Release from 05.04.2023

Finals with top-seeded teams start Thursday

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On Thursday the "best-of-7" final series in the win2day ICE Hockey League starts, with HCB Südtirol Alperia and EC Red Bull Salzburg playing for the title - and so the two best teams after Regular Season face each other. The South Tyrolean team won the regular season with eight points ahead of defending champion Salzburg. It is already the third final series between these two teams: both were decided only in the last possible game - both times HCB Südtirol Alperia won the championship.

ICE host broadcaster PULS24 will show all final games live and exclusively on free-TV, on the Zappn app and on www.puls24.at/eishockey. The broadcast of game one starts on Thursday at 7.05 pm.

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Win2day ICE Hockey League | “best-of-7”-Finalserie | Schedule:
Th, 06.04.2023, 7.30 pm: HCB Südtirol Alperia – EC Red Bull Salzburg
Referees: HRONSKY, NIKOLIC M., Durmis, Konc. | >> Free Livestream <<
Starting on Thursday, HCB Südtirol Alperia and EC Red Bull Salzburg will play their third final series against each other. For the first time the "Foxes”, which could win both previous finals against Salzburg, have home advantage. In the last ten years, only three times a team (BWL and twice KAC) could finally fix the title with a home victory. Bolzano needed twelve games to reach the final, Salzburg only nine. RBS forward Mario Huber (4G|9A) and HCB forward Dustin Gazley (6G|4A) have each been the top scorers for their teams in the playoff. Outstanding on both sides are the two goalies: Salzburg's Atte Tolvanen, past season’s playoff MVP, holds a postseason goals-against average of 1.36 and a 94.6% save percentage. Bozen's Sam Harvey is on par with that with a GAA of 1.56 and a save percentage of 93.9%.

    • Season record 22-23: 3 wins HCB | 1 win RBS
    • After missing the playoffs for the first time last season, the South Tyroleans clinched victory in the Regular Season this season - and made it to the final for the fourth time.
    • EC Red Bull Salzburg is in the final for the twelfth time, and seven times – most recently in the past campaign – the "Red Bulls" also took the title.
    • Bolzano has won the title twice. (2014 and 2018)
    • HCB has won twelve of its 17 playoff series, RBS 34 of 43.
    • Playoff duels since the league was founded:
      • F 2014 | 3:2 HCB (this game was played in best-of-5 mode).
      • F 2018 | 4:3 HCB
    • Thomas Raffl and Dominique Heinrich are the only two active EC Red Bull Salzburg players who played in both the 2014 and 2018 finals series - and are thus facing their third finals against Bolzano. Raffl collected four goals and two assists in the two finals series, the one five years ago he had to end early. Dominique Heinrich scored one goal and recorded five assists. Bolzano's Daniel Frank was already on the team in 2014, but did not play in any final game. In return, Enrico Miglioranzi played the final series in 2014, but he was absent in 2018. Currently, both teams have a total of ten players under contract (6 RBS, 4 HCB) who also played the finals in 2018.