Ljubljana pursuers Fehrvar and Salzburg won
Olimpija Ljubljana’s two strongest pursuers took advantage of the slip of the table leader the day before in the ICE ice hockey league on Sunday and shortened the gap.
Fehervar defended second place with a 4-0 win at Black Wings Linz, while third-placed RB Salzburg also scored three points with a 6-3 home win against Innsbruck. Graz lost 2: 3 in Bozen, the KAC lost to Znojmo after a penalty shootout 2: 3.
After a long time and many injuries-related failures, Salzburg returned with the best line-up and reserved from the start. After an early lead by Paul Huber (3rd), the Red Bulls pulled away 4-1, but Die Innsbrucker Haie fought their way up to 3-4 until the second break. In the final third, however, Jan-Mikael Järvinen (44th) and Thomas Raffl (50th) bald head made the preliminary decision.
Fehervar also took the lead early in Linz (6./SH) and completed the clear victory in the final third. The new Linz coach Raimo Summanen, who started with a surprise win against leaders Ljubljana, has since lost all three games.
Master KAC suffered a defeat after the last five wins and field back to sixth place. South Tyrol took their first win in the second game after replacing coach Doug Mason. Two power play goals by Daniel Catenacci (39th) and Mike Halmo (45th) decided the game in favor of Bolzano, who came under real pressure in the finish.