Image: Jasmin Walter (APA/JASMIN WALTER)
One trophy cannot be stolen from Salzburg this season: The defending champions in the ICE Hockey League are the Austrian champions after beating the KAC in the semi-finals, because Black Wings conqueror HCB Südtirol was a foreign club in the second semi-final duel against Vienna Capitals has enforced.
The result of these two showdowns also means that Innsbruck’s “Haie”, who finished the regular season in third place behind Bozen and Salzburg, will take part in the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history. KAC and Vienna are looking through their fingers.
A cauldron in Bolzano
“The key to success is our defensive game, up front we have many different players and the class to score goals. That sets us apart,” said Salzburg captain Thomas Raffl, who finished a long and hard-fought series of finals on Maundy Thursday (7:30 p.m , Puls 24) in best-of-7 mode in the “Palaonda” in Bozen. There, the “Red Bulls” have to prepare themselves for a witch’s cauldron.
On Sunday, 6,249 fans whipped up the Italian series champion to a 3-2 victory over the Capitals, match winner was Daniel Frank 232 seconds before the siren (57th). On paper, Bolzano is a slight favourite. The “Foxes” won three of the four duels of the season, and they also have home advantage.
Source: Nachrichten
