Cole Maier’s offensive power brings victory for Nürnberg Ice Tigers against EHC Red Bull Munich.

If Cole Maier were ever asked to show a typical Cole Maier goal, then the Nuremberg Ice Tigers striker could safely pull out the one he scored in the derby against EHC Red Bull Munich on Saturday. First, the 29-year-old prevailed behind the Munich goal in a duel with the robust Chris DeSousa, then he moved in front of the goal and cleverly pushed the disc through Simon Wolf’s legs to make it 1-0 (18th). Strength in the duel combined with the drive to score and cool-headed finishing: This goal combined a lot of what defines the ice hockey player Cole Maier.

Maier’s opening goal paved the way for the Ice Tigers’ 4-1 victory, and his goal into the empty goal also left him with the final point. It was Nuremberg’s first three-point win in the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) since the end of October. The Franconians had recently developed into extra time experts; their previous eight games were all decided in extra time or a penalty shootout. Nuremberg coach Mitch O’Keefe was happy that this series is “finally over”.

A big factor in the Nuremberg game is the power play. Against Munich, Ryan Stoa made it 2-0 in the power play just 38 seconds after Maier’s 1-0. Munich coach Max Kaltenhauser praised the Ice Tigers power play as the “current best in the league”. Cole Maier is also a factor here, he is part of the first Nuremberg power play formation, which, in addition to Stoa, also includes Evan Barrett, the league’s top scorer, and Owen Headrick, one of the DEL’s strongest offensive defenders. This is one of the reasons why Maier is reliably shining in attack this season; he has already scored 13 goals, making him one of the top ten goalscorers in the league. What makes these goals even more valuable is that six of them were opening goals, i.e. they steered games in the right direction from Nuremberg’s perspective.

Sports director Stefan Ustorf had anticipated Maier’s development – and extended his contract despite a mediocre preseason

Maier’s development in offensive play was predicted by Stefan Ustorf. In March, Nuremberg’s sports director extended Maier’s contract, although the American’s offensive statistics last year (nine goals in 53 games) were by no means impressive. Maier had a much more defensive role under last year’s coach Tom Rowe, he was often on the ice against the best opposing lines with the task of taming them as best as possible. The first year in Europe on the larger ice surface than in North America did the rest. “I even had to learn ice hockey again,” said Maier about his first DEL season. Ustorf already sensed back then that things would break offensively in Maier’s second year. He was convinced that “Cole will show more offensive power in his second season with us,” he predicted when extending his contract.

That’s exactly how it happened. Maier worked his way up the Ice Tigers ranks and is now one of the top six strikers, i.e. one of those who also has to deliver offensively. And it delivers – like a comet hitting on second approach. Maier has retained his other qualities. With a rate of 58 percent of face-off wins, he is one of the best face-off players in the league, and his 27 blocks are the most among all DEL strikers. Maier continues to do important tasks for his teams that don’t necessarily show up in highlight videos. His diversity makes him particularly valuable for the Ice Tigers.

The derby defeat was a setback for Munich. Before Christmas they had gained momentum with three impressive wins in a row, but that has already slowed down again in terms of results. Three of the last four games were lost, two days before the defeat in Nuremberg there was another derby defeat at ERC Ingolstadt (2:3 after a penalty shootout). In both Bavarian showdowns there was a lack of offensive efficiency; with three goals from two games it is difficult to win in ice hockey. Coach Max Kaltenhauser saw his team in Nuremberg implement a lot of what they had set out to do: “except for scoring goals”. Things should get better this Monday in the home game against the Grizzlys Wolfsburg (7:30 p.m.).