“Our city, our club”: The Wolves fans’ choreo on Tuesday evening. © HC Pustertal

“The Puschtra fans are critical, but they stand behind us”

HC Pustertal may have played the best season in its club history. In the end, the Wolves were sent home with a bitter sweep (0:4) in the semi-final series against Klagenfurter AC. That's why the mood afterwards was mixed. Here you can find the original sounds from the Intercable Arena.

March 27, 2024

From: dl

From Bruneck, by David Lechthaler

What predominates at HC Pustertal? The pride of reaching the semi-finals in the ICE Hockey League for the first time or the sadness because of the quick elimination against the KAC? “There is clearly a feeling of satisfaction – even though we lost the series 0-4. We only had no chance in the first game, otherwise we were always close. We are proud of what we have achieved, in the end the KAC was simply better,” explained Pustertals Jochen Schenk across from SportNews after 3:5 defeat on Tuesday evening.

The managing director continued: “During the season, nobody expected us to reach the semi-finals. Of course it hurts to be eliminated like that today. But it could have gone the other way. I wouldn't have believed that the team would come back like this after a 0-4 deficit. But that shows the character of this team.”

“Pustertal is simply crazy about ice hockey.” HCP managing director Jochen Schenk

Despite the elimination, Schenk was still happy about what had been achieved: “We are all proud of what we have achieved for the entire valley. The Pustertal is simply crazy about ice hockey. Even though people are often very critical about this, on a day like this you notice that the Puschtra are all behind us.” The whole team celebrated the Rienz curve for minutes afterwards on the ice.

Between pride and frustration

President took the same line Erich Falkensteiner: “Before the season, everyone would have signed if they had reached the semi-finals. There have been ups and downs. The victory in the last game of the regular season against Salzburg was important. You could see that the team has a lot of character. This is also extremely important to me for the fans. People want to see a team that fights until they drop. Now you can build on next year.”

HC Pustertal failed in the semi-finals against Klagenfurter AC. © HC Pustertal/Flickr

The HCP boss also had a queasy feeling on Tuesday evening when his team was 0-4 behind. “It was extremely important to me that the team came back in the final third. It would have been extremely bitter to be shot down in the last game. Now the spectators go home feeling satisfied,” said Falkensteiner.

“Now you can build on next year.” President Erich Falkensteiner

On Saturday, HC Pustertal will celebrate the big end of the season with its fans. According to Falkensteiner, planning for the coming season will begin in a few weeks. Was less good Raphael Andergassen after the game. The Wolves captain's disappointment was written all over his face after the elimination. “At the moment, frustration and disappointment clearly predominate for me. The team showed great character today and got back into the game. But we would have liked to have made it to the final.”