Damian Clara wants to move up with Brynäs. © Oscar Larsson

Two young South Tyroleans are reaching for the championship title

The ice hockey season is coming to an end in this country. In the top European leagues, however, the final has not yet begun. Two young South Tyroleans are fighting for the championship title.

12 April 2024

From: leo

Damian Clara and Patrick Demetz are only four wins away from the title. The former reached the final on Tuesday evening with his club Brynäs IF in the second highest Swedish league. The Wolkensteiner reached the final of the German DEL2 with the Eisbären Regensburg on Sunday.

Brynäs beat Clara's former club Karlskoga in five matches in the semi-finals. The team from Gävle won the decisive victory, although they were still trailing 18-2 with 3 seconds left in the game. But then Anton Rodin forced extra time, in which Johan Larsson made the decision in the power play. The 19-year-old Clara has been in goal in seven of nine playoff games so far and has an outstanding catch rate of 93,3 percent. In the fight for direct promotion, Brynäs will now face either Mora IK or Djurgården, which has a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Demetz & Co. face a mammoth task

23-year-old Patrick Demetz with the Eisbären Regensburg is also on the verge of triumph. This is impressive because the basic round 2. In the quarterfinals against the Ravensburg Towerstars they were already 1:3 behind in the series. The Eispiren Crimmitschau also proved to be a tough nut to crack in the semi-finals, but the Eisbären retained the upper hand in the sixth game. Demetz has played 12 of the 13 playoff games so far and collected one assist. In the fight for promotion to the DEL, the team led by ex-HCB crack Andrew Yogan will face the favored Kassel Huskies from Friday.