fair the visitors pulled one back after Iserlohn had taken control. But once the hosts found a rhythm, Wolfsburg couldn't find a way through. They had chances, certainly, but they couldn't convert when it mattered. The final whistle came and the home side held on grimly.
What does this mean? Not much in the standings — both teams sit on zero points, the season has barely begun. But it ends a barren spell for Iserlohn and extends a losing streak for Wolfsburg that now includes that heavy defeat in Berlin. We thought the visitors would take control. We were wrong, and that's all there is to say about it.
