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Graz rejoices, the Puster Valley cracks around Mikaela Frycklund (left) are disappointed.
A Puster Valley year-end with a bitter aftertaste
HC Pustertal played their last match of 2025 on Sunday. It was a bitter end for the Wolves, who at times got in their own way in the top match.
28 December 2025
From: det
HC Pustertal has given its fans many happy moments in 2025. The last few months, in particular, have been a resounding success: The Wolves are the surprise team of the ICE Hockey League and firmly on track for the playoffs. However, the year ended on a sour note: They suffered a 1-4 defeat against the second-placed Graz99ers on Sunday.
Losing to this Graz team is no disgrace this season. The Styrians are increasingly becoming a serious title contender. Nevertheless, a bitter aftertaste remains for HC Pustertal. The Wolves took themselves out of the game far too often this evening, quite literally. Numerous unnecessary penalties threw HCP off their game, especially in the final period.
Ierullo receives a match penalty
At that point, HCP was trailing 1-3 and still had a chance to get back into the game. Instead, captain Raphael Andergassen and his teammates found themselves playing 3-on-5 twice. Alex Ierullo, among others, was sent to the showers with a match penalty after an outburst. At least the Pusterer team didn't concede a goal during those periods, which speaks to their fighting spirit and effective penalty killing.
Graz's strong performance was further demonstrated by another incident: starting goalie Maxime Lagacé had to leave the ice after 29 minutes, and his replacement, Nicolas Wieser, hardly missed him, stopping all shots. This proves that the Styrians are currently brimming with confidence.
The highlights
| Freezing | First power play, first goal. Graz takes the lead on the man advantage with Bailen scoring from the blue line (3rd minute). Just seconds later, Pustertal's Bowlby misses a penalty shot. |
| Compensation | Pusterer are back in the game – albeit with a man down. While Rueschhoff is in the penalty box, his teammate Lauridsen scores the equalizer (13th minute) after a pass from Mantinger. |
| Graz again | The 99ers regained the lead before halftime. There was a lot of activity in front of the Pustertal goal, Zündel fired a shot from the blue line – and it was already 2-1 (18th minute). |
| Too cool | Graz's Vela scores alone in front of Pasquale in the second period to make it 3-1 (35th minute). A Puster Valley late offensive never materializes, partly because the Wolves repeatedly disrupt their own rhythm with penalties in the final 20 minutes. And so Schiechl seals the victory with an empty-net goal (58th minute). |
HC Pustertal now faces a long journey home followed by a short break. They resume play on New Year's Day: At 18 p.m., they host Vorarlberg, currently struggling in the league, at the Intercable Arena. HC Bozen, who celebrated a clear victory in Villach on Sunday, Meanwhile, on Tuesday, December 30th, they will play their last match, also at home against Vorarlberg (7:45 pm).
Graz99ers – HC Falkensteiner Pustertal 4:1
G99: Lagacé (from 30th Wieser); Brunner-Bailen, Holzer-Zündel, Stapelfeldt-Braun; Roy-Vela-Currie, Huber-Haudum-Harnisch, Collins-Schiechl-Ganahl, Moosbrugger-KainzCoach: Lacroix
HCP: Pasquale (Rabanser); Lauridsen-DiTomaso, Zanatta-Blum, Almquist-Osmanski, Glira; Saracino-Bardreau-Bowlby, Lipon-Frycklund-Rueschhoff, Ierullo-Ticar-Purdeller, Deluca-Andergassen-Mantinger
Coach: Jaspers
Gates: 1:0 Nicholas Bailen (2.38), 1:1 Markus Lauridsen (12.45), 2:1 Kilian Zündel (17.29), 3:1 Marcus Vela (34.22), 4:1 Michael Schiechl (57.23)
Viewers: 4.126
The other games
Villacher SV – HC Bozen 1:4Goals: 1-0 Hancock (24.49), 1-1 McClure (37.51), 1-2 McClure (55.04), 1-3 Gazley (58.04), 1-4 Bradley (59.42)
Audience: 3422
Red Bull Salzburg – Ferencvaros Budapest 5:1
Goals: 1:0 Nissner (6.17), 1:1 Coulter (19.56), 2:1 Corcoran (23.32), 3:1 Schneider (36.49), 4:1 Huber (38.59), 5:1 Schneider (41.07)
Audience: 3.311
Black Wings Linz – HC Innsbruck 4:1
Goals: 1:0 Tialler (12.18), 1:1 Kudla (38.42), 2:1 Söllinger (46.40), 3:1 Auvitu (51.36), 4:1 Auvitu (53.37)
Audience: 4.865
Olimpija Ljubljana – AV Fehervar 5:0
Goals: 1:0 Mahkovec (8.17), 2:0 Mahkovec (17.09), 3:0 Meyer (20.15), 4:0 Polei (20.50), 5:0 Simsic (50.58)
Audience: 3.432
Vienna Capitals – Klagenfurter AC 1:3
Goals: 0:1 Dobrovolny (3.41), 0:2 Fraser (23.22), 0:3 Schwinger (29.28), 1:3 Bourque (31.44)
Audience: 7022
| SP | G | U | V | TV | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. EC Klagenfurt | 31 | 22 | 0 | 9 | 113:75 | 67 |
| 2. Graz99ers | 30 | 20 | 0 | 10 | 98:68 | 61 |
| 3. HC Pustertal | 31 | 19 | 0 | 12 | 108:82 | 56 |
| 4. Olimpija Ljubljana | 32 | 20 | 0 | 12 | 124:92 | 56 |
| 5. HCB South Tyrol | 29 | 18 | 0 | 11 | 106:74 | 55 |
| 6. EC Salzburg | 31 | 19 | 0 | 12 | 98:68 | 55 |
| 7. Fehervar | 31 | 14 | 0 | 17 | 69:95 | 42 |
| 8. Ferencvarosi | 30 | 12 | 0 | 18 | 80:100 | 40 |
| 9. EC Villach | 29 | 12 | 0 | 17 | 92:99 | 39 |
| 10. Linz | 31 | 14 | 0 | 17 | 99:107 | 38 |
| 11. Vienna Capitals | 30 | 12 | 0 | 18 | 75:89 | 37 |
| 12. Vorarlberg | 30 | 8 | 0 | 22 | 66:121 | 26 |
| 13. HC Innsbruck | 31 | 8 | 0 | 23 | 77:135 | 22 |
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