Leader Salzburg after 5: 4 at KAC still in the ICE victory frenzy
EC Red Bull Salzburg extended their winning streak in the ICE Hockey League in their last appearance before Christmas. The table leaders celebrated a narrow 5-4 win at the KAC, winning for the fifth time in the series and building on their rival Olimpija Ljubljana. Like the Klagenfurters, the ex-third Vienna Capitals conceded a 2: 3 defeat at Hydro Fehervar with just one goal difference and was overtaken by the Hungarians.
At home, HC Innsbruck was surprisingly clearly defeated by the penultimate Dornbirn Bulldogs with 1: 5. Black Wings Linz also gave a sign of life, with a 4: 3 win at Villacher SV. In the third South Tyrol derby of the season, the first in the Bolzano ice wave, hosts HCB Südtirol lost 3-2 to the Pustertal Wölfen after a 2-0 lead.
The KAC duel against Salzburg kept the promise to be exciting again. As in the first duel in Klagenfurt (3-2 after extra time), Salzburg just had the upper hand. In Salzburg, the Carinthians had left the ice 3-2 after a penalty shoot-out as the winner. The Salzburg lengths already in the first third and brought the lead despite the highly explosive final phase over time. Peter Schneider with his third double of the season (21st, 35th), Jan-Mikael Järvinen (20th / PP), Benjamin Nissner (25th) and Thomas Raffl (39th) made the decision.
For the home side, goals from Thomas Hundertpfund (25th), Daniel Obersteiner (30th), Thomas Vallant (40th) and Manuel Geier (54th / PP) were too few to take away anything countable. That too, since Salzburg’s goalie JP Lamoureux showed strong saves in the finish. The “Bulls” scored points in their twelfth game in a row. The KAC lost again after the 1: 4 against the Graz99ers.
The “Caps” fell 2-0 down in Szekesfehervar in the second section. Afterwards, goals from Patrick Antal (43.) and Nicolai Meyer (52./PP) equalized, but Andrew Sarauer (58.) thwarted the guests.
Innsbruck lost for the second time in a row at home after a 3-2 draw against Graz on Friday. Davis Vandane put Vorarlberg in the front after just 14 seconds. The Tyroleans were able to quickly equalize with top scorer Tim McGauley (5th) and had more of the game in the first third, but after the restart they suffered another setback. This time, Sam Antonitsch (22nd) and Philipp Pöschmann (23rd) managed a double strike before Colton Beck (35th) followed up. Simeon Schwinger (54th) was responsible for the final point.
Linz prevented the eighth defeat in a row, thus setting an inglorious negative record in club history. Julina Pusnik became the match winner with the decisive goal in the 50th minute.