The Foxes want to do it like they did in the championship year

On Tuesday in Linz, HCB Südtirol Alperia has the chance to overcome the Linz hurdle for the first time and move into the semi-finals. On Sunday, the Foxes defeated the Stahlstadters at home in front of over 6.000 fans 5:4 after extra time and won three times in a row against the Austrians for the first time ever.

Break the Linz spell

Now they want to win a playoff series for the first time since the 2014 final in Salzburg. So far, Bolzano has had the opportunity to close the bag in the EBEL four times (each away), and this plan was successful three times on the first attempt, in the championship year 2014 in Szekesfehervar (final score: 4-0), in Villach (final score 3:1) and in Salzburg (series final score, final: 3:2). In 2015, however, the Foxes lost seven quarter-finals in Linz and were eliminated.

Pichè returns In Linz, the South Tyroleans are once again building on a strong collective; all four lines of the HCB are equally strong. The Foxes have only conceded seven goals in four games in the playoffs so far and have scored eleven times themselves. So far, only champions Salzburg have conceded fewer goals in the playoffs (6). Another fact speaks for the Pokel squad: Linz has not won any of the last eight games after regular time. Only in the first home game at the beginning of the quarter-finals was it enough to win after extra time. Now the former Bozen native Sebastien Pichè should also contribute to the turnaround. He returns to the ice after his three-game suspension.

The first goal of the game on Tuesday in Linz could be decisive, because in all four quarter-final duels between these two teams, the team that took the lead 1-0 always won in the end. Surprisingly, however, the special teams have not yet had any influence on the series, because so far all 18 goals in the four games have been scored with numerical balance on the ice, even though the Upper Austrians are number 2 in the power play ranking and Bozen is only number 11 XNUMX in penalty killing. “It's not easy in the playoffs. The first goal is important and a good shorthanded game is also important. “My team shows a lot of character, mental strength and ambition,” says HCB head coach Tom Pokel about the qualities of his team.

The EBEL quarterfinals at a glance:

UPC Vienna Capitals - HC TWK Innsbruck Final score in the best-of-seven series: 4:0 - Vienna is in the semi-finals

EHC Black Wings Linz - HCB Südtirol Alperia (Tuesday, 19.45 p.m.) Standings in the best-of-seven series: 1:3

EC Red Bull Salzburg - Moser Medical Graz 99ers (Wednesday, 19.45:XNUMX p.m.) Standings in the best-of-seven series: 3:1

EC Klagenfurter AC - HC Orli Znojmo Final score in the best-of-seven series: 4:0 - Klagenfurt is in the semi-finals

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The Foxes want to do it like they did in the championship year

On Tuesday in Linz, HCB Südtirol has the chance to become the third team to reach the semi-finals of the Erste Bank Ice Hockey League. It would be the second time since 2014 that the Bolzano team made it through the first knockout round.

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