“All in all, we can take a lot from the tournament as a whole. We have to manage the game with the puck better and not give up the puck so quickly so that we can get back into the attacking zone,” said defender and part-time captain Gerd Kragl the two-day friendly tournament in Nuremberg.
Karlovy Vary one size too big
The Steinbach Black Wings started the game ambitiously against the Czech extra-league team from Karlsbad. After just a few seconds, the Upper Austrians were allowed to start with a majority and found good chances through Dennis Sticha and Martin Schumnig, which, however, could not be converted into goals. On the other side, the Czechs hit ice cold in the second chance of the evening through Hladonik (11./pp). The response from Linz followed practically immediately: Shawn St-Amant picked up speed in the 11th minute of the game and served the disc to Michael Haga to the far corner, where the Norwegian only had to insert it to make it 1-1. Linz missed further opportunities in the first section. In the second third, the Czechs increased the pressure. Several counter opportunities were left and the decision was postponed to the third section.
In the 42nd minute, a Beranek attempt was unluckily deflected into his own goal by a Linz skate. Just a minute later, Koblasa completed a counterattack to make it 3-1 for Karlovy Vary. The 1: 4 from Linz’s point of view by Vondracek happened at a time when Tirronen had already left his goal (58th).
“We started well, but then unfortunately took too many penalties. The lads showed a lot of commitment again today and Rasmus kept us in the game for a long time in goal. The penalties cost us a lot of energy and gave them momentum,” said Assistant coach Jürgen Penker after the game.
Dennis Sticha: “The effort we put in was good. It was exactly what we set out to do. Little things didn’t add up, we have to work on that. We can be satisfied with our performance, but we hurt ourselves with the penalties.”
Overtime loss to league rivals
Because hosts Nuremberg beat the Vienna Capitals 4-0 on Saturday, the Black Wings and the Vienna Capitals faced each other on Sunday. The league competitor from the capital got off to a slightly better start in the game and had two good chances in the early stages through Wall, Hartl, Fischer and Rotter, but Linz goalie Thomas Höneckl was able to thwart them. It took the Black Wings a long time to find controlled ways into the offensive zone. This was done properly for the first time in the 18th minute when Martin Schumnig found Michael Haga with a cross pass and he netted to make it 1-0.
Spurred on by the lucky opening goal, the people of Linz showed themselves better from the middle section. Brodie Stuart and Logan Roe found opportunities, but Gerd Kragl took advantage of them: In the 29th minute, the defender made it 2-0 for Linz after a shot by Roe. The luck didn’t last long though. In the 31st minute, Wien scored a goal through Hartl. The Caps then increased the intensity and made it 2-2 through Sheppard (39 ‘). In the goalless final third, Emilio Romig (47′, 51’) had two chances to decide the game in favor of Linz, but failed twice. In the final third, Linz was closer to the winning goal than in the following overtime. They dominated the capitals, who scored the game-winning goal through Zimmer in the 64th minute.
For the Capitals, it was the second win in six friendly games this preseason.
Premiere for Kragl
Captain Brian Lebler was rested on Sunday. For the 34-year-old, defender Gerd Kragl took over the captaincy for the first time, complete with a “C” on his chest. “It was exciting and a great honor for me to captain my hometown club,” said the 25-year-old after the game. Kragl is the first player who grew up in Linz since the turn of the millennium to captain the Black Wings on the ice. But his goal has nothing to do with extra motivation.
Source: Nachrichten
