They exist – those games in which you try everything but the puck just won’t find its way into the net. In ice hockey circles, people (un)like to talk about the fact that the hex sticks to the stick. Sunday was such a frustrating evening for the Steinbach Black Wings, who had to admit defeat to the Graz 99ers 0:4 (0:1, 0:2, 0:1) in front of 2100 spectators in the Linz-AG-Eisarena.
That was a mood dampener after the acclaimed 2-1 opening win over Villacher SV, where Stefan Gaffal verbally rolled out the red carpet for the supporters. “We are so grateful to the fans for being there after these two tough years. They pushed us from the start. Unfortunately, we were not able to confirm the sense of achievement,” said the 25-year-old striker, who is with his colleagues at the the teeth of the strong Graz goalie Christian Engstrand.
All 31 shots from Linz fell prey to the 33-year-old Swede, who couldn’t be beaten in the middle of the third period when the Black Wings were twice as strong for 1:52 minutes (51st). At this point it was already 0:4.
The last hope of a turnaround was destroyed by a bad pass by Jakub Kubes, which led to the 0:3 12.1 seconds before the second siren (40th). It’s pretty bitter for the probated Czech, whose chances of getting his tryout contract extended were slim anyway.
It goes without saying that the Grazers, for whom Sam Antonitsch, the son of former tennis pro Alex Antonitsch, also entered the shooting list (0:2/35.), cannot take this into account.
Record champions KAC are still waiting for their first point after yesterday’s 2-1 defeat at Pioneers Vorarlberg, while defending champions Salzburg have a maximum of six points.
Source: Nachrichten
