Black Wings with big hearts and strong morals

When the Steinbach Black Wings made no secret of their title ambitions before the start of the ice hockey season, outsiders frowned in disbelief and felt their skepticism confirmed after the stuttering start. But now the Werkl is running at full speed, the people from Linz are on a real roll and are close to the top. Since September 29th, Philipp Lukas’ team has scored points in eight games in a row (including seven wins), and on Sunday the Upper Austrians won convincingly 5:2 (1:1, 2:0, 2:1) against a weak Vienna Capitals.

Super striker Graham Knott had his stick in play for four goals – the 26-year-old Canadian prepared three, and he was personally responsible for the final point into the empty Viennese net (59th). Knott now leads the ICE Hockey League’s scorers, with eleven direct hits and eight assists in eleven games. This is an outstanding yield.

Donated 500 euros

“The beginning was difficult, we were outnumbered three times and fell behind 0-1. Then we found a way to move forward in the game, play to our strengths and also score in the power play. I’m very happy,” said Lukas, who Before the opening face-off, his assistants Mark Szücs and Jürgen Penker received 50 of a total of 700 specially designed pucks. Markus Prinz, the OÖN’s Mister Liveticker, captured this in the picture.

The Black Wings didn’t miss out and bought the discs from the Viennese for a total of 500 euros, the proceeds of which will go to the family of former Capitals defender Ales Kranjc (42), who suffers from the incurable nervous disease ALS. This is not the first time that the exemplary Linz ice hockey family has helped people in need; that counts more than any victory. “Despite all the rivalry that connects the two teams over the many unforgettable duels, we would like to do our part in this campaign,” said Black Wings President Peter Nader.

Yesterday, Vienna and Linz met for exactly the 150th time. For the Upper Austrians, who sensationally won the legendary play-off quarter-final series 4:3 in 2010 after being 3-0 down, it was their 77th victory. Of course the battlegoers chanted “Super Linza, super Linza, heyhey”.

In addition to Knott, Emilio Romig (19th), Matt MacKenzie (33rd/pp), Shawn St. Amant (36th/pp) and Sean Collins (41st) were included in the shooting list.