Nurnberg took it 5-3, and the middle frame was the hinge: down 1-2 after 20 minutes, the Ice Tigers won the second period 2-0 and never trailed again. Tyler Spezia's two goals, the second of them an immediate answer at 47 minutes, carried the night.
Austin Magera opened inside the first minute off a Greg Meireles feed, but Mannheim flipped it with Alexander Ehl at six and Max Penkin at 13 for a 1-2 lead after one. Spezia tied it at 28, Thomas Heigl put Nurnberg ahead on the buzzer at 40 with Jakob Weber assisting, and after Penkin drew Mannheim level at 47, Spezia restored the lead in the same minute for 4-3.
Spezia was the difference with two goals, including the decisive one assisted by Magera. Magera's line was a goal and an assist, both at the front and back end of the scoring; Penkin's unassisted pair was all Mannheim could muster in reply.