Release from 03.02.2023
There was a lot of action in the 46th round of the win2day ICE Hockey League. Champion EC Red Bull Salzburg had no problems in a 4:1 home win against the HC Pustertal and is also on top of the table for the first time since October 2nd, as previous league leader HCB Südtirol Alperia lost 2:5 at home to the EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV. For the South Tyroleans it was the first defeat after seven wins in a row before. In front of their home crowd they lost for the first time since December 11th. Back then, as well as today, the VSV was the opponent. With the EC-KAC, the second Carinthian team was also able to celebrate. The KAC won 4:3 away at Hydro Fehérvár AV19 and is back in the Top-6 due to the home defeat of the spusu Vienna Capitals against HK SZ Olimpija. Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey is on the best way to reach the Pre-Playoffs, celebrating the fifth win from the last six games.
Champion EC Red Bull Salzburg are at the top of the win2day ICE Hockey League for the first time since October 2nd. The Red Bulls had no problems in their 4:1 home win against the HC Pustertal and laid the foundation for their seventh success in a row already in the first period, with three goals from Florian Baltram, Niki Heigl and captain Thomas Raffl. Due to Bolzano's home defeat against Villach, Salzburg is now one point ahead of the South Tyroleans, with also one game less played. Pustertal remains in eleventh place and is two points behind tenth-placed Graz, which was free from play.
The HCB Südtirol Alperia, on the other hand, saw a seven-game winning streak come to an end on Friday at home against the EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV. For the Villach team it was the third win in the fourth duel of the season. Also the last duel in Bolzano, on December 11th, the eagles could win (3:1). It was also the last home defeat for the Foxes before Villach ended a nine-game winning streak on Friday night. Man of the match was Anthony Luciani. The Canadian scored three goals for the fourth-placed team, which now has a 15-point lead over seventh-placed Vienna. It was the first hat trick of the season for Luciani, who now has 21 goals scored this season.
Big points for the KAC
In a hotly contested game in Székesfehérvár, the EC-KAC beat Hydro Fehérvár AV19 with 4:3 and is now back in the Top-6. Fehérvár missed the chance to get closer to the Top-6 and is now eight points behind the KAC. Mike Zalewski stood out for the Klagenfurt team with a brace. For the center, who scored to make it 3:2 and 4:2, it was the first goals at the EC-KAC. At the beginning of the season, the US American was still playing in Graz. In the first period, the home side took the lead twice (1:0 & 2:1). In the final period, Anze Kuralt scored in the fourth minute to make it 3:4, but KAC goalkeeper Sebastian Dahm saved all other shots. The shot statistics in the final period was 15:4 for Fehérvár.
Olimpija surprises Capitals
The KAC also benefited from a defeat of the spusu Vienna Capitals, who lost 1:3 to HK SZ Olimpija and thus slipped from sixth to seventh place. For Olimpija, twelfth in the table, it was the first win after nine defeats in a row before. The last time they were victorious in the ICE was on New Year's Day. The Capitals conceded already the third defeat in a row. Already tomorrow, Saturday, they have to deal with last-placed Pioneers Vorarlberg. With a win, the Viennese could temporarily move back into the top 6. Currently they are two points behind the KAC. In Olimpija's victory, goalkeeper Zan Us was particularly convincing, saving 45 shots. Rok Kapel (17.), Miha Zajc (42.) and Jaka Sturm (59./EN) provided the goals for the Slovenians.
In the fifth game of the day, Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey beat the Steinbach Black Wings Linz 4:1 at home. For the league newcomer it was the fifth win from the past six games and the first victory over the Black Wings in the fourth duel of the season. Ranked ninth in the table, the Italians are already seven points ahead of the eleventh place and are thus well on their way of reaching the pre-playoffs. The Black Wings, who conceded their third defeat from the past four games, are fifth and only four points ahead of the seventh place. The goal of the evening on Friday was scored by Allan McShane, who once outplayed the entire Upper Austrian defense in the power play and scored in the 15th minute to make it 1:0.
WIN2DAY ICE HOCKEY LEAGUE | 03.02.2023:
SPUSU VIENNA CAPITALS – HK SZ OLIMPIJA LJUBLJANA 1:3 (0:1, 1:0, 0:2)
REFEREES: NAGY, SOOS, KIS-KIRALY, RIECKEN. | Spectators: 3050
Goals VIC: 1:1 Finkelstein B. (36.)
Goals HKO: 0:1 Kapel R. (17.), 1:2 Zajc M. (42.), 1:3 Sturm J. (59./EN)
EC RED BULL SALZBURG – HC PUSTERTAL 4:1 (3:0, 0:1, 1:0)
REFEREES: FICHTNER, SMETANA, DURMIS, JEDLICKA. | Spectators: 2711
Goals RBS: 1:0 Baltram F. (15.), 2:0 Heigl N. (17.), 3:0 Raffl T. (20.)
Goals PUS: 3:1 Andergassen R. (24.), 4:1 Huber M. (50./PP1)
HYDRO FEHÉRVÁR AV19 – EC-KAC 3:4 (2:2, 0:2, 1:0)
REFEREES: HRONSKY, ZRNIC, HRIBAR, VACZI. | Spectators: 2313
Goals AVS: 1:0 Mihaly A. (3.), 2:1 Horvath M. (11.), 3:4 Kuralt A. (44./PP1)
Goals KAC: 1:1 Witting M. (9.), 2:2 Lessio L. (20.), 2:3 Zalewski M. (22.), 2:4 Zalewski M. (32.)
MIGROSS SUPERMERCATI ASIAGO HOCKEY – STEINBACH BLACK WINGS LINZ 4:1 (2:0, 1:1, 1:0)
REFEREES: OFNER, STERNAT, PARDATSCHER, RIGONI. | Spectators: 1235
Goals ASH: 1:0 McShane A. (15./PP1), 2:0 Moncada L. (17.), 3:1 Magnabosco Aguirre J. (29./PP1), 4:1 Misley B. (51.)
Goals BWL: 2:1 Lebler B. (26.)
HCB SÜDTIROL ALPERIA – EC IDM WÄRMEPUMPEN VSV 2:5 (1:0, 1:3, 0:2)
REFEREES: HUBER, TRILAR, BASSO, MIKLIC. | Spectators: 3420
Goals HCB: 1:0 Thomas C. (8./PP1), 2:2 Gazley D. (29.)
Goals VSV: 1:1 Luciani A. (22./PP1), 1:2 Luciani A. (24.), 2:3 Grafenthin D. (35.), 2:4 Kulda A. (48.), 2:5 Luciani A. (52.)