Release from 22.03.2023

Hayden Hawkey: "I'm in top form right now"

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With 4:2 wins the Rittner Buam Sky Alps prevailed in the quarterfinals against the EC Die Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel. Last year's finalist HDD SIJ Acroni Jesenice is the next opponent in the semifinals. Goalkeeper Hayden Hawkey, who celebrated two shutouts against Kitzbühel, played a major role in the Buam's strong team performance. In the interview, the US-American looks back on the series against the Tyroleans. In addition, the 28-year-old explains what is important against Jesenice to move into the final.

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With a save percentage of 96.5%, Hayden Hawkey is currently the second-best goalie in the playoffs. Only Antti Karjalainen of semifinal opponent Jesenice has an even better save percentage (97.3%). The US-American did not concede a single goal twice against Kitzbühel. According to the 28-year-old, however, the decisive factor was Ritten's generally strong defense: "Our defense was very strong. We did a good job of keeping the opposing players away from the blue line. We always made it very difficult for Kitzbühel to finish and thus score goals."

Hawkey himself also played a big part in the victories with numerous eye-catching saves and feels that he is in absolute top form: "Yes, I think I'm in top form right now. You work towards the playoffs all season. Now is the best time of the year, it's a lot of fun right now."

Against Jesenice, Hawkey, who is playing in Europe for the first time, expects a close duel: "Both teams are in the semifinals and of course now they want to reach the final. It will certainly be a tough battle." With Antti Karjalainen, the Slovenians also have a top-level goalkeeper, who Hawkey says should be overcome with greasy goals: "We have to perform the same way as we did against Kitzbühel. That means we don't need nice goals to win. The main thing is that we get in front of goal and the puck goes in."

The third semifinal series between Jesenice and Ritten starts on Thursday at 19:00 in Jesenice, live on valcome.tv. Last year, the Slovenians prevailed in the semifinals with 3:1 victories, while in 2018 the Buam retained the upper hand with 3:1 victories. Subsequently, however, both teams were defeated in the finals.