“We wanted to show that we stick together,” said Black Wings striker Julian Pusnik, who led his ice hockey team onto the road to victory with the important goal just 30 seconds after Innsbruck’s 2-0 lead. The tail light reared up and celebrated a 3:2 victory, which captain Brian Lebler fixed with his goals 21 and 22 of the season.
It was a statement from the Upper Austrians, who have practically no chance of making the play-offs, but are not going to give up without a fight. That’s in the spirit of coach Raimo Summanen, who was relieved at his first home win since November 26 (5-1 against Ljubljana), the day of his Linz debut. “We’re still alive. I liked how some of our players gave it their all,” emphasized the Finn, who had special praise for goalie Thomas Höneckl. “He gave us a chance to win.” The sixth win after 60 minutes in the 33rd match of the season was balm for the soul. Only the scenery was sad: just 380 fans had ventured into the Linz-AG-Eisarena, a maximum of 1000 would have been possible if the “2G+ rule” (recovered or vaccinated plus negative PCR test) was observed.
Tomorrow (7.15 p.m.) there should be more. Then the front runner and “croesus” Red Bull Salzburg will be making a guest appearance on the Lower Danube Landing. “We’re underdogs there, we can play freely,” said Pusnik, hoping to start a winning streak. That’s easier said than done. There have never been more than two wins en suite in the 2021/22 season.
Dalibor Bortnak may be absent from the Black Wings, who extended the contract with striker Emilio Romig (29) until 2024, due to suspected heart muscle inflammation as a result of corona disease. (Alex)
Source: Nachrichten
