Clara and Demetz are champions: who will come to the World Cup?

Italy's ice hockey officials couldn't have imagined a better scenario: Damian Clara, South Tyrol's great NHL hope, became champions with his club Brynäs on Tuesday. Patrick Demetz achieved the same thing with the Eisbären Regensburg. Now both could strengthen the Blue Team at the home World Cup in Bolzano.

23 April 2024

From: leo

An already fairytale season came to an end for Damian Clara with the championship title: The 19-year-old goalie led the traditional Swedish club Brynäs to the championship title in the second highest Swedish league on Tuesday and thus to direct promotion. Italy coach Michael Pelino also has reason to be happy, as he could now rely on him at the home World Cup in Bolzano. “If the season with Brynäs ends in time, then of course I will come to Bolzano if I am needed,” said Clara said in an interview with s+. The final word has not yet been spoken on this matter.

In the fourth final game against eternal rivals Djurgården, Clara once again showed his full class: The South Tyrolean fended off 18 of 19 shots and shone with a catch rate of 94,74 percent. Up front, his teammates made the decision with a double strike at the start of the second third: Greg Scott and Oliver Tarnstrom scored within 25 seconds. Djurgården made it 30:1 in the 3th minute, but Clara could no longer be overcome. Thanks to the 3-1 win, Brynäs won the series against the Stockholm club 4-0.

The impossible made possible

A true ice hockey miracle took place in the German DEL2. There the Eisbären Regensburg, who were promoted only two years ago, sensationally won the final against the Kassel Huskies. As regular season winners, they started the playoffs as heavy favorites. However, Patrick Demetz's team proved to be an insurmountable hurdle and caused the Huskies' dreams of promotion to collapse. Regensburg cannot be promoted because the club does not have a DEL license.

On Tuesday, Bayern won the sixth game of the series 4-2 in front of their own fans. The Wolkensteiner was again called up as a defender in the third row and ended the game with two penalty minutes and a + statistic of +1. It is unclear whether Demetz is also an issue for the national team. Last year, the 23-year-old played two test matches for the Azzurri, but was not considered for the World Cup.