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Mikael Frycklund (right) and HCP were brought down by Klagenfurt. © Iwan Foppa
Bruneck's dizziness: Back down from the top.
The lofty position at the top of the table didn't suit HC Pustertal this Wednesday. Klagenfurt sent them plummeting back down to earth with a resounding defeat. Nevertheless, Bruneck's shaky legs are no cause for concern.
03 December 2025
From the Intercable Arena in Bruneck
From:
Alexander Foppa
From first place down to third in the standings: HC Pustertal has lost the top spot they captured last weekend. The reason? A 0-4 home defeat against Klagenfurter AC, who thus overtook the Wolves in the standings.
In what has been such a strong season so far, the Wolves have repeatedly been able to glimpse the heights of first place, but they haven't (yet) been able to truly establish themselves there. This attempt failed again on Wednesday's match day, although HCP – unlike in previous setbacks – certainly managed to impress. The nearly 2.700 spectators were treated to plenty of commitment, passion, and skillful play.
These Klagenfurters are incredibly strong.
But how did this resounding 0-4 defeat come about? The answer lies in the completely sluggish start to the game and the dominant performance of the in-form Klagenfurt side. They ruthlessly exploited every individual error and collective lapse in the Bruneck defense – and, on top of that, they had Sebastian Dahm, a 38-year-old goalkeeper, who raced from one corner to the other like a youngster, driving the Wolves to distraction. He saved all 30 shots from Pustertal.
Thus, after a weak start with three early goals against, Jaspers' team struggled to break through for more than two periods. In a game that was at times high-class, but also heated and frequently interrupted by penalties, they found no way through. However, the Puster Valley team did manage one impressive statistic: they played a full 13.44 minutes shorthanded – without conceding a single goal.
This is how Pustertal was shaken awake.
| No one hears the wake-up call. | After just 77 seconds, Mario Kempe fired the puck into the net with a long-range shot. This should have been a wake-up call for the Wolves – but it wasn't. |
| Almquist's outburst | Even after going down 0-1, the Puster Valley team continued to sleepwalk through the game – especially their latest star signing, Adam Almquist. Mathias From easily stole the puck from him, allowing From to score unchallenged for a 2-0 lead (9th minute). |
| And that's not all. | As the Wolves slowly try to get back on their feet, KAC strikes again: Pustertal fails to clear the puck from the danger zone, and Simeon Schwinger pounces to make it 3-0 (14th minute). |
| Now they are awake | The third goal definitely jolted the Wolves awake. From then on, they were on fire. Matthias Mantinger squandered the best of a multitude of chances halfway through the game, hammering the ball against the crossbar from full speed. Their poor finishing was punished by David Maier, who scored on a counter-attack to seal the early victory (42'). |
HC Pustertal missed out on their tenth consecutive home win. Now they have the chance to improve on a long road trip. On Friday, they travel to Budapest, followed by another game in Linz on Saturday. HC Bozen is also on the road, having suffered a clear defeat in Villach on Wednesday and now heading to Vienna.
HC Falkensteiner Pustertal – Klagenfurter AC 0:4
HCP: Pasquale (Rabanser); Blum-Zanatta, Lauridsen-Di Tomaso, Almquist-Osmanski, Glira; Rueschhoff-Frycklund-Purdeller, Lobis-Bardreau-Bowlby, Ierullo-Ticar-Lipon, Deluca-Andergassen-Mantinger.Coach: Jaspers
KAC: Dahm (Vorauer); Unterweger-Nickl, Teves-Maier, Aabo-Preiml, Lam; Herburger-Hundertpfund-Schwinger, Waschnig-Kempe-From, Gomboc-van Ee-Fraser, Sablattnig-Obersteiner-Hochegger.
Coach: Furey
Gates: 0:1 Mario Kempe (1.11), 0:2 Mathias From (8.20), 0:3 Simeon Schwinger (13.55), 0:4 David Maier (41.34)
Viewers: 2.672
The other results from Wednesday:
Villacher SV - HC Bozen 4:1Goals: 1:0 Helewka (29.03), 2:0 Hutchinson (30.32), 3:0 Wallenta (31.14), 3:1 Bradley (44.18), 4:1 Helewka (59.49)
Audience: 3.041
Fehérvár AV - Olimpija Ljubljana 3:1
Goals: 0:1 Quince (8.46), 1:1 Varga (29.34), 2:1 Hari (45.20), 3:1 Campbell (51.24)
Audience: 3.184
Graz 99ers - Vienna Capitals 3:1
Goals: 1-0 Currie (27.57), 1-1 Franklin (29.07), 2-1 Roy (44.30), 3-1 Currie (59.42)
Audience: 2.758
Black Wings Linz - HC Innsbruck 5:4 aet
Goals: 1:0 Ograjensek (11.01), 1:1 Coatta (13.08), 2:1 Söllinger (21.09), 3:1 St-Amant (24.17), 3:2 Lajeunesse (35.16), 4:2 Kristler (47.06), 4:3 Lajeunesse (55.37), 4:4 Corbeil (58.35), 5:4 Lebler (61.46)
Audience: 3.511
Ferencvaros - RB Salzburg 2:1
Goals: 1:0 Coulter (7.54), 1:1 Corcoran (25.04), 2:1 Lindgren (38.02)
Audience: 1.485
| SP | G | U | V | TV | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Graz99ers | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 81:54 | 50 |
| 2. EC Klagenfurt | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 85:63 | 48 |
| 3. HC Pustertal | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 82:61 | 47 |
| 4. Olimpija Ljubljana | 25 | 16 | 0 | 9 | 103:73 | 45 |
| 5. HCB South Tyrol | 23 | 14 | 0 | 9 | 85:58 | 43 |
| 6. EC Villach | 23 | 12 | 0 | 11 | 77:70 | 38 |
| 7. EC Salzburg | 23 | 12 | 0 | 11 | 67:55 | 36 |
| 8. Ferencvarosi | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 63:76 | 34 |
| 9. Fehervar | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 53:71 | 33 |
| 10. Linz | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 78:81 | 31 |
| 11. Vienna Capitals | 23 | 8 | 0 | 15 | 55:72 | 25 |
| 12. HC Innsbruck | 25 | 7 | 0 | 18 | 65:108 | 19 |
| 13. Vorarlberg | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 47:99 | 16 |
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