Bolzano provides a very sweet foretaste

While HC Pustertal slipped into the end of the season against Ljubljana, HCB Südtirol Alperia defeated Red Bull Salzburg 4-3 in the Sparkasse Arena on Sunday evening. The game was meaningless on paper, Bolzano could no longer be pushed out of first place and the Bulls were certainly second. But what was important was how both teams approached this summit meeting at the end of the regular season.

Both teams showed impressively why they were by far the best of the regular season. The cracks went to work on the ice in a snappy, aggressive and physical manner, while at the same time offering fine moves on both sides. The outstanding players were the double goal scorers Cole Hults and Angelo Miceli.

In any case, the 4525 spectators got their money's worth, also because it was clear that the players were already trying to get in the mood for a possible reunion in the playoffs. However, not everything that glittered that evening was gold – especially defensively. This may also have been due to the fact that neither Bozen (without Bernard, Amorosa, Frattin, Glück) nor Salzburg (the top performers Burke and Loney were missing) competed with the best players.

The key scenes One person does everything alone Salzburg's Thaler blocked a Dalhuisen shot in the 7th minute, then moved alone towards HCB goalie Harvey and scored to make it 1-0. Hults co-production The HCB equalizes, or rather: the Hults brothers equalize! With double the advantage, Mitch passes to Cole, who aims right into the net - 1:1. McClure fails, Cernik doesn't After a brilliant pass from Culkin, McClure gets stuck on goalkeeper Kickert. On the other side, Cernik did better a few minutes later when he used a central rebound to make it 2-1 (19th). Miceli like a bull The HCB managed to equalize again: the in-form Miceli somehow pushed the disc over the line while running (23'). The missed knockout blow In the 38th minute, captain Heinrich puts the Bulls back in the lead (38th), after the last break Thaler had a great chance to make it 4-2, but his shot hit the crossbar (42nd). Double Miceli, double Hults Bozen's recent equalizer is spectacular: Miceli volleys the puck into the net in the best tennis style (48'). It's his second goal of the evening. Ten minutes later Cole Hults also scored twice. His shot from an acute angle is the game-winning goal. The two top teams could meet again in the championship final. Now both rivals have nine days to fill their energy reserves with a view to the start of the playoffs. Bolzano and Salzburg start the knockout round with a home game on March 7th, two days before they can freely choose their quarter-final opponent.

HCB Südtirol Alperia - EC Red Bull Salzburg 4:3 HSBC: Harvey (Marinelli); Culkin-Miglioranzi, Dalhuisen-Cole Hults, Valentine-Di Perna, Ginnetti; Halmo-Mitch Hults-Thomas, Gazley-McClure-Miceli, Matus-Alberga-Felicetti, Frigo-Mantenuto-Frank, Kasslatter Coach: Hanlon

RBS: Kickert (Tolvanen); Heinrich-Stajnoch, Robertson-Lewington, Stapelfeldt-Schreier, Wimmer; Meyer-Baltram-Mario Huber, Paul Huber-Harnisch-Hochkofler, Maier-Heigl-Thaler, Cernik-Predan-Krening Coach: McIlvane

Gates: 0:1 Lucas Thaler (6.21), 1:1 Cole Hults (13.07), 1:2 David Cernik (18.17), 2:2 Angelo Miceli (22.59), 2:3 Dominique Heinrich (37.05), 3:3 Angelo Miceli (47.12), 4:3 Cole Hults (57.34)

Viewers: 4525

The other results: Pustertal - Ljubljana 7:2 (click here for the report) Goals: 1:0 Archambault (1.42), 2:0 Hannoun (20.22), 3:0 Ege (23.31), 4:0 Hannoun (25.19), 4:1 Zajc (31.09), 5:1 Catenacci (34.49), 5:2 Sodja (41.44), 6:2 Harju (42.25), 7:2 Andergassen (55.16) Audience: 2135

Graz - Vorarlberg 4:0 Goals: 1:0 Woger (1.48), 2:0 Antonitsch (20.59), 3:0 Woger (36.29), 4:0 Antonitsch (57.27) Audience: 2202

Asiago - Klagenfurt 5:1 Goals: 1:0 Salinitri (21.31), 2:0 Misley (24.01), 2:1 Haudum (28.19), 3:1 Moncada (48.20), 4:1 Salinitri (50.05), 5:1 Salinitri (57.17) Audience: 2102

Vienna - Innsbruck 4:3 Goals: 1:0 Prokes (9.33), 2:0 Preiser (12.58), 2:1 Leavens (17.49), 3:1 Krys (37.16), 3:2 Helewka (40.29), 3:3 Peeters (49.18), 4:3 Finkelstein (52.50) Audience: 4450

Linz - Fehérvar 4:2 Goals: 0:1 Mihaly (16.36), 1:1 Brucker (19.14), 2:1 Kristler (22.26), 3:1 Knott (25.30), 4:1 Kristler (26.15), 4:2 Stipsicz (32.03) Audience: 2672

The final table of the regular season: SP G U V TV P 1. HCB South Tyrol 48 37 0 11 175:105 106 2. EC Salzburg 48 33 0 15 147:97 98 3. HC Innsbruck 48 31 0 17 186:150 94 4. EC Villach 48 31 0 17 178:147 90 5. EC Klagenfurt 48 27 0 21 139:120 79 6. Vienna Capitals 48 24 0 24 156:142 77 7. Linz 48 24 0 24 133:131 73 8. Fehervar 48 21 0 27 123:125 67 9. Asiago Hockey 48 23 0 25 146:155 66 10. Graz99ers 48 19 0 29 106:135 57 11. HC Pustertal 48 18 0 30 125:136 56 12. Olimpija Ljubljana 48 13 0 35 113:192 40 13. Vorarlberg 48 11 0 37 92:184 33

ICE Regular Season ICE	SP	TV	P
1. Graz99ers	6	19:11	16
2. HCB South Tyrol	6	21:12	15
3. Olimpija Ljubljana	6	16:12	14
4. EC Salzburg	5	23:16	12
5. EC Klagenfurt	8	25:26	12
6. Fehervar	6	17:13	9
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Bolzano provides a very sweet foretaste

Before the fifth season begins in the ICE, before the players put down their razors and the beards get longer, before it finally comes down to the “sausage”, HC Bozen has already served more than 4525 fans a delicious playoff taster .

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