Tommaso Traversa: “We have to win in Klobenstein"

It was a tough loss in game two, after conceding the equalizer with 22 seconds left and the game winning goal by Ritten in the 93rd minute. Can you again lead us through the game and point out the key moments?
There is some bitterness in our mouths because of the way the game went. We were one step away from tying the series and had our fate in our hands. We complicated life for ourselves, besides the bad luck of some episodes. Ritten punished us in all five goals we conceded because we made mistakes. They were good at taking advantage of our shortcomings. It should not be like that at this point in the season. But despite the outcome of game two, we always remain confident.

Your powerplay worked well in regulation, what happend in OT?
I would say we did a good job during the game. Then in overtime we talk about two clear powerplay situations. In one we built up the things we needed to do. In the second powerplay we were not clear.

Will it be up to the special teams on Tuesday night too?
We need to take advantage of our chances as we did in the second game and stay off the penalty box as much as possible. Ritten is a mix of experienced and young players. They play a very simple but very concrete game. They play until the last second. In the semifinals they recovered a 1:3 disadvantage in the series against Sterzing and that shows all their great potential.

It was a long game. How important is recovery between two games?
Coming to this point in the final, it is just a matter of recovering mental fatigue. We have to put what happened behind us and in a very fast way. Of course losing in the 93rd minute hurts a lot. But it doesn't matter the minute you lose. In the playoffs only the end result matters and how many games you won.

You guys did not lose any road game in the quarter and semifinals. How can you come back on winning ways and manage to shift the momentum?
Every series is different. If we analyze the two final games, we lost the second one after a long overtime and also in the first one we could have taken the match to overtime. We didn't succeed but that doesn't mean something has been decided already. We have to win in Klobenstein and that remains our task. Even if we went down by three it would not be the end of the world. Cortina always remains in the game until the fourth loss comes. We must not let the first two challenges affect us. Tuesday will be another challenge and we will focus on that. The rest doesn't matter. Last year we overcame ourselves against Jesenice and we lost during the overtime of game six and no regrets. In this final against Ritten we had a bad start but we can get back on the right track.

Watch final three between the Rittner Buam SkyAlps and S.G. Cortina Hafro on Tuesday from 20:00 live on valcome.tv.