Final! Daniel Frank makes HC Bozen dream

Daniel Frank will probably remember this evening for a long time: The 29-year-old from Meran became an acclaimed hero in the semi-final series against Vienna and shot “his” HC Bozen into the playoff final in front of over 6.000 fans in the Sparkasse Arena. There the HCB meets defending champions Red Bull Salzburg - the Mozartstadt team secured their ticket to the final thanks to a 4-0 win over Klagenfurt.

In the fifth semi-final game on Sunday evening, Bozen was the better team throughout the game and left the ice as the winner after 60 hard-fought minutes. The Talferstädters were behind early on, but no one in the ranks of the Hanlon troops was disturbed by this. Led by the brilliant Mike Halmo (he returned to the squad - as did the recovered Mitch Hults), the Bolzano team struck back in the first third and took the front for the first time at the beginning of the second period through Christian Thomas.

With the lead behind them, the HCB didn't skimp on some impressive moves and pulled the numerous spectators out of their seats several times. The only problem was when it came to exploiting opportunities - not an issue for the first time in the current playoffs - so Vienna luckily equalized to make it 2-2 shortly before the end of the second period.

When extra time was already in the air in the uneventful and tactically dominated final third, Daniel Frank's big moment finally arrived: after a fit of energy from the quick-witted Mantenuto, the captain gave up Vienna goalkeeper Stefan Steen and finally turned the Sparkasse Arena into a madhouse . The highlights Cold shower Bolzano got off to a very bad start to the game: Vienna defender Posch pulled away from the blue line and hit the visitors' first shot through the braces of HCB goalie Harvey to make it 1-0. The white and red goalkeeper looks anything but good. Halmo is back! Bozen doesn't let itself be put off by the early deficit and increasingly establishes itself in the third of the caps. Bolzano's attacking efforts rewarded returnee Halmo, who scored 1-1 after a Culkin finish (15th). Countered out Halmo takes advantage of the space available during a quick counterattack and brings the puck in front of the goal in an exemplary manner, where Thomas only has to hold out the stick - 2:1 (22nd). Again equalization While the HCB missed the 3-1 several times, Vienna punished Bozen's lack of cold-bloodedness coldly: Bradley was unguarded in the goal area and pushed a rebound over the line to make it 2-2 (39th). “Franky” does it! In a third third characterized by a lot of tactics and little risk, Daniel Frank made the decision: after a pass from Mantenuto, the HCB captain had the necessary luck on his side in front of Vienna goalkeeper Steen and made it 3-2 a (57th). In the final from Thursday, Bolzano will face the reigning champion Red Bull Salzburg. This season will see a repeat of the playoff finals from 2014 and 2018 - two final series that both times ended with the white and red winning the title. SportNews is there at all finals and reports on the games in real time with a live ticker.

HCB Südtirol Alperia – Vienna Capitals 3:2 HSBC: Harvey (Bernard); Culkin-Miglioranzi, Cole Hults-Dalhuisen, Valentine-Di Perna, Ginnetti-Kasslatter; Halmo-McClure-Gazley, Frattin-Mitch Hults-Thomas, Frigo-Mantenuto-Frank, Felicetti-Alberga-Miceli. coach: Hanlon

VIC: Steen (Starkbaum); Wall-Brunner, Posch-Krys, Fischer-Würschl; Kainz-Sheppard-Angeli, Zimmer-Bradley-Gregoire, Hartl-Piff-Pallierer, Böhm-Antal-Preiser. coach: barr

Gates: 0:1 Posch (1.52), 1:1 Halmo (14.39), 2:1 Thomas (21.43), 2:2 Bradley (38.12), 3:2 Frank (56.08)

Viewers: 6249

Standings in the best-of-7 series: 4:1

ICE Hockey League, playoffs: Red Bull Salzburg – EC KAC 4:0 Goals: 1:0 Robertson (3.47), 2:0 Bourke (11.21), 3:0 Raffl (32.05), 4:0 Thaler (58.51) Audience: 3400 Standing in the best-of-7 series: 4:1

ICE Regular Season ICE	SP	TV	P
1. Graz99ers	7	23:14	19
2. HCB South Tyrol	7	26:14	18
3. Olimpija Ljubljana	7	18:17	14
4. EC Salzburg	6	28:22	13
5. EC Klagenfurt	8	25:26	12
6. Vienna Capitals	8	14:17	11
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Final! Daniel Frank makes HC Bozen dream

HCB Südtirol Alperia is in the playoff final of the ICE Hockey League! In an exciting fifth semi-final duel against the Vienna Capitals, it was none other than captain Daniel Frank who ensured the White-Reds made it to the final.

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