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The Foxes left their home ice rink disappointed. © Manfred Mair
New coach, same old problems: What now, HC Bozen?
Has the new coach's positive effect already worn off for HC Bozen? The Foxes suffered a heavy home defeat against the Vienna Capitals on Saturday evening under their new coach, Doug Shedden. There was no sign of pre-Christmas harmony at the Sparkasse Arena.
20 December 2025
From the Sparkasse Arena in Bolzano
From:
Alexander Foppa
In their last game before Christmas Eve, HCB Südtirol Alperia didn't give themselves a present, but rather their opponents: Bolzano lost 2-5 to the Vienna Capitals, who haven't won an away game in almost two months (!). Doug Shedden therefore has to... just three days after his... successful debut against Linz, to suffer his first defeat as HCB coach.
At the end of his second game as Bolzano's head coach, the experienced Canadian stood frozen behind the Bolzano bench. Just moments before, he had been pacing the bench, constantly taking notes, encouraging and motivating his players. Now, however, he seemed genuinely shocked. Shocked by a performance from his team that raised serious questions.
One of these questions is: Wouldn't it have been better to first, instead of Backup Christopher GibsonWhy should the coach, who was on the bench for the first time, sign a defender? The leaky defense is sorely missed by the still-injured Mark Barberio. The question of Bolzano's scoring threat also remains unanswered. While the Foxes played with energy and attacking intent, they lacked any real penetration. This deficiency cannot be explained by poor finishing alone.
As under Kleinendorst
All these shortcomings led to a collapse, despite the team's strong performance at 2-2, paving the way for the Capitals' victory. At the same time, these are precisely the deficiencies that were attributed to the dismissed coach, Kurt Kleinendorst. Now that the new coach is in place and the old problems persist, club president Dieter Knoll, as well as the players, must ask themselves: What now, HC Bolzano?The key scenes
| Brunner and the 16 seconds | After a horrendous error in Vienna's build-up play, Brunner suddenly finds himself alone in front of the goal. He doesn't hesitate and fires a low shot into the top corner. It's his second goal of the season. However, the celebrations are short-lived, as former Ritten player Gazzola equalizes just 16 seconds later, with Bradley's stick deflecting off him to make it 1-1 (12'). |
| Seed messes up | At the start of the final period, the Caps take the lead for the first time: Seed loses the puck at the blue line, then it happens very quickly and Franklin puts the ball in the net (22nd minute). |
| 18 good minutes | After falling behind 1-2, Bolzano suddenly turned on the heat: attack after attack rolled in, Vienna was completely overwhelmed – but the results were limited. Brett Pollock scored on the power play after a pass from McClure to tie the game at 2-2 (26th minute), and then the HCB forward hit the crossbar. But Bolzano's period of sustained pressure fizzled out as soon as the second intermission buzzer sounded. |
| Things are about to get intense! | True to the adage "If you don't take your chances, you'll get punished at the back," Vienna ruthlessly punished the sloppy Foxes in the final stages. Koschek after a blocked shot (53rd minute), Souch on a counter-attack (57th minute), and Vey with an empty-net goal (60th minute) sealed the decisive victory. |
The Capitals now travel directly to Bruneck, where their next competitive match is scheduled for Sunday (18 p.m.). They will face HC Pustertal, currently fourth in the standings. HC Bozen, on the other hand, has a break until their home game against Olimpija Ljubljana on Boxing Day. Until then, Shedden has his first full week of training to try and banish the lingering ghost of Kleinendorst from the Bozen ice arena.
HCB Südtirol Alperia – Spusu Vienna Capitals 2:5
HSBC: Harvey (Gibson); Gildon Seed, Valentine-Samuelsson, Miglioranzi-DiPerna, Larcher; Schneider-Bradley-McClure, Pollock-Gersich-Gazley, Frigo-Mantenuto-DiGiacinto, Frank-Misley-Brunner, Marchetti.Coach: Shedden
Vienna: Cowley (Setzinger); Bourque-Nogier, Cole Hults-Lindner, Hackl-Gazzola, Wolf-Kirchschläger; Kosmachuk-Vey-Gregoire, Souch-Wallner-Franklin, Kromp-Preiser-Lanzinger, Antonitsch-Theirich-Koschek.
Coach: Constantine
Gates: 1:0 Pascal Brunner (11.25), 1:1 Randy Gazzola (11.41), 1:2 Zane Franklin (21.14), 2:2 Brett Pollock (25.47), 2:3 Felix Koschek (52.01), 2:4 Carter Souch (56.52), 2:5 Linden Vey (59.15)
Viewers: 2.590
| SP | G | U | V | TV | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. EC Klagenfurt | 28 | 19 | 0 | 9 | 100:72 | 58 |
| 2. Graz99ers | 27 | 18 | 0 | 9 | 90:61 | 56 |
| 3. HC Pustertal | 28 | 18 | 0 | 10 | 98:74 | 53 |
| 4. Olimpija Ljubljana | 29 | 19 | 0 | 10 | 116:83 | 53 |
| 5. HCB South Tyrol | 27 | 16 | 0 | 11 | 98:72 | 49 |
| 6. EC Salzburg | 28 | 16 | 0 | 12 | 86:64 | 47 |
| 7. Ferencvarosi | 28 | 12 | 0 | 16 | 79:90 | 40 |
| 8. EC Villach | 26 | 12 | 0 | 14 | 87:85 | 39 |
| 9. Fehervar | 28 | 12 | 0 | 16 | 63:87 | 36 |
| 10. Vienna Capitals | 27 | 11 | 0 | 16 | 70:82 | 34 |
| 11. Linz | 28 | 13 | 0 | 15 | 90:98 | 34 |
| 12. Vorarlberg | 28 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 58:115 | 22 |
| 13. HC Innsbruck | 28 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 70:122 | 19 |
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