Release from 03.09.2022

Olimpija and Villach lose CHL opener | Bozen plays for tournament victory

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In their first appearance in the Champions Hockey League, HK SZ Olimpija suffered a narrow 3:2 defeat at TPS Turku. After Ljubljana took the lead, the Finns scored three goals within six minutes. EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV, on the other hand, had no chance against Färjestad BK.

The BEMER Pioneers Vorarlberg won 4:2 at home against the ECDC Memmingen Indians on Friday, also thanks to a strong middle period. In addition, HCB Südtirol Alperia won their semi-final at the Südtirol Summer Classic. The hosts advanced to the final with a shootout win against HC Ambrì Piotta from Switzerland. Moser Medical Graz99ers and EC-KAC, on the other hand, suffered narrow preseason defeats.

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HK SZ Olimpija was busy with defensive work from the start at TPS Turku, but did it well for the most part. After a goalless first period, Ljubljana took the lead in their CHL debut in the 32nd minute through Jaka Sodja. But the Finns turned the game around and made it 3:1 within six minutes. In the final period, the Dragons demanded everything from the favourites and reduced the score to 2:3 in the 43rd minute through Aljoša Crnović. Despite good offensive efforts, however, the equaliser was not to be found.

EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV, on the other hand, slid into a 0:7 defeat at Färjestad BK. The Swedes took the lead after just 25 seconds, which they gradually extended. The team from Villach could hardly make an offensive impact and had to admit defeat.

Bolzano in the final of the South Tyrol Summer Classic
HCB Südtirol Alperia met HC Ambrì Piotta in the semi-finals of the second edition of the Südtirol Summer Classic. After the Swiss took the lead on the powerplay in the tenth minute, Scott Valentine equalised soon after. In the middle period, the Foxes turned the game in their favour, with Luca Frigo scoring a wraparound while shorthanded. This lead lasted until the 59th minute, when the visitors managed to equalise with a sixth skater. In the penalty shootout, Daniel Mantenuto converted the twelfth penalty of the series for a much-celebrated white-red victory. The Bolzano side made it to the final after a strong team performance. The opponent will be determined on Saturday between HC Skoda Plzeň and Düsseldorfer EG (20:00). The final will take place on Sunday at 18:30 at the Sparkasse Arena.

Pioneers win, defeats for Graz and KAC
After a narrow test match defeat against the GCK Lions, the BEMER Pioneers Vorarlberg returned to winning ways on Friday. Tryout player Luka Maver gave the league newcomers the lead, but Memmingen managed to equalise before the first period break. In the middle period, Jack Jacome and Kevin Macierzynski scored to give the hosts a two-goal lead for the first time. Memmingen came close again, but Patrick Spannring finally made the score 4:2.

The Moser Medical Graz99ers were also defeated in their second test match in Slovakia. The Grazers - without Mario Altmann, Daniel Oberkofler, Daniel Woger, Erik Kirchschläger and Christian Engstrand - conceded the 0:1 against HC Banská Bystrica in the ninth minute. After goalie Nico Wieser reacted brilliantly twice in the middle period, the Styrians found the back of the net in the power play: Michael Boivin (30./PP2) scored with a shot under the crossbar. In the third period, the Graz team initially missed good chances and fell behind again in the 43rd minute. In the final minute, the Slovaks made it 3:1.

Despite an appealing performance and a 42:27 shots advantage, the EC-KAC had to concede defeat to the DEL club Augsburg Panthers with 1:2 on Friday evening. Lukas Haudum gave the Carinthians the lead in the 14th minute with a power play marker - it was the only goal in the first period. After the restart, Augsburg turned the game around within four minutes. The score remained that way until the final siren. The best chance to equalise was missed by Paul Postma, whose shot from the half-right only hit the metal.

Champions Hockey League:
TPS Turku - HK SŽ Olimpija 3:2 (0:0, 3:1, 0:1)
Färjestad Karlstad - EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV 7:0 (2:0, 2:0, 3:0)

Test matches:
HC Banská Bystrica - Moser Medical Graz99ers 3:1 (1:0, 0:1, 2:0)
BEMER Pioneers Vorarlberg - ECDC Memmingen 4:2 (1:1, 2:0, 1:1)
Augsburg Panthers - EC-KAC 2:1 (0:1, 2:0, 0:0)
HCB Südtirol Alperia - HC Ambri Piotta 3:2 SO (1:1, 1:0, 0:1, 1:0)