A consolation for the unfortunate Black Wings

The mood among the 4,087 eyewitnesses in the Linz AG ice arena was great, the performance of the Steinbach Black Wings was courageous, but the result was not very satisfactory. Philipp Lukas’ team lost 1:2 (0:0, 1:1, 0:1) to the record champions and leaders KAC, who were the first to book a ticket for the ice hockey play-off quarter-finals.

“We don’t need to hide, victory was possible for us too. We have to put that aside and come back with energy on Friday (against Bozen, note),” said Linz striker Andreas Kristler, who gave his team the lead in the power play had shot (25th).

But the “Red Jackets” didn’t let up and hit back coldly: Simeon Schwinger overcame the strong goalie Rasmus Tirronen to make it 1:1 (39th), Nick Petersen made it 1:2 in the final third from a counterattack that was negligently defended by the Wings ( 47.).

“Mistakes are punished by a super team like Klagenfurt, you have to work for luck,” says Kristler. Ultimately, the usury of opportunities should take its revenge. Still, a lot of things were positive. For example, the committed performance of the fourth line with the strong Jakob Mitsch or the results of the competitors in the fight for a top six place. It doesn’t hurt that Innsbruck, Villach and Pustertal also suffered defeats. At least it’s a consolation.

Black Wings President Peter Nader was enthusiastic about the scenery: “The ice hockey location Linz is alive – it’s nice to see something like that. Two or three years ago we were at the bottom of the table, now we’re at the top again. That is rewarded. Our fans get something on offer.” And they are loyal, even if the results in the recent past have not been quite as desired. Nine of the last twelve games were lost.

Olimpija Ljubljana - HC Innsbruck 5:2  (3:1,1:0,1:1)
Graz99ers - Pioneers Vorarlberg   1:4  (0:0,1:2,0:2)
HCB Südtirol - Vienna Capitals    7:3  (0:3,4:0,3:0)
EC Salzburg - EC VSV              4:1  (0:0,3:1,1:0)
Black Wings Linz - EC-KAC         1:2  (0:0,1:1,0:1)
Asiago Hockey - Pustertal Wölfe   6:3  (2:1,0:0,4:2)

 1. EC-KAC              42 25 3 6  8  155:95  60 87 *
 2. Fehervar AV19       41 24 2 3 12 136:115  21 79  
 3. EC Salzburg         41 21 5 4 11  120:98  22 77  
 4. HCB Südtirol        41 21 4 0 16 117:102  15 71  
 5. HC Innsbruck        42 16 7 6 13 122:119   3 68  
 6. Black Wings Linz    41 16 5 8 12 133:106  27 66  
 7. EC VSV              41 18 4 4 15 139:121  18 66  
 8. Pustertal Wölfe     42 17 5 4 16 125:119   6 65  
 9. Olimpija Ljubljana  42 16 5 3 18 132:129   3 61  
10. Pioneers Vorarlberg 42 15 3 3 21 132:137  -5 54  
11. Vienna Capitals     42  8 7 7 20 106:155 -49 45  
12. Asiago Hockey       41  7 5 8 21 106:165 -59 39  
13. Graz99ers           42  6 5 4 27  82:144 -62 32