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The Foxes threw everything, absolutely everything, into the mix. © Red Bull Salzburg/Karpaviciute
How bitter: Bolzano loses a true ice hockey thriller
Ouch, this defeat really hurts! HC Bozen treated more than 6.300 spectators to a memorable, nearly four-hour evening of ice hockey – and yet everyone left the arena disappointed at the end. The Foxes are facing elimination.
March 26, 2025
From the Sparkasse Arena
From:
Alexander Foppa
Just two days after their overtime victory in Salzburg, HC Bozen once again showed incredible fighting spirit, once again overcoming a two-goal deficit and once again forcing overtime. Only the ending was different this time: Salzburg won 93-3 in the 2rd minute (!) and is now just one win away from reaching the final.
The nearly sold-out Sparkasse Arena offered a great spectacle until 23.32:XNUMX p.m. The Foxes rallied to force their way into the first overtime, which the Bulls eked out with a flurry of luck before striking cold in the second overtime. They scored on the power play, while Bozen, on the other hand, had been unlucky for four minutes on the power play. The Bulls thus remain undefeated on the road in these playoffs.
There are several reasons why Salzburg's streak has continued at a distance: Firstly, the Bulls continue to play with tremendous skill, and secondly, Bolzano's inaccuracies keep creeping in – both at the back and at the front. HCB was inattentive when conceding the two goals, while only two of their own 51 shots crossed the line. Matt Bradley, Adam Helewka, Braden Christoffer, and Nick Saracino all missed some truly outstanding chances.
The thwarted match winner: Sam Harvey
This defeat definitely cannot be attributed to one Bolzano player: Sam Harvey. The 27-year-old goalie, who had made some wild mistakes in the last two games, was a real force this time. With a monster save, he brought his team to overtime shortly before the final whistle, where he then brought the fans to their feet with another brilliant save. Harvey was the man celebrated in the arena. Until the 93rd minute, when Kosmachuk caused an eerie silence in the arena.A crime story in five parts
| Why this carelessness? | When Bolzano concedes its first goal, Seed lets the hard-nosed Raffl go, who fires a shot that's a sliver of a long shot (9th minute). At 2-0, the Füchse once again lose the puck in the buildup, creating a 2-on-1 situation for Kraus and Bourke. Harvey is still on the ball, but the puck rolls into the net (36th minute). |
| Yes, finally! | What Salzburg can do, Bozen can do too: counterattack! The momentum of the Foxes' first goal is similar to that of Bourke's goal: Salinitri plays a cross after a counterattack, Saracino is alone and beats Tolvanen for the long-awaited 1-2 (38'). |
| Mr. Playoff does it | During a strong Foxes power play, the puck bounces to Gazley's stick, who, with only an empty net in front of him at the far post, scores to make it 2-2 (50th minute). It's the Canadian wizard's twelfth point in his tenth playoff game. |
| What a save! | This save counts as a goal: With two minutes left in the game, Bourke is completely unmarked, facing the empty net, but the Bolzano goalie displays a monster reflex and fishes the puck out. The fans go wild and celebrate Harvey like a goal scorer – and rightly so! He sends both teams into the first, then the second, overtime. |
| Absolute silence | Salzburg struggled to get going for a long time in the fifth period, but on the power play, the puck suddenly landed behind Harvey. Huber played to Kosmachuk, who fired a powerful direct shot into the top corner (93'). The Foxes' sudden death reduced the previously deafening noise in the arena to zero. |
> Read the complete game in fast motion here.
For the Foxes, it's now time again: Get up, wipe your mouth, and fight back! There's no alternative to this motto, because if they lose another best-of-7 series, they'll have to go on summer vacation. The next matchup is on Friday at Salzburg's Volksgarten. Kickoff is at 19.15:XNUMX p.m. SportNews will again be following the game with a live ticker.
HCB Südtirol Alperia – EC Red Bull Salzburg 2:3 aet
HSBC: Harvey (Vallini); Valentine Seed, Hults-Bourque, Spornberger-DiPerna; Salinitri-Bradley-DiGiacinto, Helewka-Christoffer-Gazley, Frigo-Mantenuto-Frank, Halmo-McClure-Brunner, Saracino.Coach: Hanlon
RBS: Tolvanen (Kickert); Robertson-Murphy, Stapelfeldt-Lewington, Sinn-Nienhuis, Hörl; Raffl-Nissner-Schneider, Bourke-Baltram-Thaler, Kosmachuk-Wukovits-Kraus, Hochkofler-Auer-Huber, Krening.
Coach: David
Gates: 0:1 Thomas Raffl (9.08), 0:2 Troy Bourke (35.51), 1:2 Nick Saracino (37.44), 2:2 Dustin Gazley (49.50), 2:3 Scott Kosmachuk (92.34)
Viewers: 6.320
Best of 7 series: 1:3
The 2nd semi-final:
Black Wings Linz – Klagenfurter AC3:1Gates: 0:1 Nick Petersen (14.58), 1:1 Ograjensek (43.49), 2:1 Kristler (50.42), 3:1 St-Amant (55.14)
Viewers: 4.865
Best of 7 series: 2:2
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