Bolzano and Graz got into a fight.

The sparks fly in the cracker: Bozen takes first place!

Greetings, league leaders! HC Bozen took first place in the ICE Hockey League on Friday with a wild victory in Graz. What happened in the Merkur ice stadium was great ice hockey cinema!

18 October 2024

From: det

"High tempo, fights, lots of checks and good goals - this game had everything." These are the words of Bozen's defender Peter Spornberger. And they are words that hit the nail on the head. Graz and Bozen, the first and second, fought a spectacular duel on Friday that impressively showed why the two teams are among the best in the league. After 60, sometimes wild, minutes, HC Bozen celebrated, overtaking the Styrian team thanks to a 3-2 victory and now alone at the top of the table for the first time this season.

The fact that a first goal was the deciding factor in this match was in keeping with the drama of the evening. Ten minutes before the end, Spornberger, mentioned at the beginning, shot from the blue line and was delighted - thanks in part to the active help of Graz goalie Jonas Gunnarsson - to score his first Bozen goal. This was the decisive moment, but the 3.000 fans in the not sold-out arena saw the highlight of the match in the second third.

Bozen and Graz played a thrilling match.

The emotions shot out of the players like lava from a volcano. During a situation where Bozen had a power play, a commotion broke out that turned into a mass brawl. Everyone against everyone, that was more or less the motto. In the end, five (!) players each had to go to the penalty box. Even the referees were a little overwhelmed and so there was a minute-long break during which the referees tried to assign the penalties correctly.

The league star is ticking through

Emotions continued to run high even after league star Korbinian Holzer (1,90 meters tall) made a nasty check against Dustin Gazley (1,75 meters). A revenge foul after the two had exchanged some pleasantries during the brawl. Holzer was sent to the shower - and was provoked by the Bozen players as he left, which caused tempers to flare again. Bitter for the Foxes: Gazley could no longer continue after this check. In total, the referees handed out no fewer than 65 penalty minutes that evening (43 for Graz, 22 for Bozen).

The White-Reds will continue their action on Sunday at 18 p.m. – then they will face HC Innsbruck in the Sparkasse Arena. Here, too, a hot duel is looming. Meanwhile, HC Pustertal received a clear defeat at Fehervar. The Wolves will play against Vienna on Saturday (19.15:XNUMX p.m.).

Graz99ers – HC Bozen 2:3

G99: Gunnarsson (Wieser); Holzer-Zündel, Brunner-Hora, Kernberger-Albano, Pfeffer-Moosbrugger; Roy-Vela-Bailey, Ganahl-Haudum-Gooch, Huber-Ticar-Kainz, Antonitsch-Schiechl-Harnisch
Coach: Lange

HSBC: Harvey (Vallini); Hults-Di Perna, Valentine-Seed, Bourque-Spornberger; Frigo-Mantenuto-Frank, Marchetti-Christoffer-McClure, Helewka-Bradley-Gazley, Salinitri-Finoro-DiGiacinto
Coach: Hanlon

Gates: 1:0 Lukas Haudum (1.18), 1:1 Anthony Salinitri (8.35), 1:2 Cristiano DiGiacinto (12.42), 2:2 Tim Harnisch (27.15), 2:3 Peter Spornberger (49.46)

Viewers: 3.024

The other games

AV Fehervar – HC Pustertal 6:1
Goals: 1:0 Erdely (7.07), 1:1 Akeson (13.08), 2:1 Magosi (16.43), 3:1 Terbocs (19.55), 4:1 Berger (28.01), 5:1 Brown (48.34), 6:1 Terbocs (51.37)
Audience: 3113

Vienna Capitals – Villacher SV 3:4 nP
Goals: 0:1 Pearson (4.14), 0:2 Hughes (21.07), 1:2 Böhm (25.30), 1:3 Rauchenwald (29.38), 2:3 Franklin (39.12), 3:3 Hartl (54.25); decisive penalty: van Nes
Audience: 4160

Pioneers Vorarlberg – HC Innsbruck 1:2
Goals: 0:1 Rassell (13.59), 0:2 Grasso (21.56), 1:2 Nardi (56.31)
Audience: 2207

Asiago – Red Bull Salzburg 5:1
Goals: 1-0 Turnbull (4.52), 2-0 Fram (21.46), 3-0 Saracino (33.28), 4-0 Gennaro (42.46), 5-0 Moncada (55.15), 5-1 Thaler (57.20)
Audience: 1671

Black Wings Linz – Olimpija Ljubljana 4:2
Goals: 1:0 Würschl (21.14), 2:0 Würschl (23.40), 2:1 Sabolic (36.03), 3:1 Maver (37.47), 4:1 Feldner (43.14), 4:2 Sabolic (58.15)
Audience: 3420