Start with a lot of explosiveness: Bozen starts the quarter-finals against Linz

The HCB finished the pick round in sixth place in the table, but none of the top three teams chose the white-red as their opponents. Therefore, the Foxes will meet the Black Wings Linz for the third time in a row in the quarter-finals (best-of-seven mode) of the 2016/17 EBEL playoffs. The Austrians took fourth place in the pick round and have been considered one of the favorite teams for the championship title since the start of the season. On their way there they will now meet the Bolzano team, which is fully motivated and looking for revenge for being eliminated twice in the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons.

In the six previous matches between the two teams, the Black Wings have won four times, including once in overtime, while the Foxes have won twice. The HCB has won two of the three home games in the Eiswelle, but never in the No Worries Eis Arena in Linz.

The top performers There are several dangerous strikers in the Austrians' ranks, especially Dan DaSilva, who is the second best goalscorer in the league with 70 points from 53 games (31 goals, 39 assists). He is followed by Brian Lebler with 57 and ex-Bozen native Joel Broda with 48 points. Two other ex-White-Reds also play in the Linz ranks, striker Rick Schofield and defender Sebastièn Pichè.

At Bozen, Brodie Reid is the top scorer with 48 points, other hopefuls are the two youngest newcomers Andrew Yogan, who scored the first goal after his return in the game against Salzburg, and Lindsay Sparks. The local national players are particularly important, as they have put in extraordinary performances since the beginning of the season.

Marcel Melichercik and Michael Ouzas duel in goal. The Bolzano goalie has had a very good season so far, although his catch rate in the pick round has deteriorated and is currently 89,7%, while Ouzas has confirmed the strong performances from previous seasons with 91,5%.

The special teams One of the Black Wings' biggest “weapons” is the power play, which has a league-wide 23,4% success rate. Here the Foxes are in sixth place with 18,8%. The Linzers also have the best penalty killing with an incredible 86,0%, while the white-red special teams only have 76,1%.

The injured HCB coach Tom Pokel is worried about injuries before the start of the playoffs. Nick Palmieri injured his arm in the second round game against Linz and is out for the rest of the season. Markus Gander is suffering from a severe bruise; complete healing will only be possible in a few weeks. Joachim Ramoser's final examinations have been completed and he will be allowed to return to team training next week.

The EBEL playoff at a glance: Quarterfinals, Game 1 (Sunday, February 26) Red Bull Salzburg - Moser Medical Graz 99ers (17 p.m.) UPC Vienna Capitals - HC TWK Innsbruck (17.30 p.m.) Klagenfurter AC - HC Orli Znojmo (17.30 p.m.) EHC Black Wings Linz - HCB Südtirol Alperia (18.30 p.m.)

Further game dates: 28.2., 3.3., 5.3., possibly 7.3., 10.3., 12.3.

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Start with a lot of explosiveness: Bozen starts the quarter-finals against Linz

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