Bolzano's winning streak ends in Linz

Bolzano's ten-game winning streak came to an end in Linz on Tuesday. In an intense and evenly-matched game, both defences put in a strong performance over long stretches. After both teams also failed to capitalise on two power plays each, the game was still goalless after the middle period. It took until the 57th minute for Matt MacKenzie to give the Steinbach Black Wings the lead. Bolzano had no answer that evening and conceded 0:2 in the final minute as Emilio Romig added an empty netter. The shutout means the Upper Austrians remain in first place behind league leaders Salzburg.

EC Red Bull Salzburg won their home game against Hydro Fehérvár AV19 with 4:1. The Red Bulls prevailed in a high-class game against the Hungarians, which was characterised by two equal first periods. The score was 1:1 going into the final period, in which Salzburg were very dominant in the almost sold-out ice arena. In the 47th minute, Ryan Murphy lit the lamp to give the hosts the lead for the first time. The Red Bulls continued on the offensive and Peter Hochkofler's second goal of the evening was the decider. In the end, the reigning champions won 4:1 - their 14th win in a row against the Hungarians.

Olimpija and Pustertal turn up the heat in the third period
EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV demonstrated its home strength in the game against Ljubljana - but only until the 26th minute. At that point, the Eagles led 4:1 after a Luciani goal, but Olimpija staged an impressive comeback and the Slovenians turned the game around with three goals within three minutes in the third period. In the end, they celebrated a 6:4 away win in which Ville Leskinen had a hat-trick and Nik Simsic scored twice. Olimpija improved to ninth place as a result.

HC Pustertal, on the other hand, extended their advantage to seventh place with a win at Pioneers Vorarlberg. However, the team from Feldkirch initially had more of the play and went ahead in the 23rd minute through Michael Pastujov. The South Tyroleans took control in the third period and equalised with Ryan Stanton's first goal of the season. In the 55th minute, Dante Hannoun even turned the game in favour of the visitors, who routinely protected the lead to the end.

KAC and Graz win after SO/OT
The EC-KAC returned to winning ways against Innsbruck, but had to work hard for it. The Tyroleans turned the hosts' 1:0 lead in their favour in the middle period with three goals within six minutes. However, Klagenfurt dominated the third period and equalised with goals from Fraser (50') and Jensen Aabo (57'). The score remained 3:3 after 65 minutes, with Lukas Haudum becoming the match-winner with two goals in the shootout.

In the duel between the two teams in last place, Graz prevailed against Asiago in overtime. After a goalless first period, the Styrians took the lead through Patrik Kittinger, Will Rapuzzi equalised for the visitors in the 56th minute. The game went into overtime, where both teams initially missed good chances. Then, Axel Wemmenborn scored 19 seconds before the end to decide the game after a major defensive error. With their third win in a row, Graz reduced the gap to Asiago and Vienna to four points.

win2day ICE Hockey League | 28.11.2023:
Moser Medical Graz99ers - Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey 2:1 OT (0:0, 1:0, 0:1)
Referees: FICHTNER, PIRAGIC, Bärnthaler, Zgonc.
Goals Graz: Kittinger (35.), Wemmenborn (65.)
Goal Asiago: Rapuzzi (56.)

EC-KAC - HC TIWAG Innsbruck 4:3 SO (1:0, 0:3, 2:0)
Referees: GROZNIK, NAGY, Muzsik, Vaczi.
Goals Klagenfurt: Herburger (9.), Fraser (50.), Jensen Aabo (57.), Haudum (dec. penalty)
Goals Innsbruck: Winkler (25.), Lattner (26.), Green (31.)

EC Red Bull Salzburg - Hydro Fehérvár AV19 4:1 (0:0, 1:1, 3:0)
Referees: HRONSKY, NIKOLIC K., Konc, Nothegger.
Goals Salzburg: Hochkofler (32., 51.), Murphy (47.), Schneider (60./EN)
Goal Fehervar: Terbocs (24.)

EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV - HK SZ Olimpija 4:6 (1:1, 3:1, 0:4)
Referees: SIEGEL, ZRNIC, Bedynek, Riecken.
Goals Villach: Maxa (3.), Wallenta (24.), Wall (26.), Luciani (26.)
Goals Ljubljana: Leskinen (12., 46., 48./PP), Simsic (38., 45.), Gooch (60./EN)

Steinbach Black Wings Linz - HCB Südtirol Alperia 2:0 (0:0, 0:0, 2:0)
Referees: SMETANA, STERNAT, Gatol-Schafranek, Seewald E.
Goals Linz: MacKenzie (57.), Romig (60./EN)

BEMER Pioneers Vorarlberg - HC Pustertal Wölfe 1:2 (0:0, 1:0, 0:2)
Referees: BERNEKER, SCHAUER, Pardatscher, Sparer.
Goal Pioneers: M. Pastujov (23.)
Goals Pustertal: Stanton (44.), Hannoun (55.)

Photo: Black Wings Linz/Eisenbauer