The final first leg ends in a draw! – Hockey-News.info
The first final of the Austrian Ice Hockey League turned into a real ice hockey festival in Innsbruck. 1,748 fans experienced a gripping 2:2 between the Wattens Penguins and the Kapfenberger Kangaroos. The title will be decided next Saturday in Leoben.
What a memorable ice hockey day in Innsbruck. The first final of the newly founded Ö Eishockey Liga was officially introduced in the TIWAG Arena with the Austrian national anthem. The cracks of the WSG Swarovski Wattens Penguins and the Kapfenberg Kangaroos lined up for Part I of the exciting duel for the championship title. The Penguins had moved their home game for the first leg from the Watten Alpenstadion to Innsbruck’s Olympiaworld with the hope of a Tyrolean ice hockey festival and were not disappointed by the ice hockey fans: Exactly 1,748 spectators provided a sensational crowd in the final.
Right from the start, a gripping and exciting ice hockey match with a fight for every centimeter of ice develops. In contrast to many other playoff duels, this time more emphasis was placed on the defensive in the first few minutes. No wonder, with every minute played, you realized that there was only one goal left: the title! The two goalies – Oliver Zirngast with Kapfenberg and René Huber with the Penguins – kept their boxes clean in the first third.
The character of the game changes little in the second section either. No goals were scored initially, but the fans got to see a rousing first final. In the course of the middle third, the penguins should throw the instructions of their head coach Jaroslav Betka overboard for a few minutes. The Slovak analyzed the numbers before the game and recorded them: “According to my statistics and opponent analysis, Kapfenberg is better than us when it comes to the majority game. In five against five, however, we are very difficult to defeat. That’s why our bigger task is to stay away from the penalty box and play very disciplined. You don’t win games in the penalty box.”
Double strike brings Wattens the lead after two thirds
At first Taylor Holst didn’t stick to that and had to go to the penalty box for two minutes because of a stick hit. A few minutes later there was even a 5:3 majority opportunity for the Kapfenberg team, Paul Krammer and Daniel Frischmann were sitting in the Tyrolean cooler. The Styrians pushed for the lead, but Wattens fought back and survived this tricky situation. And as is so often the case in ice hockey, that gave wings to the team that had just survived being outnumbered.
After an attack down the right flank in a 2-1 situation, Valentin Schennach pulled away and hit a penguin to give the Wattens a 1-0 lead (39′). Just under a minute and a half later, the Tyrolean plays the copy of the attack from the first goal. Christoph Hörtnagl put a full wrist shot into the net to make it 2-0 exactly eight seconds before a third (40th) and brought the TIWAG Arena to a boil.
Before the last part of the game, Kapfenberg’s game coach Kris Reinthaler had to find the right words in the dressing room to mentally bring his cracks back into the party for the last 20 minutes after the double strike. And they succeeded: The kangaroos scored the goal after a nice move. Pierre Graf played the puck from behind the goal perfectly into the slot for Lukas Draschkowitz, who gave René Huber no chance with the 1:2 (47th). About three minutes later, Böhlerstadt cheered again. Stefan Trost took heart, made a short lap in the attacking third and finished to equalize 2:2 (50th).
Excitement in the closing stages: Wattens drew almost two and a half minutes before the end of a penalty, Mathias Kastner had to go out because of a hook. The Kapfenberg tried in excess to bring about the decision. But Wattens held the 2:2, which remained on the scoreboard until the final siren.
Following the game, a penalty shootout was carried out as provided for in the regulations in order to determine a winner for this game. The hosts prevailed 2-0 with goals from Lukas Schwitzer and Daniel Frischmann, while goalie René Huber saved all of the Kapfenberger penalty attempts. Should the second leg not take place due to medical precautions due to COVID-19, the Wattens Penguins would be champions of the Ö Eishockey Liga.
The eagerly awaited second leg in Leoben after this furious ice hockey festival in Innsbruck will take place next Saturday, March 19, 2022, at 7:00 p.m.
Ö Ice Hockey League – Playoff Finals
Final first leg:
WSG Swarovski Wattens Penguins vs. Kapfenberg SV Eishockeyclub 2: 2 (0: 0.2: 0.0: 2)
Sunday, March 13, 2022, 5:00 p.m., TIWAG Arena Innsbruck
Goal scorers Wattens Penguine: Valentin Schennach (38:02 min.), Christoph Hörtnagl (39:52 min.)
Goalscorers Kapfenberg Kangaroos: Lukas Draschkowitz (46:36 min.), Stefan Trost (49:24 min.)
Final second leg:
Kapfenberg SV Eishockeyclub vs. WSG Swarovski Wattens Penguins
Sat., March 19, 2022, 7:00 p.m., Leoben ice rink
www.eishockey.at