Release from 02.04.2025

League top scorer Nick Petersen: “We knew we had to wear them down”

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The EC-KAC clinched its second consecutive final appearance with a 2-0 home win in the decisive seventh game against Steinbach Black Wings Linz on Tuesday night. Nick Petersen played a big part in this with his goal to make it 2-0. The Canadian scored a total of three goals in the series against the Upper Austrians. The 35-year-old, who has been the sole league top scorer in the current season since Tuesday evening with 61 points, is particularly proud of reaching the final.

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“Yes, it feels great. We knew it wasn't going to be easy, but we kept at it. Both of Linz's series went the full distance, and there was a lot of overtimes against Graz. We knew that we had to keep wearing them down with our fast game in order to win in the end - and that's exactly what happened,” said Nick Petersen after reaching the final.

His powerplay goal to make it 2:0 in the 54th minute was his 24th goal of the season. In total, the two-time champion has 61 points, making him the sole top scorer of the current season. John Hughes follows with 60 points, but cannot collect any more points. Of the players still active, only final opponents Peter Schneider (58 points) and Benjamin Nissner (57 points) can catch him.

In the final against EC Red Bull Salzburg, Petersen expects - as in the previous season - a duel at eye level: “Salzburg knows what it takes to win - and so do we. Last year, we were in the race for the title right to the end, so we have to learn from that. It's important to win the first game, take the lead in the series and then take the next step.”

This will be the Canadian's fourth final series with the EC-KAC. In his debut season in 2018-19, he won the championship title outright - as well as in the 2020-21 season. Last season, the KAC was narrowly defeated by Salzburg 3:4 in the series, with the decisive game seven ending 2:6. Petersen already has a total of 352 scoring points in 338 games for the KAC.

The final series will kick off on Friday at the Heidi Horten Arena in Klagenfurt.

Highlights semi-final 7: