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Colin Furlong was cheered by the Puster Valley fans. © Iwan Foppa / HCP
Pustertal has a new old fan favorite
Five games, four wins: HC Pustertal has made a perfect start to the ICE Hockey League. On Friday, the Wolves celebrated a prestigious victory – and above all, a new hero.
02 October 2026
From the Intercable Arena
From:
Thomas Debelyak
There probably aren't many players who need just two games to win over the fans. Well, Colin Furlong seems to have done just that at HC Pustertal. After his brilliant performance on Wednesday in Graz, the South Tyrol resident made his first appearance in goal for the Wolves at the Intercable Arena on Friday against Olimpija Ljubljana. And once again, he played a crucial role in his teammates' victory: the final score was 4-2.
"Colin Furlong, Colin Furlong, Colin Furlong!" echoed through the Bruneck Arena after the match. This affectionate connection naturally has a history, as the 33-year-old began his European career with HCP, and after a long stint in South Tyrol, he's returned this year as a backup. With his two appearances, the likeable goalie underlined that if the regular number one – Eddie Pasquale – is unavailable this year, the Black and Yellows have nothing to worry about. Pasquale, who is carrying a minor injury, could return as early as Sunday for the next home game against Fehervar.
What was particularly impressive that evening, besides some outstanding saves by Furlong, was Pustertal's versatility. The tallest player on the roster, the 2-meter giant Austin Rueschhoff, is in phenomenal form, setting up two brilliant goals. Rueschhoff was involved in almost half of Pustertal's 19 goals (eight assists, one goal).
Austin Rueschhoff is in outstanding form. © Iwan Foppa / HCP
His new and slightly shorter teammates, Gunnarwolfe Fontaine and Gerry Fitzgerald, are brimming with power on their skates. And in defense, Austin Osmanski is cleaning up as always – and this time even got on the scoresheet. The Puster Valley team's self-confidence is also remarkable: despite trailing 1-2 at one point, there was never a sense in the Intercable Arena that this game couldn't be won.
The highlights
| Playoff feeling | In the first period, many fans were reminded of the legendary playoff battles between the two clubs. The action was intense at both ends of the ice. The Puster Valley power skaters took the lead through Lauridsen, who scored from the left side after a prolonged period of pressure (13th minute). Ljubljana then equalized through Mehle: his backhand lob found the net perfectly under the crossbar (16th minute). |
| Rueschi's Assists | At the start of the second period, Ljubljana took the lead for the first time with a deflection from Quince (27th minute). But then the Wolves really turned up the heat, especially Austin Rueschhoff. First, he perfectly set up his linemate Fontaine while shorthanded (2-2/29th minute), then he drew all the defenders to him on a counterattack, passed to Fitzgerald, and finally DiTomaso scored to make it 3-2 (40th minute). |
| That's it | It was the expectedly hard-fought final period, in which Pustertal's defensive stalwart finally decided the game. Austin Osmanski joined the attack and somehow poked the puck across the line (50th minute). |
As mentioned, the Wolves' next match is on Sunday when they host Fehervar at 17 pm. Besides HCP, HC Bozen is also on a roll, playing on... On Friday, league leaders Klagenfurt suffered a memorable thrashing. Meanwhile, Milano HC suffered a 2:7 defeat against Villach.
HC Pustertal – Olimpija Ljubljana 4-2
HCP: Furlong (pure age); Lauridsen-DiTomaso, Farrance-Osmanski, Glira-Zanatta; Bowlby-Bardreau-Ierullo, Lobis-Fitzgerald-Lipon, Rueschhoff-Fontaine-Purdeller, Zandegiacomo-Moncada-Mantinger, DelucaCoach: Jaspers
OLL: Horak (Us); Halbert-Brennan, McNeill-Bohinc, Gregorc-Crnovic; Meyer-Boychuk-Mehle, Urbas-Jeglic-Mahkovec, Sodja-Quince-Lawrence, Cosic-Bericic
Coach: Cooper
Gates: 1:0 Markus Lauridsen (12.13), 1:1 Ziga Mehle (15.14), 1:2 Marly Quince (26.14), 2:2 Gunnarwolfe Fontaine (28.48), 3:2 Greg DiTomaso (39.08), 4:2 Austin Osmanski (50.00)
Viewers: 2.287
The other Friday results:
HC Bozen - Klagenfurter AC 4:0Goals: 1-0 Mantenuto (27.30), 2-0 Kivihalme (34.21), Bradley (37.18), 4-0 McClure (40.55)
Audience: 2.450
Villacher SV - Milano HC 7:2
Goals: 0:1 Caamano (24.15), 1:1 Wieltschnig (25.01), 2:1 Sproul (35.29), 3:1 Wallenta (38.04), 4:1 Cramarossa (46.24), 5:1 Hughes (48.00), 6:1 Rebernig (51.41), 6:2 Houde (53.06), 7:2 Rebernig (54.27)
Audience: 2.900
Féhérvar AV - Ferencvaros 2:5
Goals: 1:0 Farren (2.10), 1:1 Silye (15.39), 1:2 Savoie (18.59), 1:3 Savoie (23.32), 2:3 Farren (26.43), 2:4 Hadobás (30.35), 2:5 Silye (40.53)
Audience: 4.064
Vienna Capitals - HC Innsbruck 4:0
Goals: 1:0 Gregoire (11.43), 2:0 Lilja (16.21), 3:0 Gregoire (43.28), 4:0 Lilja (58.03)
Audience: 3.890
Black Wings Linz - Graz 99ers 3:2 nP
Goals: 0-1 Feldner (6:05), 1-1 Würschl (11:22), 2-1 Bliss (23:49), 2-2 Swaney (59:30), 3-2 Bliss (decisive penalty)
Audience: 3.296
Pioneers Vorarlberg - RB Salzburg 1:4
Goals: 0:1 Poisson (10.22), 0:2 Schneider (24.17), 1:2 Summer (42.38), 1:3 Böhm (52.17), 1:4 Schneider (58.22)
Audience: 1.295
| SP | G | U | V | TV | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. HCB South Tyrol | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 24:13 | 16 |
| 2. EC Klagenfurt | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 31:17 | 15 |
| 3. HC Milan | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 24:19 | 15 |
| 4. HC Pustertal | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 19:12 | 12 |
| 5. Linz | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 24:24 | 12 |
| 6. Olimpija Ljubljana | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 25:22 | 9 |
| 7. Vienna Capitals | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 18:18 | 9 |
| 8. EC Villacher SV | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 16:18 | 9 |
| 9. Fehervar | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 14:21 | 9 |
| 10. HC Innsbruck | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 18:22 | 8 |
| 11. Graz99ers | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 17:23 | 8 |
| 12. EC Salzburg | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 19:28 | 7 |
| 13. Ferencvarosi | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 17:18 | 6 |
| 14. Vorarlberg | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 16:27 | 0 |
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