THE HCB SÜDTIROL IS EBEL CHAMPION

In the all-important final against EHC Red Bull Salzburg, HCB Südtirol had to do without Hannes Oberdörfer, who will undergo surgery on his shoulder blade on Monday. Enrico Miglioranzi took his place. Matthew Keith was missing from the “Bulls”. In the early stages both teams met on equal terms. After a mistake by Esposito, Kristler tried from close range, but Hübl was on the post (3rd). Kristler had to leave the ice injured just seconds later, but was supposed to return towards the middle of the first third before he was injured again and had to go back to the locker room.

In the fourth minute, Brückler had more trouble than he would have liked with a Tomassoni hammer. This shot was something of a wake-up call for Salzburg, who then took control and restricted the Foxes in their own third for long stretches. This also had to do with the fact that HCB Südtirol received a total of four time penalties (Gander, Nicoletti, Lalibertè and Strömberg). The White-Reds survived being outnumbered unscathed three times in the first third, but Meckler took the lead on the first outnumbered game in favor of the home side (10.29). He stood perfectly after a Fahey shot and dusted himself off.

Salzburg sets off offensive fireworks

But even before the deserved lead, the Bulls had wasted chances every minute and even after that, Jackson's team missed several opportunities. Once the bravely fighting Hübl also had the necessary bit of luck, namely when Motzko hit the crossbar (13th). The Talferstädter's most dangerous action occurred before Salzburg's opening goal, when Strömberg missed a sharp cross from Charlebois by just centimeters.

After the first break, the guests from South Tyrol got into the game much better and only allowed very little in front of Hübl's goal. The Foxes now also combined on the offensive and after shots from Zisser (23rd) and Sharp (25th/while outnumbered), the people of Bolzano were able to celebrate the equalizer. In the power play (Fahey was sitting in the cooler), Pichè gave Brückler no chance in the Salzburg goal with his 13th goal of the season (26.27:28.57). The Foxes' joy only lasted two and a half minutes. As Charlebois was simmering outside, Fahey took the shot, the shot was slightly deflected by a Bolzano player (2) and it was 1-XNUMX for Salzburg.

Bolzano got stronger after the break

Both teams now met with an open mind and there were chances on both sides, although the South Tyroleans had the better opportunities in this second period of the game, for example with shots from Santorelli and Strömberg. And again in the power play, this time even with a double majority (Brophey and Trattnig out), the Pokel team struck. This time Sharp scored, pushing the puck over the line from point-blank range after a Santorelli shot. It was the ninth playoff goal for the first-line center. In the final phase of the second third, Mozartstadt again had more of the game, but shots from Roe and Latusa flew past Hübl's goal.

Hübl is Bolzano's life insurance company

In the final third, Bozen was initially the more active team and stopped Salzburg's game in their third. But the Foxes didn't really have any clear chances to score. But Salzburg had the best opportunities in the last six minutes, when the home team got stronger and pressed for the winning goal. So Motzko, alone in front of Hübl, missed two opportunities (55th). Then Trattnig hammered the puck onto the crossbar before Latusa got stuck to Hübl after a solo effort. Now Pokel took a timeout to break Salzburg's rhythm.

With 1.19:2 minutes left, Matthias Trattnig had to use the emergency brake and stop Strömberg. The Salzburg captain received a two-minute penalty. Now Don Jackson also took a time out and it was successful because the HCB couldn't use the power play. The score remained 2-XNUMX and the game went into extra time.

Ziga Pance shoots HCB Südtirol into paradise

There the white-reds were able to operate with one man more for 41 seconds. But this brief situation of superiority brought nothing. Afterwards, the Salzburg team awarded several top-class players, namely Raffl, Hofer, Nödl and Meckler. After this attack by the Mozartstadters, Pichè shot from distance before Bernard had a chance. Both chances yielded nothing. Ziga Pance then missed a two-on-one situation because his pass didn't reach the player who was running with him. But all the fans and his coach Tom Pokel will have forgiven him for this mistake two minutes later when he scored the 3-2 winning goal out of nowhere. After 71.27 minutes, the championship title was wrapped up in dry towels shortly before 21 p.m. A historic success for the HCB, for the city of Bolzano, for South Tyrol and local ice hockey.

EHC Red Bull Salzburg – HCB Südtirol 2:3 aet (1:0, 1:2, 0:0, 0:1)

EHC Red Bull Salzburg: Brückler (Gracnar), Mühlstein-Milam, Heinrich-Fahey, Trattnig-Fahey, Pallestrang-Brucker; Roe-Meckler-Kristler, Komarek-Raffl-Latusa, Brophey-Cullen-Motzko, Nödl-Hofer-Brucker. Coach: Don Jackson

HCB South Tyrol: Hübl (Hell), Egger-Nicoletti, Pichè-Tomassoni, Charlebois-Miglioranzi; Sharp-Strömberg-Santorelli, Whitfield-Pance-Lalibertè, Schofield-Insam-John Esposito, Bernard-Gander-Zisser, Angelo Esposito Coach: Tom Pokel

Referee: Gebei, Warsaw (Hribar, Rakovic)

Gates: 1:0 Dave Meckler (10.29/PP), 1:1 Sebastien Pichè (26.27/PP), 2:1 Brian Fahey (28.57/PP), 2:2 MacGregor Sharp (34.26/PP2), 2:3 Ziga Pance ( 71.27)

Viewers: 3200 (sold out)

Final standings in the series (best of five): 2:3 (1:6, 2:4, 7:2, 5:3, 2:3 aet) – HCB Südtirol wins the EBEL!

Football

Italy

International leagues

International

Winter sports

Tennis

Other sports

Motorsport

Cycling

Watersports

Events

Favorites

THE HCB SÜDTIROL IS EBEL CHAMPION

Suggestions

Comments (0)