Black Wings unstoppable, even by the former leader | Bozen back on top

Black Wings secure seventh straight win
The Steinbach Black Wings Linz extended their winning streak to seven games on Wednesday night with a clutch road win over the league leaders. The hosts from Székesfehérvár had the better start, taking the lead in the eighth minute. However, the Black Wings tied it up later in the first period with Marcel Witting’s first goal of the season. Fueled by the equalizer, the Upper Austrians stepped up their game, pulling ahead to a 3-1 lead by the 33rd minute. Though Fehérvár managed to cut the deficit twice in the second period, they couldn’t find the tying goal. The Black Wings held on for a 4-3 victory, keeping them within striking distance of the league’s top teams. Veteran forward Brian Lebler was the player of the game, registering a two-goal performance along with an assist. (Before the game, the win2day ICE Hockey League published an interview with Lebler discussing the Black Wings’ resurgence. >> Read the full story here.)

Bozen reclaims top spot in dramatic shootout
HCB Südtirol Alperia regained the top position in the win2day ICE Hockey League standings after Round 22. Their hard-fought victory came in a thrilling shootout against EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV. The South Tyroleans struck first, opening the scoring in the seventh minute, but were repeatedly denied by VSV goalie Ali Schmidt, who made his season debut that night. Villach rewarded themselves for a strong final period with a power-play goal to tie the game. Schmidt’s heroics between the pipes kept the Eagles alive through overtime, pushing the game to a shootout. The penalty shootout proved dramatic: Villach faced elimination before Benjamin Lanzinger converted two consecutive penalty shots to keep them alive. Matt Bradley ultimately sealed the win for Bozen as the seventh shooter, bringing them back to the top of the standings.

Sharks upset KAC
HC TIWAG Innsbruck pulled off a 4-3 home upset over EC-KAC, staying within reach of the mid-table pack. After a scoreless first period, the hosts dominated the second, scoring three goals in just five minutes to seemingly take control of the game. KAC, however, mounted a comeback in the final period, with Mathias From making it 4-3 with just over a minute left on the clock. Innsbruck held on for the win, snapping Klagenfurt’s three-game winning streak. It was also the first road loss for KAC after four consecutive away victories.

Graz99ers back on track
After a winless weekend, the Moser Medical Graz99ers returned to form with a convincing home win over Olimpija Ljubljana. The Styrians controlled the game from the opening faceoff, generating numerous scoring chances. Sam Antonitsch broke the deadlock in the seventh minute, giving Graz the lead in front of their home crowd. After a scoreless second period, Lukas Haudum extended the lead to 2-0 on a power play. Ljubljana responded with a goal of their own shortly after, but Lukas Kainz sealed the game with a shorthanded goal.

Salzburg extends winning streak
EC Red Bull Salzburg continued their winning ways, picking up their seventh consecutive victory in a competition game. Hosting the Pioneers Vorarlberg in the ORF Game of the Week, the reigning champions faced early resistance. Despite outshooting the Pioneers, Salzburg trailed after a power-play goal by the visitors. Lucas Thaler leveled the score before the first intermission, and the Red Bulls took over in the second period with three unanswered goals to effectively put the game away. Salzburg cruised to a 5-1 victory, with Mario Huber netting a pair of goals.

Asiago wins third straight in the Classico
Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey extended their winning streak to three games with a 3-2 overtime victory over HC Pustertal in the Classico. Early on, it looked like the South Tyroleans might snap their losing streak, as they built a 2-0 lead by the 29th minute. However, the Yellow-Reds fought back to force overtime, where Jason Fram netted the game-winner. With their third straight win, Asiago climbed into the top 10 of the win2day ICE Hockey League standings.

win2day ICE Hockey League, 27.11.2024:
Moser Medical Graz99ers – Olimpija Ljubljana 3:1 (1:0,0:0,2:1)
Referees: HRONSKY, OFNER, Bärnthaler, Jedlicka
Goals G99: Antonitsch (7.), Haudum (47./pp1), Kainz (58./sh1)
Goals OLL: Masic (51.),

EC Red Bull Salzburg – Pioneers Vorarlberg 5:1 (1:1,3:0,1:0)
Referees: BERNEKER, SIEGEL, Riecken, Wimmler
Goals RBS: Thaler (19.), Huber (26./pp1;49.), Schreiner (27.), Nissner (39.)
Goals PIV: Macdougall (16./pp1)

EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV – HCB Südtirol Alperia 1:2 S.O. (0:1,0:0,1:0)
Referees: KAINBERGER, ZRNIC, Hribar, Zgonc
Goals VSV: Rebernig (50./pp1)
Goals HCB: Frank (7.), Bradley (65./ps.)

Hydro Fehérvár AV19 – Steinbach Black Wings Linz 3:4 (0:0,3:0,1:3)
Referees: REZEK, SMETANA, Gatol-Schafranek, Jeram
Goals AVS: Cheek (8.), Kuralt (43.), Brown (53.)
Goals BWL: Witting (16.), Lebler (22.;49./pp1), Feldner (33.),

HC TIWAG Innsbruck – EC-KAC 4:3 (0:0,3:0,1:3)
Referees: SCHAUER, STERNAT, Martin, Sparer
Goals HCI: Bär (35.;51.), Grasso (39./pp1), Hirano (40.),
Goals KAC: Fraser (44.), Larsen (53.), From (59.)

HC Pustertal – Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey 2:3 O.T. (1:0,1:1,0:1)
Referees: GROZNIK, HUBER A, Pardatscher, Rigoni
Goals HCP: Frycklund (2.), Andergassen (29.),
Goals ASH: Ierullo (31.), Magnabosco (54.), Fram (65.)

Foto (c) Soos Attila