Release from 27.03.2023

Vienna under pressure | Salzburg and KAC play for series lead

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The spusu Vienna Capitals are already under pressure in the third semifinal after two razor-thin losses to HCB Südtirol Alperia. EC Red Bull Salzburg is in a new situation for the reigning champions. After 17 playoff wins in a row, the Salzburgers are starting a playoff game for the first time after a tough defeat. The EC-KAC could even take the series lead on Tuesday.

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win2day ICE Hockey League | 28-03.2023 | Semifinal Game 3

EC Red Bull Salzburg - EC-KAC, 7:15 p.m.
Referees: FICHTNER, OFNER, Durmis, Riecken | PPV-Stream

Znojmo, Vienna, and Fehérvár twice - these were the teams EC Red Bull Salzburg swept consecutively across seasons in the playoffs of the win2day ICE Hockey League. 17 wins 0 losses was the impressive record of Salzburg until Sunday evening. Then the EC-KAC became the first team in two years to inflict a playoff defeat on the Red Bulls - and by a significant margin. The Klagenfurters set off offensive fireworks while remaining compact defensively. Until the 34th minute, the KAC built up a 5:0 lead and in the end prevailed 6:2. The KAC have faced such a situation 22 times in their club history in the best-of-seven semifinal series before Game 3 on Tuesday: 13 times they won the respective series after a 1-1 tie, in 14 cases the duel went to the team that won Game 3. Prior to Sunday's 2:6 loss in Klagenfurt, the defending champions had only lost by four or more goals twice in their 70 previous playoff games, both times in the Carinthian capital (0:4 on March 26, 2017 and 0:6 on April 1, 2021). However, the series score of 1:1 is quite a good omen for the Red Bulls from a historical point of view: So far, they have found themselves in this situation 17 times in "best-of-seven" series, with Salzburg ultimately winning 13 of these confrontations. Moreover, Salzburg wants to prolong its outstanding winning streak on its own ice: Head Coach Matt McIlvane's squad has won each of its last 14 home games. The EC-KAC still has to do without the long-term injured Johannes Bischofberger, Matt Fraser and Fabian Hochegger (all season-ending), also Thomas Koch is still not on the ice, but supports the coaching staff as an additional analyst from the stands.

HCB Südtirol Alperia - spusu Vienna Capitals 7:30 pm
Referees: PIRAGIC, ZRNIC, Nothegger, Seewald | LIVE on PULS 24 

HCB Südtirol Alperia seems to love playoff excitement in the win2day ICE Hockey League. The last four playoff games with Bolzano participation ended with only one goal difference - three of them in overtime. In three of the last four games, the Foxes presented themselves as ice-cold "finishers" - and celebrated victories - twice of them in the semifinals against the spusu Vienna Capitals. The Viennese now face a 0:2 in the "best-of-seven" series before the away game in Bolzano. A rather unusual starting situation for the Viennese. In their long playoff history, the Caps have trailed 0:2 only seven times. Only one of these seven series was won by the Viennese: In 2015, they were already down 0:2 in the quarterfinals against Fehérvár, before four wins in a row followed. In five of the seven cases in which the Viennese were down 0:2, they had to end the playoff series winless. The starting situation is even newer for Bolzano: In the history of the South Tyroleans, the Foxes have only led 2-0 in a "best-of-seven" series once: Namely, in Bolzano's very first playoff series in the 2014 quarterfinals against Fehérvár.

The third semifinal match between HCB Südtirol Alperia and the spusu Vienna Capitals will be broadcast LIVE on PULS 24 and in the free stream of our TV partner on Tuesday.