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Enrico Miglioranzi (left) won with Bolzano in Linz. © Black Wings Linz
Is this the turning point? Bolzano strikes back in Linz
HCB Südtirol Alperia made a triumphant comeback victory in the ICE Hockey League. Things hadn't looked good for the Foxes in Linz for a while.
26 November 2025
From: dl
Like a battered boxer, HC Bozen fought back on Wednesday evening. After trailing 1-3, HCB came back to defeat the in-form Black Wings Linz 6-3. The Upper Austrians had won their last seven home games. But against Bozen, Linz also beat themselves.
Coach Philipp Lukas' team, which had won eight of its last ten games and climbed from last place in the standings, played far too undisciplined in the second period and took too many penalties. This completely disrupted Linz's rhythm. It was precisely during this period that Bolzano scored three goals and took a 4-3 lead before the final intermission buzzer.
HC Bozen remained composed against an undisciplined Linz side. © BWL/Reinhard Eisenbauer
After only one win in their previous five games, the victory in Linz was fundamentally important for Bolzano – especially for coach Kurt Kleinendorst. The American had recently come under heavy criticism. There is also talk of a possible expulsion. Now Kleinendorst could further defuse the coaching debate with two home wins on Friday and Sunday against Innsbruck and Vienna.
The highlights
| Linz more efficient | Bolzano frequently made it into the final zone in the first period, but "we need to shoot on goal more often," as captain Frank explained in an interview. Linz, on the other hand, took the lead after nine minutes with a spectacular breakaway by Knott. Less than a minute later, Bolzano's Schneider fired a shot from a difficult angle, and the puck slipped over Tirronen's shoulder into the top corner. Linz then regained the lead on the power play before the end of the first period. |
| Bolzano comeback | Right at the start of the second period, Bolzano got a rude awakening, with Linz taking a 3-1 lead after just 19 seconds. But HCB responded like champions: Mantenuto poked the puck into the net on the power play after 25 minutes. Just two minutes later, McClure tied the game on a 5-on-3 power play. With 16 seconds left in the second period, Bolzano took the lead: Pollock capitalized on a Linz turnover, skating down the middle and sliding the puck past goalie Tirronen. |
| Die Entscheidung | With four minutes remaining, McClure scored a shorthanded goal to make it 5-3, effectively sealing the victory. Gersich's empty-net goal then definitively ended the game. |
While Bolzano won 6-3 in Linz, HC Pustertal lost the top match against Olimpija Ljubljana by the same score.
Black Wings Linz - HC Bozen 3:6
Linz: Tirronen (Reder); Roe-Würschl, Söllinger-Mackinnon, Eder-Lindner, Oschgan; Romig-Knott-St.Amant, Lebler-Barron-Ograjensek, Pusnik-Collins-Gaffal, Kritler-Predan-Neubauer.Coach: Luke
HSBC: Harvey (Vallini); Gildon-Seed, Valentine-Samuelsson, Miglioranzi-Larcher; Schneider-Bradley-McClure, Digiacinto-Mantenuto-Frigo, Frank-Misley-Marchetti, Pollock-Gersich.
Coach: Kleinendorst
Gates: 1:0 Knott (08.10), 1:1 Schneider (08.46), 2:1 Würschl (14.44), 3:1 Gaffal (20.19), 3:2 Digiacinto (24.32), 3:3 McClure (26.32), 3:4 Pollock (39.44), 3:5 McClure (55.02), 3:6 Gersich (59.16)
Viewers: 3.742
The ICE Games from Wednesday:
Olimpija Ljubljana - HC Pustertal 6:31:0 Brennan (09.03), 1:1 Ticar (14.46), 2:1 Simsic (27.56), 3:1 Simsic (28.17), 4:1 Kumanovic (30.48), 4:2 Zanatta (32.03), 4:3 Ierullo (49.22), 5:3 MacWilliam (52.17), 6:3 Petan (58.45)
Spectators: 3.369
HC Innsbruck - Klagenfurter AC 9:6
0:1 Unterweger (0.24), 0:2 Teves (0.55), 0:3 Jensen Aabo (06.26), 1:3 Bär (09.38), 2:3 Rappold (13.40), 2:4 Kempe (16.58), 3:4 Wilkins (26.03), 4:4 Kudla (33.19), 5:4 Corbeil (39.52), 6:4 Wilkins (41.57), 7:4 Owre (43.57), 7:5 Teves (44.43), 7:6 Teves (49.45), 8:6 Coatta (58.04), 9:6 Corbeil (59.53)
Audience: 1.800
Vienna Capitals - Fehérvár AV 3:1
0:1 Bartalis (17.33), 1:1 Hults (19.13), 2:1 Bourque (29.46), 3:1 Franklin (50.44)
Audience: 3.890
Pioneers Vorarlberg - Villacher SV 5:4
1:0 Gallant (04.47), 1:1 Rebernig (08.54), 2:1 Macierzynski (27.54), 3:1 Maier (32.27), 4:1 Macierzynski (39.49), 5:1 Wempe (40.53), 5:2 Strong (45.35), 5:3 Maxa (45.56), 5:4 Helewka (58.36)
Audience: 1.263
Red Bull Salzburg – Graz99ers 2:5
1:0 Raffl (23.50), 1:1 Schiechl (28.18), 1:2 Vela (31.31), 2:2 Thaler (47.37), 2:3 Kainz (50.55), 2:4 Currie (58.16), 2:5 Huber (59.03)
Audience: 3.319
| SP | G | U | V | TV | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Olimpija Ljubljana | 22 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 100:68 | 43 |
| 2. HC Pustertal | 21 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 73:55 | 42 |
| 3. Graz99ers | 21 | 13 | 0 | 8 | 74:51 | 41 |
| 4. EC Klagenfurt | 21 | 13 | 0 | 8 | 71:60 | 39 |
| 5. HCB South Tyrol | 20 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 79:53 | 37 |
| 6. EC Villach | 20 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 68:60 | 34 |
| 7. EC Salzburg | 21 | 11 | 0 | 10 | 62:53 | 33 |
| 8. Ferencvarosi | 21 | 9 | 0 | 12 | 59:67 | 30 |
| 9. Linz | 21 | 10 | 0 | 11 | 66:70 | 27 |
| 10. Fehervar | 22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 44:69 | 27 |
| 11. Vienna Capitals | 20 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 53:65 | 24 |
| 12. HC Innsbruck | 22 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 60:96 | 18 |
| 13. Vorarlberg | 22 | 5 | 0 | 17 | 44:86 | 16 |
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