Krefeld Pinguine vs Valerenga

Krefeld struck first late in the opening period. Alexander Weiß converted from Adam Payerl at 19:11 to give the Pinguine a deserved 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

Vålerenga levelled just 34 seconds into the second period through Henrik Larsson, who scored unassisted at 20:34. But Krefeld responded immediately. Davis Vandane restored the lead on the power play at 21:44, fed by Marcel Müller, making it 2-1.

Vålerenga drew level again at 27:39 through Pontus Finstad (assist Gabriel Koch), but Newton restored Krefeld's lead within five minutes — scoring his first of the afternoon at 32:09 from Mathew Santos to make it 3-2. C.J. Suess doubled the advantage at 34:12 — assisted by Müller and Stuart Percy — to make it 4-2 after two periods.

Newton took over in the third. He scored an unassisted empty-net goal at 48:21 to make it 5-2, then completed his hat-trick on the power play at 49:53, finishing a feed from Philip Gogulla and Davis Vandane.

Vandane's power-play goal at 21:44 — just 70 seconds after Larsson had equalised — was the decisive sequence. Krefeld refused to let Vålerenga build momentum and instead punished a tripping penalty on Gabriel Koch to regain the lead inside two minutes of the second period. From that point, the Pinguine scored four of the remaining five goals.

• Max Newton (Krefeld Pinguine) — Player of the Match. A natural hat-trick (goals at 32:09, 48:21, 49:53) spanning even-strength, empty-net and power-play situations. Three goals on limited ice time, plus a minor penalty for tripping. His empty-net strike at 48:21 effectively sealed the contest.
• Davis Vandane (Krefeld Pinguine) — The Canadian defenceman scored the critical go-ahead power-play goal and added an assist on Newton's third. A +2 performance with no penalty minutes in 22:44 of ice time.
• Marcel Müller (Krefeld Pinguine) — The veteran forward logged two primary assists, setting up Vandane's power-play goal and Suess's second-period strike. Controlled play in all three zones.
• Alexander Weiß (Krefeld Pinguine) — Opened the scoring with a well-timed even-strength goal in the final minute of the first period, giving Krefeld the early advantage.

The period scores — 1-0, 3-2, 2-0 — tell the story of a team that grew stronger as the game progressed. Krefeld's power play converted 2 of 4 opportunities (50%), while Vålerenga failed to score on any of their 5 power-play chances. The Pinguine out-shot their opponents across all three periods, though exact shot totals were not published by the tournament organisers. Penalty discipline was a concern for Krefeld, who took 10 minutes in minors to Vålerenga's 8, but the penalty kill held firm.

This was the opening fixture of the Vierer-Turnier (four-team tournament) hosted by EV Landshut at the VR-Bank Landshut Arena. Krefeld Pinguine — preparing for the 2026-27 DEL2 season after finishing 2nd in the regular season in 2025-26 (113 points) — made a strong statement against Norwegian champions Vålerenga.

Both teams play again on Saturday 22 August: Krefeld face Kölner Haie at 14:00 local time, while Vålerenga take on tournament hosts EV Landshut at 18:00.

A comprehensive performance from Krefeld Pinguine, who showed far greater sharpness in the pre-season friendly setting than their Norwegian opponents. Newton's hat-trick was the headline, but the discipline on the penalty kill and the speed of response after conceding were equally encouraging signs for the DEL2 side's preparations. Vålerenga will need to tighten up defensively and improve their power-play execution ahead of their own league campaign.