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Zach Sill, Jason Akeson & Co. did well. © HC Pustertal/I. Foppa
The KAC empire is ice cold: Brave wolves lose again
Who should beat this Klagenfurt AC? The Red Jackets delivered their next sparkling performance on Friday in the semi-finals of the ICE Hockey League against HC Pustertal and are only two wins away from the final. But the wolves proved that evening that they can at least annoy the Carinthians.
March 22, 2024
From the Intercable Arena
From:
Leo Holzknecht
Due to the two defeats in the quarterfinals against the Pioneers Vorarlberg, the regular round winner seemed vulnerable and even beatable. Klagenfurt impressively refuted this theory in the first two semi-final games against the HCP. The Wolves had to acknowledge their opponent's superiority on Friday and accept a 2-4 defeat in the packed Intercable Arena - despite a strong reaction in the final third. At the same time, HC Bozen also suffered a setback in their 1-3 defeat at home against Salzburg.
In order to still have a spark of hope in the best-of-seven series, a win is essential on Sunday in Klagenfurt (17.30:0 p.m.). They showed how Raphael Andergassen & Co. could pull this off in the final period when the score was 3:40. They were suddenly a step faster, provoking penalties and creating chances. There was no sign of this in the previous 2 minutes. Until then, the title favorite had appeared too solid and too calm. After Mikael Frycklund's goal to make it 3-XNUMX, the guests suddenly began to falter. This must give the South Tyroleans self-confidence.
KAC punishes every mistake
The start of the match was quite promising for the Wolves. They played on equal terms, kept staying in the attacking third and won duels. However, a loss of a target by Jason Akeson in the neutral zone turned out to be fatal. The momentum spilled over to the Red Jackets, who quickly increased the lead to 3-0. David Morley's goal to make it 1:3 at the start of the final third was the initial spark for a phase in which the Wolves showed their qualities. To the dismay of the now hopeful fans, the equalizer was no longer possible.
Given the 4:20 goal difference in the last four direct duels, Wolves coach Kasper Vuorinen has to think about something in order not to concede a so-called sweep. It is conceivable that he could put his trust in Andreas Bernard and not Jacob Smith on Sunday. Although the Italian-Canadian was not to blame for any goals conceded, a change in the goalkeeper position could provide the necessary impetus.
The highlights
| Costly mistake | Jason Akeson loses the puck in the middle zone, Nick Petersen passes it on to Jan Mursak, who completes the 2-on-1 counterattack perfectly with goal scorer Manuel Ganahl. |
| A copy | A loss of a target by David Morley leads to the next counter-attack - and the next goal. Matt Fraser does everything alone and hits the top corner with pinpoint accuracy. |
| The thing is done | Just 29 seconds after the score was 0-2, things got loud again in the visitors' block. This time Lukas Haudum, who scored twice on Tuesday, deflected a Strong shot unstoppably. |
| Is there anything else going on here? | Joel Messner slowly brings a puck towards the goal, it slides past friend and foe before David Morley gets to it and shoots at Jesper Jensen Aabo. The Danish defender's ball rolls over the line. |
| The answer is: no | When the HCP was on the power play, Mikael Frycklund sent the Intercable Arena into a frenzy when he gave Sebastian Dahm the last with a pinpoint shot. Clemens Unterweger makes everything clear with an empty net hit. |
HC Pustertal – EC KAC 2:4
HCP: Smith (Bernard); Kasastul-Messner, Althuber-Ege, Glira-Atwal; Morley-Schofield-Akeson, Hannoun-Frycklund-Petan, Deluca-Sill-Mantinger, Catenacci-Andergassen-Berger, Öhler-Hasler.Trainer: Mountainous
KAC: Dahm (Vorauer); Unterweger-Jensen, Strong-Postma, Vallant-Maier, Preiml; Bischofberger-Hundredlb-Fraser, Ganahl-Mursak-Petersen, Haudum-Herburger-Kraus, Schwinger-van Ee-Witting, Obersteiner.
Trainer: Furey
Gates: 0:1 Ganahl (9.16), 0:2 Matt Fraser (17.03), 0:3 Haudum (17.32), 1:3 Morley (40.36), 2:3 Frycklund (56.07), 2:4 Unterweger (59.37)
Viewers: 3104
Status in the series: 0:2
ICE Hockey League:
HC Bozen – Red Bull Salzburg 1:3 (click here for the report)Goals: 0:1 Robertson (32.23), 1:1 Alberga (38.18), 1:2 Raffl (38.32), 1:3 Huber (50.43)
Audience: 5510
Status in the series: 1:1
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