2-1 triumph over Villach: Black Wings on course for the play-offs

Already 45 minutes before the opening face-off against Villacher SV, queues of people had formed in front of the entrances, and with the kick-off the Steinbach Black Wings reported a completely sold out house for the second time this ice hockey season.

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Not only was the cashier happy, but so were the majority of the 4,863 fans. Linz won the third-to-last match in the regular season 2:1 (0:0, 0:1, 2:0) and thus defended a place in the top 6, which qualified directly for the quarter-finals.

“For us, every match now has a play-off character, it’s tough, we have to stick with it, overcome setbacks, believe in ourselves,” emphasized EHC defender Matt MacKenzie, whose team had to make do without the ill legionnaires Martin Stajnoch and Sean Collins.

But that didn’t change his ambitions. After the unfortunate 1:2 defeat in Szekesfehervar, the EHC came out of the dressing room burning hot and tried to put the Carinthians, who were also in the orbit of the ominous line, under pressure.

Waiting for what?

Julian Pusnik (7th) and Jakob Mitsch (16th) fired warning shots in this duel at eye level with tradition.

It was clear as day how much was at stake. This wasn’t for the faint of heart. Especially not after the 0-1 deficit by John Hughes (23rd).

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“The fans are outstanding, they give us energy and pushed us forward. That was great for us, it was a great team performance. The table is so tight, we know how serious the situation is,” said US defender Logan Roe, which heralded the turnaround. The 32-year-old tried his luck from a distance and scored to make it 1-1 (43′).

And when everything smelled like an extension, Shawn St-Amant turned the hall into a madhouse in which his own words could no longer be heard. What a feat of willpower. Brian Lebler had fueled his way through, St-Amant was there for the rebound and won – 2-1 (55th).

The Linzers are fifth – one point ahead of seventh-placed Innsbruck. It remains very exciting.

EC Salzburg - Pioneers Vorarlberg 4:0      (1:0,3:0,0:0)    
EC-KAC - Olimpija Ljubljana       8:1      (4:0,2:1,2:0)    
Black Wings Linz - EC VSV         2:1      (0:0,0:1,2:0)    
HC Innsbruck - Fehervar AV19      3:2 n.V. (2:0,0:0,0:2,1:0)
HCB Südtirol - Asiago Hockey      7:4      (3:2,2:2,2:0)    
Pustertal Wölfe - Graz99ers       5:1      (1:0,1:1,3:0)    

 1. EC-KAC              47 30 3 6  8 183:101  82 102 * 
 2. Fehervar AV19       46 27 2 4 13 146:126  20  89 * 
 3. EC Salzburg         46 23 7 4 12 142:107  35  87 * 
 4. HCB Südtirol        46 22 5 0 19 137:125  12  76   
 5. Black Wings Linz    46 19 5 8 14 146:116  30  75   
 6. EC VSV              46 20 5 4 17 155:136  19  74   
 7. HC Innsbruck        46 17 8 7 14 134:131   3  74   
 8. Pustertal Wölfe     46 19 5 5 17 139:133   6  72   
 9. Olimpija Ljubljana  46 17 5 5 19 142:145  -3  66 **
10. Pioneers Vorarlberg 47 17 4 3 23 149:154  -5  62 **
11. Vienna Capitals     46  9 7 7 23 110:163 -53  48   
12. Asiago Hockey       46  8 5 9 24 120:188 -68  43   
13. Graz99ers           46  6 5 4 31  88:166 -78  32   

*   = im Viertelfinale
**  = im Pre-Play-off

Remaining program in the basic phase

Bolzano (4th/76 points): Graz (a), KAC (h)
Linz (5th/75 points): Asiago (a), Ljubljana (h)
Villach (6th/74 points): Innsbruck (h), Vienna Capitals (a)
Innsbruck (7th/74 points): Villach (a), Asiago (h)
Pustertal (8th/72 points): Vorarlberg (a), Salzburg (h)