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Even Eddie Pasquale couldn't prevent the defeat. © HC Pustertal/I. Foppa
Great fight is not rewarded: The Wolves season is over
A heavily depleted HC Pustertal threw everything into the balance on Friday evening in the sixth game of the quarterfinal series against Klagenfurter AC, but was not rewarded for its great effort and now has to go on vacation.
March 14, 2025
From the Intercable Arena
From:
Leo Holzknecht
Since joining the ICE Hockey League, the Black and Yellows have crossed numerous valleys, but also climbed at least as many peaks. The season that just ended was also marked by many ups and downs. After 56 games, 22 of which were won, one feeling prevails in the HCP clubhouse: the pride of having given the title favorites from Klagenfurt their all, having played a thrilling playoff series, and never giving up until the very last second. On Friday, the Red Jackets prevailed 1-3 in Bruneck.
Coach Jason Jaspers entered the most important game of the year with a significant handicap, as an entire forward line was out: In addition to Alex Petan and Mikael Frycklund, Jason Akeson was also unavailable to the Canadian coach. Due to these absences, Brett Findlay and his team struggled to create scoring opportunities. KAC goalie Sebastian Dahm never had to use his full skills and faced only 16 shots from the Wolves throughout the entire match.
Purdeller makes it exciting
However, the truth is that KAC appeared much more disciplined than in Game 5. The Carinthians made no individual mistakes, largely eliminated their recently revealed vulnerability to counterattacks, and made life difficult for HCP in all three zones.
Although Kirk Furey's team, which once again lacked a lot offensively, faltered somewhat after Tommy Purdeller's goal 13 minutes before the end, they did not fall and trembled their way into the semifinals, where either the Graz 99ers or the Black Wings Linz await. In the other semifinal, Red Bull Salzburg and HC Bozen will meet, on Friday with a decisive 4-2 win in Villach.
The highlights
| Fatal positional play | Driven by the approximately 200 visiting fans, the visitors dictated the game in the early stages – and took a well-deserved lead: Thimo Nickl was completely lost on the blue line, allowing him to fire a perfectly placed shot-pass onto Raphael Herburger's stick. |
| Little going on | The home team isn't producing much going forward. At least they're compact at the back, so anything's still possible after 40 minutes. |
| The preliminary decision? | Shortly after the restart, Fabian Hochegger circles Eddie Pasquale's goal and sees Matt Fraser standing free in front of the goal, who doesn't let this opportunity pass him by. |
| Hope is back | HCP doesn't think about raising the white flag. Findlay launches a quick counterattack, serving Purdeller, who catches Dahm on the backboard glove with great precision. |
| Now it's official | Jaspers takes Pasquale off the ice two minutes before the end, but is not rewarded for the risk, as Daniel Obersteiner secures the final score 3-1 with an empty-net goal. |
HC Pustertal played its final game of the season this evening. However, disappointment among players, management, and fans should be limited. Given the personnel situation, the Wolves played to their full potential and challenged their seemingly superior opponents more than expected. With the team built on a solid foundation, the club can look forward to the next season with confidence.
HC Pustertal – Klagenfurter AC 1:3
HCP: Pasquale (Bernard); Svedberg-Bouramman, Glira-Zanatta, Osmanski-Wesley, Althuber-Gios; Purdeller-Findlay-Coulter, Conci-Lacroix-Mantinger, Gschliesser-Andergassen-Deluca, Traversa.coach: Jasper
KAC: Dahm (Vorauer); Unterweger-Nickl, Jensen Aabo-Maier, Strong-Preiml, Sablattnig; Herburger-Hundertpfund-From, Schwinger-Pastujov-Clark, Fraser-Obersteiner-Hochegger, van Ee-Peeters.
coach: Furey
Gates: 0:1 Herburger (6.25), 0:2 Fraser (42.02), 1:2 Purdeller (47.25), 1:3 Obersteiner (58.07)
Viewers: 3104
Status in the series: 2:4
ICE Hockey League, playoffs:
Villacher SV – HC Bozen 2:4Goals: 0:1 Gazley (00.59), 0:2 Helewka (6.50), 0:3 Salinitri (25.38), 1:3 Coatta (43.06), 2:3 Hughes (57.48), 2:4 Bourque (58.50)
Audience: 3465
Final score in the series: 2:4
Graz 99ers – Black Wings Linz 3:4
Goals: 0:1 Scheid (13.20), 1:1 Vela (36.58), 2:1 Antonitsch (42.38), 2:2 Roe (43.05), 3:2 Vela (51.46), 3:3 St-Amant (56.33), 3:4 Knott (65.52)
Audience: 4166
Score in the series: 3:3
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