Image: SWL / Daniel Wolkerstorfer
Second defeat in the third intermediate round game and at the same time second defeat in the third home game. For Steel Wings Linz AG, things are slowly but surely getting tight with a pre-playoff participation in the Alps Hockey League.
Like a week ago in the home game against Celje, the guests – this time from HC Merano from South Tyrol – were the first to register. Fabrizio Ricci scored 1-0 in the 7th minute of the game, five seconds before the penalty against Arturs Brikmanis would have expired. Bitter – but not the bitterest moment of the evening in the Linz AG Eisarena.
Compensation and leadership in the middle third
The young Linz team should have more shots on goal than the guests in all three sections. However, the Linz team lacked efficiency – until the 36th minute of the game: Manuel Feldbaumer scored after a pass from Kilian Rappold and Timo Sticha to equalize 1-1. And just three and a half minutes later, when Sebastian Thaler and Brandon McNally had sat down in the cooler, the Linz team took advantage of the six-second double advantage to take the lead: William Persson made it 2-1, one second before Thaler would have been back.
In the final third, the Steel Wings had to accept the equalizer in the 46th minute from Calder Anderson. And when he took a seat in the penalty box four minutes later and Linz tried to put Persson back in the spotlight, Brandon McNally managed a counterattack and scored the shorthanded goal to make it 2:3 (51./sh). Despite several shooting opportunities, the Steel Wings were unable to equalize. Calder Anderson scored the empty net goal 44 seconds before the end to make the final score 4-2.
In the Qualification Round A table, Linz is at the bottom of the table with two points. Second place, which would guarantee a pre-playoff place, is five points short. But: With the exception of Celje, the opponents have each played one game less. And in the future, Linz will lack home advantage because four games will be played away and only one at home.
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