Image: GEPA pictures/Christian Moser
Rather, because Gerd Kragl had put the Black Wings on the road to victory with his goal to make it 2-1 (47th). For the 26-year-old, it was only his third career goal in his 271st game. Many were happy for the defender because they knew what he had been through. After tearing his cruciate ligament a year ago, Kragl has only been back on the ice since the end of September.
The trainers offered another rarity. Philipp Lukas (Black Wings) against Christian Dolezal (Capitals) marked the first purely Austrian coaching duel in the highest domestic ice hockey league in 21 years.
They saw how the Linz team took an early lead through Logan Roe (12th), but failed to convert their superiority into a larger lead. This was punished by Rok Ticar (26th), who equalized for the Capitals.
In the final third, Kragl’s goal heralded the Black Wings’ final offensive: Julian Pusnik (52′) and Matt MacKenzie (54′) scored to make the final score 4-1. A celebration for the fans, which had already begun with a fitting occasion before the first face-off: Brian Lebler was honored because he took over the lead of the league’s all-time goalscorers list (361 goals) on Friday.
Because Salzburg lost 8-1 in Klagenfurt, the Black Wings took over the top of the table – something that hadn’t happened for a long time: On October 21st of the previous season, the Linz team were briefly leaders. This time they will stay that way at least until Wednesday. Then Salzburg will try to forget today’s defeat in the supplementary game against the Capitals.
Also a sense of achievement: The Steel Wings Linz AG are in eleventh place in the Alps Hockey League after beating the Wipptal Broncos 3-2.
Niklas Würschl
Black Wings defender
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