Videos
Brett Pollock scored the first goal. © Vanna Antonello
Fehervar knocked out: Bolzano warms up for playoffs
The Olympic break did HCB Südtirol Alperia good: While the Foxes had previously appeared vulnerable and inconsistent, they impressed with two highly focused and solid performances on Friday and Saturday. Following their 4-0 victory against the Graz 99ers, the Shedden-coached team gave Fehervar no chance whatsoever.
February 21, 2026
From: leo
Foxes captain Daniel Frank had said before the weekend that Bolzano needed to use the last games of the regular season to perfectly prepared to start the playoffs. The captain's message was clearly heard by his teammates. Following their convincing victory against the 99ers, the Red and Whites secured a similarly comfortable 5-2 win against Fehervar. The Hungarians thus ended their South Tyrol trip without any points, having also lost to HC Pustertal 24 hours earlier (2-4).
The Foxes, playing without the injured Matt Bradley and Mark Barberio, laid the foundation for their ultimately resounding victory in the opening stages. The early 1-0 lead gave the home side wings, while dealing a further blow to the already fragile confidence of the Hungarians. Bolzano were superior to their opponents in every aspect, playing direct attacking football and extremely compact defensively. The same could not be said of Fehervar. Both the 0-2 and 0-3 goals were preceded by glaring individual errors.
Bolzano leaves nothing to chance
It's no wonder that coach Ted Dent substituted the shaky Rasmus Reijola with Dominik Horvath at the intermission. This change injected fresh energy into the Hungarian game. And indeed, they scored to make it 1-3, but this didn't spark the hoped-for turnaround. Not least because the second-weakest offense in the league once again failed to find any effective ways to score. Bolzano comfortably saw out the victory, securing their third consecutive win.
With this victory, HC Bern overtook Red Bull Salzburg in the standings, bringing them significantly closer to securing home-ice advantage in the playoffs. Another win next Wednesday against direct rivals Ljubljana would allow Luca Frigo and his teammates to definitively achieve this season goal. Fehervar, on the other hand, is in danger of missing the pre-playoffs. Their lead over local rivals Ferencvaros Budapest has shrunk to just one point.
The highlights
| Dream start | Only 91 seconds had elapsed when the first goal was scored. During the power play, McClure made a superb pass to Pollock, who beat Reijola with a one-timer. |
| It gets even better | Bolzano is clearly the better team – and takes a 3-0 lead thanks to a quickfire double within 84 seconds. First, Reijola doesn't look good on a harmless shot from Gildon, before Schneider is completely unmarked in front of goal. |
| A glimmer of hope? | Fehervar grows stronger, firing the first warning shot through Gerlach's solo effort, before Mihaly decisively deflects an Andersen shot. |
| The preliminary decision | Horvath, who had come on as a substitute, made several excellent saves. However, the goalkeeper was powerless against Misley's baseball-like effort. |
| What a cracker | When Bolzano had a power play, Gildon showcased his shooting prowess, firing a slapshot into the top corner. Gerlach added a consolation goal shortly before the final buzzer. |
HC Bozen – AV Fehervar 5:2
HSBC: Harvey (Gibson); Samuelsson-Valentine, Gildon-Seed, Miglioranzi-DiPerna, Cairns; Schneider-Gersich-McClure, DiGiacinto-Pollock-Gazley, Frigo-Mantenuto-Gennaro, Frank-Misley-Brunner.Trainer: Shedden
OASI: Reijola (Dominik Horvath); Stipsicz-Messner, Andersen-Campbell, Kiss-Stajnoch, Donat Horvath; Erdely-Richards-Gerlach, Cheek-Hari-Kuralt, Archibald-Kulmala-Terbocs, Ambrus-Nemeth-Mihaly.
Trainer: Dent
Gates: 1:0 Pollock (1.31), 2:0 Gildon (15.40), 3:0 Schneider (17.04), 3:1 Mihaly (33.35), 4:1 Misley (36.15), 5:1 Gildon (48.54), 5:2 Gerlach (59.34)
Viewers: 3320
ICE Hockey League:
HC Innsbruck – Ferencvaros Budapest 4:5Goals: 1:0 Benker (12.24), 2:0 Benker (20.44), 2:1 Kestila (23.22), 2:2 Tammela (26.08), 2:3 Kestila (26.53), 2:4 Bengtsson (35.25), 3:4 Wilkins (45.57), 3:5 Green (56.50), 4:5 Corbeil (58.23)
Audience: 1600
| SP | G | U | V | TV | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. EC Klagenfurt | 45 | 31 | 0 | 14 | 157:107 | 94 |
| 2. Graz99ers | 45 | 31 | 0 | 14 | 153:99 | 93 |
| 3. EC Salzburg | 46 | 30 | 0 | 16 | 153:101 | 87 |
| 4. HCB South Tyrol | 45 | 28 | 0 | 17 | 161:117 | 86 |
| 5. Olimpija Ljubljana | 46 | 29 | 0 | 17 | 171:131 | 82 |
| 6. HC Pustertal | 45 | 26 | 0 | 19 | 150:124 | 79 |
| 7. Vienna Capitals | 45 | 21 | 0 | 24 | 117:131 | 64 |
| 8. EC Villach | 46 | 21 | 0 | 25 | 148:153 | 63 |
| 9. Linz | 46 | 21 | 0 | 25 | 138:145 | 59 |
| 10. Fehervar | 45 | 18 | 0 | 27 | 105:146 | 57 |
| 11. Ferencvarosi | 46 | 17 | 0 | 29 | 125:169 | 56 |
| 12. Vorarlberg | 45 | 13 | 0 | 32 | 104:170 | 39 |
| 13. HC Innsbruck | 45 | 9 | 0 | 36 | 109:198 | 26 |
Edit Profile
You have to by registering.to use the comment function.
Comments (0)