Brad McClure is celebrated by his teammates. © VSV/STEFAN

Who, if not him? McClure fires Bolzano to victory.

On an evening when HCB Südtirol Alperia struggled offensively, Brad McClure once again proved to be Bolzano's guarantor of victory. With his 18th and 19th goals of the season, the Canadian single-handedly led the Foxes to a hard-fought win against the struggling Villacher SV on Sunday.

28 December 2025

From: leo

Not only had things been simmering at HC Bozen in recent weeks, but also at the Villach Eagles' clubhouse. The dismissal of Tray Tuomie came like a bolt from the blue and plunged Villach into a deep crisis. Since Tuomie's departure, Adam Helewka and his teammates had won only one of eight games – and that was against HC Bozen in early December (4-1). Adding to their woes, the Eagles had suffered a clear 2-5 defeat in the Carinthian derby just 24 hours earlier. Despite this turmoil, the underdogs pushed HC Bozen to their limits on Sunday evening. Led by an unleashed Brad McClure, the South Tyroleans ultimately secured the expected 4-1 victory.

That the game remained on a knife's edge until five minutes before the end was solely due to Bolzano's ineptitude. Despite a multitude of scoring opportunities, Bolzano's offensive players couldn't put the puck in the net. Sometimes they were thwarted by the brilliantly performing Joe Cannata, sometimes by the post, and other times they simply missed the goal. Yet, on this particular evening, just a few goals would have been enough to secure the victory. The depleted Eagles were extremely toothless in attack. Over the entire 60 minutes, scoring chances could be counted on one hand – a testament to the solid HCB defense.

McClure does it

The game in Villach started extremely favorably for HCB. Thomas Vallant was sent to the showers after just nine minutes for a check to the head of Daniel Mantenuto. However, the visitors failed to capitalize on this advantage. It wasn't until shortly before the end of the second period that the net rippled behind Cannata, when Bolzano's top scorer, Brad McClure, tied the game at 1-1. The Villach players' legs grew increasingly heavy, which Bolzano used to increase the pressure. While many of his teammates lacked the necessary composure in front of goal, McClure impressively demonstrated why he is Bolzano's best player this season. His goal to make it 2-1, a beautiful shot that flicked the puck into the top corner, was a game-winner.

His goals secured his team's second consecutive victory, solidifying the Foxes' place in the top five. They aim to continue this winning streak in just 48 hours when the Pioneers Vorarlberg visit the Sparkasse Arena (5:19.45 p.m.).

Villacher SV – HCB Südtirol Alperia 1:4

VSV: Cannata (Swette); Lindner-MacPherson, Kulda-Wall, Vallant-Strong; Scherbak-Helewka-Wallenta, Rebernig-Hancock-Hughes, Sintschnig-Maxa-Ritchie, Prodinger-Katic-Tschurnig.
coach: Allard

HSBC: Harvey (Gibson); Valentine-Samuelsson, Gildon-Seed, Miglioranzi-DiPerna; DiGiacinto-Gersich-Gazley, Schneider-Pollock-McClure, Bradley-Mantenuto-Frigo, Frank-Misley-Brunner, Marchetti.
coach: Shedden

Gates: 1-0 Hancock (24.49), 1-1 McClure (37.51), 1-2 McClure (55.04), 1-3 Gazley (58.04), 1-4 Bradley (59.42)

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