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Sam Harvey and the Foxes had no idea what was happening to them. © GEPA/Karpaviciute
That really hurts: Bozen loses after taking a clear lead
What kind of crazy ice hockey evening was that in the Salzburg Volksgarten? HCB Südtirol Alperia was already 3-0 up, but was then put on the horns by the bulls in just seven minutes. Now the semi-finals are moving back to Bolzano.
March 24, 2024
From: fop
Some Bolzano fans probably thought the Foxes were already 2-1 up in the series when they were up 3-0 early on in Salzburg on Sunday. But seven incredible, even sensational minutes from the reigning champions turned everything on its head. Salzburg ultimately won 4-3. Now it's the Bulls who are 2-1 ahead after their first home win.
Bozen initially did everything right in Salzburg, driven by more than 200 traveling fans, always putting one or more players in front of the opposing goal and repeatedly driving into the attacking third with four cracks. Salzburg sometimes seems completely taken by surprise. Pascal Brunner, Cristiano DiGiacinto's first ICE goal and Brad McClure made the lead 3-0.
Valentine also injured
After that came a middle third of Salzburg who had truly washed their hands. Within seven minutes they turned a 0:3 into a 4:3. During this period, the champions showed arguably the best ice hockey the league has seen this season.
Bozen was literally torn apart in the middle section - also because Scott Valentine was missing, a man whose experience and calmness are incredibly valuable in such difficult moments. He bit his teeth recently due to an injury from the first semi-final game, but had to withdraw before the warm-up in Salzburg. This meant that Bozen was missing a fourth top performer alongside Daniel Frank, Mike Halmo and Enrico Miglioranzi.
Turn 0:3 into 4:3, that's how it works...
| Brunner's first time | After an Alberga attempt, Pascal Brunner is there and chips the puck under the crossbar (3rd). It is the 21-year-old from Merano's second goal of the season, the first playoff goal ever in his career. |
| DiGiacinto's premiere | Cristiano DiGiacinto had never scored in the ICE – until this game, until his eleventh appearance. The in-form Canadian deflects a shot from Kris Pietroniro, who was used for the first time in the semi-finals, into the net in an exemplary manner (9th). |
| McClure's trowel | A goal with every shot, that's how you could sum up Bozen's performance in the first few minutes. This time it was Brad McClure who unstoppably deflected Blake Parlett's shot with the tip of his stick to make it 3-0 (14th). |
| 7 minutes, 4 goals | What happened next was a rarity: Salzburg cheered four times within seven turns, and that was in the person of Benjamin Nissner (27th), Mario Huber (29th), Troy Bourke (32nd) and Drake Rymsha (34th). The equalizer goal in the meantime is emblematic of the Bolzano mess: the disc bounces off Josh Teves' shovel into his own goal. Without this contact, Bourke's shot would have sailed past the box. Nevertheless: The 4:3 was deserved, also because there was little more from Bolzano after that. |
Now the two finalists from last year are traveling back to South Tyrol, where the HCB will meet on Tuesday (from 19.45 p.m. in SportNews-Live ticker) is under pressure. For the Puster Wolves, the semi-final against Klagenfurt could already come to an end if they do not get their first series win against the Red Jackets at the same time as the Bolzano game. On Sunday evening the HCP lost to the KAC 1:3.
EC Red Bull Salzburg – HCB Südtirol Alperia 4-3
RBS: Tolvanen (Kickert); Robertson-Murphy, Genoway-Lewington, Stapelfeldt-Schilling, Sinn; Raffl-Nissner-Thaler, Paul Huber-Wukovits-Hochkofler, Auer-Rymsha-Meyer, Bourke-Baltram-Mario Huber, Harnisch.Coach: Oliver David
HSBC: Harvey (Vallini); DiPerna-Vandane, Söderberg-Parlett, Teves-Pietroniro; Felicetti-Ford-Gazley, Digiacinto-McClure-Thomas, Frigo-Mantenuto-Miceli, Brunner-Alberga-Luisetti
Coach: Glen Hanlon
Gates: 0:1 Pascal Brunner (2.07), 0:2 Cristiano DiGiacinto (8.09), 0:3 Brad McClure (13.19), 1:3 Benjamin Nissner (26.47), 2:3 Mario Huber (28.56), 3:3 Troy Bourke (31.07), 4:3 Drake Rymsha (33.27)
Viewers: 3.400 (sold out)
Best of 7 series: 2:1
The 2nd semi-final duel:
Klagenfurter AC – HC Pustertal 3:1 (click here for the report)Gates: 1:0 Ganahl (2.43), 1:1 Petan (48.05), 2:1 Fraser (50.13), 3:1 Vallant (53.49)
Viewers: 4402
Status in the series: 3:0
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