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Pustertal celebrated a clear victory against Budapest. © HC Pustertal/I. Foppa
Pustertal undermines the Hungarian Catenaccio
Forty-eight hours ago, HC Bozen fired 67 shots in their match against Ferencvaros Budapest – yet they only managed a narrow 4-3 victory. On Sunday evening, the Hungarians tried the same defensive approach for much of the game against HC Pustertal, but it again proved unsuccessful.
18 January 2026
From the Intercable Arena
From:
Leo Holzknecht
In football, the word Catenaccio refers to an extremely defensive tactic. The aim is, on the one hand, to barricade one's own goal, but on the other hand, to launch quick counter-attacks. Ferencvaros Budapest employed this approach, which is quite unusual in ice hockey, on Sunday in the packed arena – at least in the first half. Ultimately, however, the more active, courageous team was rewarded – and that was undoubtedly HCP, who prevailed 5-1.
This victory brings Pustertal a little closer to HC Bozen, who are currently fourth in the standings. who was hit by a car in Salzburg on Sunday. HCP also ended a series of three consecutive home games (Salzburg, Linz and Budapest) with a perfect score – and with a phenomenal goal difference of 12:3.
In light of these figures, it's clear that the Wolves have more than overcome the slump they had to endure over the New Year period. This is also confirmed by the league table: their lead over seventh-placed Fehervar has now grown to twelve points. Direct qualification for the playoffs is therefore drawing ever closer.
The game against the Hungarians, who had won all three head-to-head encounters, began one-sidedly. Pustertal pinned Tyler Coulter and his teammates back in their own zone time and again, creating chances every minute and could have taken control of the game early on. However, Budapest goaltender Bence Balizs prevented this with numerous saves. This gave his teammates confidence, and by the time they were down 1-2 midway through the game, they were playing on equal terms.
The dream duo stands out
Led by the ever-reliable Eddie Pasquale, HCP managed to keep their opponents' resurgence at bay and score the decisive 3-1 goal at the crucial moment. This was thanks to Cole Bardreau and Henry Bowlby, who, after a long absence, played together again on the attack and repeatedly overwhelmed their opponents with their speed.The Wolves' next match is this coming Wednesday, when league leaders Klagenfurt visit the Intercable Arena (7:45 pm). Jaspers' team will be aiming for their fourth consecutive home win.
The highlights
| This is how it can continue. | Pustertal started dominantly – and narrowly missed taking the lead when Lauridsen hit the post. Mantinger finally broke the deadlock, his shot from the slot finding the top left corner. |
| The power play stands out | Frycklund scored an unusual power-play goal in the 26th minute. Rueschhoff drove into the zone at high speed, passed to the Swede, who beat Balizs under his glove. |
| Shock in Bruneck | Budapest had offered little offensive threat up to that point, but then narrowed the gap seemingly out of nowhere. Shaw won the puck in the corner, passed to Kestila, who then stuck his stick out in front of the net. |
| Pasquale again | Budapest upped the tempo at the start of the final period, but Pasquale consistently proved unbeatable. The game was effectively decided when Bardreau and Bowlby expertly finished off a 2-on-1 opportunity. |
| That's it | The HCP victory is now officially in the bag: Ierullo attempts a cross-ice pass on the power play, his pass is blocked, he then fires a shot that beats Balizs between the pads. Frycklund then scores an empty-net goal at the end. |
HC Pustertal – Ferencvaros Budapest 5:1
HCP: Pasquale (Rabanser); Lauridsen-Di Tomaso, Glira-Osmanski, Zanatta-Nitz; Saracino-Andergassen-Lipon, Lobis-Bardreau-Bowlby, Rueschhoff-Frycklund-Mantinger, Ierullo-Ticar-Purdeller.coach: Jasper
FTC: Balizs (Nagy); Bengtsson-Lindgren, Horvath-Toth, Hudec-Hadobas; Shaw-Kestila-Laskawy, Gordon Green-Coulter-Antonen, Sofron-Molnar-Tammela, Mihalik-Mattyasovszki-Galajda.
coach: Saarikoski
Gates: 1:0 Mantinger (12.48), 2:0 Frycklund (25.59), 2:1 Kestila (28.19), 3:1 Bowlby (51.39), 4:1 Ierullo (53.26), 5:1 Frycklund (57.39)
Viewers: 3104
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