An ice hockey thriller without a happy ending for the Foxes

The HCB, which had to make do without Nick Palmieri, Joachim Ramoser and top scorer Brodie Reid due to injuries, initially seemed more impressed than inspired by the mood in the ice wave. Vienna dominated the initial phase and took the lead in the 7th minute through Andreas Nödl. The former NHL crack was left completely alone in the slot and therefore had no trouble getting the puck into the goal from close range. However, that was a wake-up call for the “Foxes”, who subsequently went to work much more courageously and repeatedly put the favorites from the Austrian capital under pressure. The HCB equalized with the first power play: Lindsay Sparks took heart and started a solo. He first circled around an opponent and finally shot the target from an acute angle into the top corner. After that, the hard-fought game developed into a completely balanced battle of strength.

The captain puts Bozen in the lead

After the first third break, it was the home team who really stepped on the accelerator. Time and again the Vienna defense seemed overwhelmed by the lively people of Bolzano. This was also the case in the 31st minute, when the White-Reds established themselves in the opponent's third and Alexander Egger completed the pressure phase with a powerful shot under the crossbar. The captain gave the HCB the lead for the first time in this game with his sixth goal of the season. But then the tide turned and suddenly the guests started to build steam. Shortly before the break they took advantage of an unfortunate line change in Bolzano to make it 9-6 through top scorer Riley Holzapfel (2th goal in the 2th playoff game). The equalizer made the game even more explosive. The players repeatedly hacked at each other on the boards, did not shy away from physical contact and kept the goalies on both sides in constant action.

Heart and passion are not enough to win

Only as the final section continued did both teams slow down a bit. Now the tension in the ice wave was literally palpable. Nobody took the last risk, not to open up counterattack spaces for the opponent or risk a potentially decisive penalty kill. Both teams had to go into overtime. There the HCB initially had difficulty keeping the confident regular season winners in check. Although he had significantly more quality on the ice, with the fans behind them, the players in white and red repeatedly mobilized strength that they thought had been lost. The longer the game lasted, the braver the Foxes became. They didn't give the Caps any more time to breathe, they forechecked aggressively and shot from all positions. However, there was no goal in the first 20 additional minutes. In the 87th minute, the resistance of the Bozen team's self-sacrificing fight was finally broken: ex-HCB striker Taylor Vause, of all people, silenced the wave of ice with his goal to make it 3-2.

With this victory, the Capitals are taking a big step towards the semi-finals, but Bolzano must now win in Vienna-Kagran on Sunday to keep their final dream alive.

HCB Südtirol – UPC Vienna Capitals 2:3 nV (1:1, 1:1, 0:0, 0:1)

Silver : Melichercik (Smith); Egger, Oberdörfer, Glenn, Everson, Seymour, Luoma, Glira; Vallerand, Yogan, Frank, Bernard, Oleksuk, Frigo, Insam, Root, Sparks, Marchetti, Gellert, Gander Coach: Pokel

Caps : Lamoureux (Kickert); Bocklehurst, Lakos, Fraser, Bowman, Cuma, McKiernan, Hackl, Maxa; Hartl, Sharp, Ferland, Pollastrone, Holzapfel, Tessier, Nödl, Vause, Rotter, Bauer, Nißner, Peter Coach: Aubin

Tore : 0:1 Andreas Nödl (6.12), 1:1 Lindsay Sparks (11.26), 2:1 Alexander Egger (30.23), 2:2 Riley Holzapfel (38.17), 2:3 Taylor Vause (86.21)

spectator : 7.012

EBEL, playoff semi-finals - game 2:

HCB Südtirol - UPC Vienna Capitals 2:3 aet Standings in the best-of-seven series: 0:2

EC Klagenfurter AC - EC Red Bull Salzburg 1:4 (0:2, 0:0, 1:2) 0:1 Matthias Trattnig (3.54), 0:2 Brett Olson (4.17), 0:3 Thomas Raffl (49.17), 0:4 Alexander Rauchwald (51.42), 1:4 Stefan Geier (59.50) Standings in the best-of-seven series: 0:2

Further game dates: 19.3., 21.3. (possibly March 24.3th, March 26.3th, March 28.3th)

SN/Alexander Foppa

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An ice hockey thriller without a happy ending for the Foxes

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