Masters beaten: Wolves cannot be stopped

First Cortina and Jesenice, then Rittner Buam and now Olimpija Ljubljana. HC Pustertal is on a roll. Although it's not all there yet in the Master Round, the victories still help to build up self-confidence with a view to the playoffs. And that’s exactly what the HCP does. Furlong again and again In front of 630 fans, Axel Kammerer's men showed a thoroughly convincing performance. Armin Helfer & Co. put a lot of effort into the defense, Yuri Cristellon shone in the attack - as he did against Ritten - and an outstanding Colin Furlong held tight in goal.

After an initial scan, things got loud for the first time in the 15th minute in the Rienz Stadium: Armin Hofer overcame Zan Us in the Laibach goal with his 3rd goal in the last 2 games - it was 1-0 after 20 minutes. As soon as the middle third began, it hit Us again. And this time it was young Cristellon who held up his hands.

The guests then pushed for the next goal, but there was no way past the HCP defensive bar and Furlong - despite a shot ratio of 23:5 (!) in favor of the Slovenians in the final period. Buam doesn't show any nakedness The Buam had already celebrated a 2-0 win in Jesenice. Coach Jozef Budaj also played a big role in this, as he changed almost all of the lines after the 1-4 defeat against HC Pustertal on Tuesday - with success. The guests took the lead after just five and a half minutes: Matt Lane outwitted Jesenice goalkeeper Urban Avsenik after a fine individual move.

Seven minutes after the restart, Simon Kostner increased the score to 2-0. And the Rittners continued to push, but there was no chance of another goal. Jesenice, on the other hand, bit his teeth against Kevin Lindskoug, who recorded his 3rd shutout of the current season - the final score was 2-0.

There was nothing to gain for Tim Linder & Co. in Salzburg. © Andreas Senoner Photography

Meanwhile, HC Gherdëina needs a miracle to achieve the goal they set before the season, i.e. the playoffs. Because early on Thursday evening there was a painful 2:5 defeat in Salzburg, the leaders of the Qualification Round, Group A. The young bulls, on the other hand, will hardly be able to reach the quarter-finals - to the chagrin of the Wipptal Broncos and the HCG.

Coach Erwin Kostner was missing two top performers, Michael Sullmann and Andreas Vinatzer - and this had an impact as the game continued. But first things first: In the opening phase, both teams met on equal terms, Salzburg had a slight increase in chances and took the lead in the 2th minute through Estonian Robert Arrak. Only 9 seconds later, the in-form Viktor Schweitzer was there - 29:1. Exactly 1 minutes later, Pontus Englund restored the old lead.

The spectators saw a similar picture in the middle third, although the guests were now closer to the equalizer. However, Brad McGowan and Matt Wilkins lacked their usual aim. And that cost the Ladins dearly, as Salzburg coldly exploited any uncertainty. Also that of HCG goalkeeper Jake Smith, who didn't make the best impression that evening. The Austrians increased the score to 4-1 before Gabriel Vinatzer shortened the score again in the final phase. Arrak made everything clear with his brace 23 seconds before the end. AlpsHL: The games from Thursday evening Master round HC Pustertal - Olimpija Ljubljana 2-0 Goals: 1:0 Hofer (14.40), 2:0 Cristellon (20.40) Audience: 630

HDD Jesenice - Rittner Buam 0:2 Goals: 0:1 Lane (5.30), 0:2 Simon Kostner (27.34) Audience: 907

SG Cortina - Asiago 3:1 Goals: 0:1 Rosa (20.12), 1:1 Barnabo (52.08), 2:1 King (56.18), 3:1 Giftopoulos (59.32) Audience: 539

The table: SP G U V TV P 1. HC Pustertal 4 4 0 0 14:5 14 2. Rittner Buam 4 2 0 2 11:10 9 3. SG Cortina 4 2 0 2 12:14 7 4. Ljubljana 4 1 0 3 9:11 7 5. HC Asiago 4 2 0 2 11:13 5 6. Jesenice 4 1 0 3 9:13 4

Qualification Round, Group A Red Bull Juniors - HC Gherdëina 5:2 Goals: 1:0 Arrak (8.35), 1:1 Schweitzer (9.04), 2:1 Englund (12.04), 3:1 Witting (32.02), 4:1 Appendino (37.55), 4:2 Gabriel Vinatzer (58.04) , 5:2 Arrak (59.37) Audience: 60

EHC Lustenau - EC KAC II 2:4 Goals: 0:1 van Ee (11.44), 1:1 Hurtubise (18.24), 1:2 van Ee (21.24), 2:2 Wilfan (27.47), 2:3 Hämmerle (51.49), 2:4 Hämmerle (53.34 ) Audience: 497

The table: SP G U V TV P 1. Salzburg II 4 4 0 0 18:7 14 2. Wipptal Broncos 4 2 0 2 10:15 8 3. Lustenau 5 1 0 4 12:14 8 4. HC Gherdëina 4 2 0 2 11:13 7 5. Vienna II 3 2 0 1 9:5 6 6. Klagenfurt II 4 1 0 3 10:16 3

Qualification Round, Group B EC Kitzbühel - EC Bregenzerwald 5:3 Goals: 1:0 Uusivirta (13.59), 2:0 Havlik (20.56), 2:1 Ban (28.35), 3:1 Mader (32.07), 4:1 Havlik (33.14), 4:2 Vogelaar (44.40), 4:3 Lorraine (51.17), 5:3 Havlik (59.01) Audience: 1.075

Fassa Falcons - EK Zeller Eisbären 4:3 Goals: 1:0 Roupec (4.52), 1:1 Putnik (6.17), 1:2 Ban (12.47), 2:2 Roupec (23.52), 3:2 Kustatscher (29.53), 4:2 Chiodo (31.42), 4:3 Lanzinger (54.50) Audience: 727

The table:

SP G U V TV P 1. HC Fassa 5 4 0 1 22:15 16 2. Feldkirch 3 3 0 0 10:3 12 3. Zell am See 4 2 0 2 12:12 8 4. Kitzbuhel 4 2 0 2 17:15 7 5. Bregenzerwald 4 1 0 3 11:13 3 6. Linz II 4 0 0 4 10:24 0

AlpsHL Austria	SP	TV	P
1. Zell am See	18	61:46	38
2. Rittner Buam	17	71:50	37
3. Kitzbuhel	18	77:44	36
4. Jesenice	17	68:42	33
5. HK Celje	19	68:72	29
6. KHL Sisak	17	67:48	28
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Masters beaten: Wolves cannot be stopped

The runner-up title seems to have spurred HC Pustertal on: Thanks to the convincing 2-0 win against champions Laibach on Thursday evening, the Wolves have now been unbeaten for four games.

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