If ice hockey team goalkeeper Bernhard Starkbaum hadn’t been able to test himself a few hours before the opening face-off, the Vienna Capitals would have been lost in the all-important seventh play-off quarter-final against KAC and would already be on vacation.
The 36-year-old captured the surprising 3-2 win, dethroning the champions and the team from Vienna, shaken by numerous corona cases, in a frenzy of joy. The Caps had to provide no fewer than nine regular players, twelve players under the age of 25 surpassed themselves and created the “Miracle of Kagran”. “Incredible, I’m so proud. Everyone put themselves at the service of the team,” said captain Mario Fischer.
There is no time to take a breather. Already today (7.45 p.m., PULS 24) the club from the capital is a guest in the first of a maximum of seven semi-final matches against the big favorites from Salzburg.
For the “Red Bulls” around the loaned Black Wings captain Brian Lebler, not only the home advantage speaks, but also the statistics. The Mozart city-dwellers have won three of the four previous meetings of the season and are also ahead in play-off duels with 6:2. Salzburg may not be in the rhythm of the game, but after a nine-day break because of the clear 4-0 win over Znojmo, they are definitely fresh as a breath.
The same applies to the Hungarian series champion Fehervar, who is a guest at Villacher SV today (7:15 p.m.). The Eagles are in the last four for the first time in six years, thanks in part to former Linz champions maker Rob Daum, who breathed a sigh of relief after beating Ljubljana 4-1 in Game 7. “It’s something very special to win such a decisive match. It releases strength,” said the 64-year-old Canadian.
The rival from Klagenfurt would also have liked to enjoy this experience. Instead, a black series goes into overtime: since 2009, the KAC has not won a game 7 – four in total.
Source: Nachrichten
