The HCP analysis: exceeded all expectations

On September 17th, a new era began for HC Pustertal with a new team, new stadium and new president. The newcomer had completed his pre-season preparation in the time-honored Rienzstadion and had a 3-2 away win against the Bratislava Capitals, who were struggling after the death of striker Boris Sadecky and manager Dusan Pasek Jr. Withdrew from the championship on November 9th, started the season.

After three more appearances abroad, the HCP played its first home game on October 1st in the brand new, ultra-modern Intercable Arena. The opponents were the star ensemble from Red Bull Salzburg, who only got the upper hand 4-3 in extra time. Two days later, captain Armin Hofer's team celebrated their first victory in the new environment. But it would also be the last victory for a long time. Ultimately, the Pusterers lost ten games in a row, with only one goal being the deciding factor seven times, and slipped to 14th and last place in the table. Helminen replaces Basile On the same day that Bratislava canceled the season early, the Puster board led by President Erich Falkensteiner and sports director Patrick Bona pulled the ripcord and, after 16 games, placed the hapless Luciano Basile on leave, who was actively involved in putting together the team and scored one or two direct hits (including goalkeeper Tomas Sholl).

The guarantee of success: Raimo Helminen © Iwan Foppa/HC Pustertal

After the 10-day break in the championship, the new coach, Raimo Helminen, was already in the stands on November 16th. The 58-year-old Finn saw his new team, under his assistant Matej Hocevar, win 3-2 against Graz. Three days later, the former center forward, who is the world's record international with 331 international matches and, along with Teemu Selänne, is only one of two ice hockey players with six Olympic participations to his name, sat on the Puster bench for the first time. He celebrated a perfect debut with the smooth 6-2 derby win against HCB Südtirol. HCP is retrofitting It was supposed to be the first of three wins against the “big brother” from the state capital. It was also the first of 22 wins in the remaining 32 games of the regular season. Two new players from North America also played a significant role in this. On November 4th, the HCP presented the Canadian Greg Carey and three days later the American Max Gerlach, who turned out to be lucky moves. In return, Brad Morrison and Tommaso Traversa were deregistered.

Brad Morrison turned out to be a bad purchase. © Iwan Foppa/HC Pustertal

Morrison was signed a good week before the first championship game and was the only one of the twelve new transfer card players who later turned out to be a bad purchase. Of the guest workers, only three of them, Michael Caruso, Anthony Bardaro and Dante Hannoun, had previously had a taste of ICEHL air, while the rest were pretty much unknown in this country. Of the 15 local players who were in the Puster squad at the start of the season, only two cracks, Daniel Glira and Ivan Deluca, had experience in this league. Helminen achieves the impossible It was therefore not surprising that the local players in particular had teething problems in the new environment and had to get to grips with the higher level. Since the change of coach they had also arrived in the league and made a significant contribution to the catch-up race. Helminen didn't change much and trusted his predecessor Basile when putting together the lines. However, the calm Finn managed to restore the players' lack of self-confidence in a very short time, so that the team promptly returned to the road to success.

The playoffs began for the league newcomer in mid-November. This ultimately included 32 games that somehow could not be lost. Although the Black and Yellows strung together victory after victory, things only rose slowly in the table. On January 4th, the Wolves celebrated a 5-2 home win against Dornbirn and jumped above the second line in the rankings for the first time, which meant participation in the pre-playoffs.

At this point, the coronavirus had already settled in the Puster dressing room and laid three players flat. Because ten more cracks then tested positive, the HCP had to take a break for 17 days before returning to play on January 21st with the second appearance in Bolzano. With seven wins in a row - including four in a row in foreign stadiums - the Helminen protégés finally started to overtake in February and were in a direct playoff place for the first time on February 16th after the 6-2 win in Villach in fifth place. They defended this in the remaining five games and finished the regular season on February 28th in a sensational fifth place with 78 points and a goal difference of 146:139. Sholl was crucial Mainly responsible for this feat was goalkeeper Tomas Sholl, who repeatedly hexed his team to victories almost single-handedly. But the front men also did a good job and always presented themselves as a tight-knit unit that was difficult for the opponents to figure out. Finally, the HCP convinced with a strong collective and four balanced lines. 15 players achieved ten or more scorer points. With the exception of Vienna (four defeats), Pustertal was able to beat every opponent at least once.

In the quarter-final pick on March 4th, Fehervar chose HC Pustertal as his opponent. In the first playoff round there was no match against the great Hungarians, which is why Armin Hofer and Co. said goodbye to their summer vacation early on March 15th after their fourth defeat in a row.

ICE Regular Season ICE	SP	TV	P
1. Klagenfurt	47	183:101	102
2. Fehervar	46	146:126	89
3. Salzburg	46	142:107	87
4. HCB South Tyrol	46	137:125	76
5. Linz	46	146:116	75
6. Villach	46	155:136	74
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The HCP analysis: exceeded all expectations

On March 3, 2021, HC Pustertal was accepted into the ICE Hockey League (ICEHL). On March 15, 2022, the Wolves' debut season in the multinational championship came to an end in the quarter-finals. A look back at a turbulent and ultimately successful season.

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