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Salzburg celebrates, Bolzano turns away disappointed: The series is over. © G. Karpaviciute/EC Red Bull Salzburg
That's it! HC Bozen is eliminated
HC Bozen's hunt for the ICE Hockey League title ends this Friday evening at Salzburg's Volksgarten. In a thrilling, at times truly wild, game of fate, the Foxes were defeated by the Bulls. It leaves a bitter aftertaste.
March 28, 2025
From the ice arena in Salzburg
From:
Alexander Foppa
The semifinals are over! For the second year in a row, HCB Südtirol Alperia failed to advance to the reigning champions from Salzburg in the semifinals. The Foxes lost 2-4 to the Bulls in their sold-out home stadium. Thus, the series ends with a clear 4-1 victory for the title favorites.
One thing is certain: This semifinal clash between the two eternal rivals was by no means a close call. At times, Bolzano was even better, having more chances and possession. Across all five games, the South Tyroleans fired 206 shots on goal (only 10 went in), while the Austrians had 176 shots on goal (15 hits). But of course, that's nothing to buy HCB. And that makes the end of the season all the more bitter.
Salzburg with Bolzano virtues
But is it possible that the better team will be eliminated 1-4? The answer: No! Salzburg didn't just beat Bolzano that evening using Bolzano's own techniques—that is, the style of play that has made the Foxes so dangerous and successful in recent years. The Bulls closed down the spaces, blocking everything that came near their goal. And up front, they mercilessly converted their chances. A sign of tremendous quality.
In the end, even with all the passion, the Foxes couldn't tame the Bulls' will to win. After a completely lackluster opening period, they continued to put the home team under pressure, both physically and in terms of play, in the fifth game. But every time things got really exciting and thrilling on the ice, Salzburg tightened the reins again. A true symbol of this series.
Goals and gloves were scored
| Where are the Foxes? | After Peter Schneider's shot hit the outside of the post, Lucas Thaler gave the Bulls a deserved lead in the 11th minute: He took a shot from the blue line and smashed the puck into the net at 121 km/h! And how did Bolzano react? Not at all. After the restart, Troy Bourke even scored to make it 2-0 for Salzburg (23rd minute). |
| DiGiacinto punches her awake | After a minor touch with the goalie, Cristiano DiGiacinto throws down his gloves and punches Dennis Robertson. They engage in a fierce boxing match, at the end of which Bolzano's DiGiacinto celebrates the victory. He then yells a loud wake-up call to his teammates. |
| And here are the Foxes! | After the fierce fight, Bolzano also played like mad. They suddenly stormed into the attacking zone without a break – with success. On a strong power play, Saracino made a great pass to McClure, who only had to poke the puck over the line (32'). |
| Wild final phase | Things really heat up in the final third: Benjamin Nissner restores Salzburg's two-goal lead with a counterattack goal (44th minute), but Scott Valentine immediately cuts it back (46th minute). Just seconds later, Robertson, who had just been beaten, sealed the 4-2 lead (46th minute). After that, Bolzano was handed a barrage of penalty minutes, but no more goals were scored. |
Exactly two weeks after the end of the season for HC Pustertal The second South Tyrolean ICE club is thus also withdrawing from the competition. By reaching the semifinals, HC Bozen had already achieved the season goal set by the club's management before the start of this series. Whether this is enough for Italy's most successful ice hockey club to draw a positive conclusion remains to be seen in the coming weeks.
One thing is certain: the Bolzano players are now off on their summer vacation. The champions from Salzburg, on the other hand, are now waiting for their final opponent.
EC Red Bull Salzburg – HCB Südtirol Alperia 4-2
RBS: Tolvanen (Kickert); Robertson-Murphy, Stapelfeldt-Lewington, Sinn-Nienhuis, Hörl-Krening; Raffl-Nissner-Schneider, Thaler-Baltram-Bourke, Kraus-Wukovits-Kosmachuk, Hochkofler-Auer-Huber.Coach: David
HSBC: Harvey (Vallini); Valentine Seed, Hults-Bourque, Miglioranzi-DiPerna; Salinitri-Bradley-DiGiacinto, Helewka-Christoffer-Gazley, Frigo-Mantenuto-Frank, Halmo-McClure-Brunner, Saracino.
Coach: Hanlon
Gates: 1:0 Lucas Thaler (10.54), 2:0 Troy Bourke (22.19), 2:1 Brad McClure (31.53), 3:1 Benjamin Nissner (43.05), 3:2 Scott Valentine (45.32), 4:2 Dennis Robertson (45.58)
Viewers: 3.400 (sold out)
Final standings best-of-7 series: 4:1
The 2nd semi-final:
Klagenfurter AC – Black Wings Linz 3:3(still running)Gates: 0:1 Pusnik (1.42), 0:2 Lebler (4.40), 1:2 van Ee (9.06), 1:3 Bretschneider (13.07), 2:3 Hochegger (28.57), 3:3 Herburger (32.17)
Viewers: 4.404 (sold out)
Best of 7 series: 2:2
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