Release from 24.09.2024

Marco Pewal: “Anyone can beat anyone”

Short text 386 CharactersPlain text

The Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel kicked off the new season with a commanding 5:1 home win against HC Gherdeina valgardena.it. It is Head Coach Marco Pewal's third season with the Tyroleans and the 46-year-old is very satisfied with the start. In the interview, the Villach native also looks at the favorites in this campaign and talks about the next opponent, the Red Bull Hockey Juniors.

Press release 2321 CharactersPlain text

“Of course we're very happy, these are three important points for us. We started the game very well and, in my opinion, controlled the game very well for the full 60 minutes,” said Marco Pewal, analyzing the commanding 5:1 opening win against Gherdeina. Kitzbühel were already 3:0 ahead after 14 minutes. In the entire game, KEC goalkeeper Alexander Schmidt only had to face 17 shots on goal.

In the second game, the Tyroleans will face the Red Bull Hockey Juniors on Thursday. The Salzburg team started the season with a 2:1 away win at runners-up Cortina on Sunday. The Young Bulls thus managed at least a small revenge for the semi-final loss against the Italians last season. RBJ will play at home for the first time on Tuesday. Their opponents are the Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan.
Marco Pewal is expecting a tough away game against a young and hungry team on Thursday: “The Juniors have always been very difficult to play against in recent years, they have a young team with a lot of talents who are very hungry and very good skaters. They will play 60 minutes of very powerful hockey. It's going to be a difficult game, we have to make sure we play well defensively and be disciplined. We will certainly get our chances and we have to take advantage of them.”

In addition to the Juniors and his club Kitzbühel, Marco Pewal sees the EK Die Zeller Eisbären in particular as a promising contender for the first Alps Hockey League title for Austria. Nevertheless, the Carinthian believes that the Italian teams are once again the top favorites in the battle for the championship: “The league is once again very evenly matched, anyone can beat anyone. The Italian teams are certainly the favorites, but I also think that the Austrian teams are among the top teams. Zell am See has a very good squad and a very good coach in Marcel Rodman. I also have a lot of faith in the Juniors, who have reached the semi-finals in the past two years. Bregenzerwald is also an unpleasant opponent. They played very well last year, surprisingly for many. I don't think Bregenzerwald will make it to the top, but they're definitely a very dangerous team.”

Watch the game between the Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel and Red Bull Hockey Juniors live on www.valcome.tv on Thursday at 19:15.