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Tommy Purdeller in a tussle with Finn van Ee. © HC Pustertal/I. Foppa
Racy playoff victory: Heroic Wolves defeat KAC
Against all expectations, a struggling HC Pustertal celebrated a much-celebrated home victory in the playoffs of the ICE Hockey League (ICEHL) on Tuesday evening. Thanks to a concentrated, strong performance, the black and yellows forced the EC KAC to their knees and thus returned everything to zero in the playoff series.
March 04, 2025
From the Intercable Arena
From:
Leo Holzknecht
On Sunday, the favorites' 4-0 victory in the Heidi Horten Arena revealed a class difference. Only the greatest optimists believed 48 hours later that the Wolves would win. However, they proved all critics wrong, showed what is possible with team spirit and solidarity and celebrated a well-deserved 3-0 victory.
Even before the game, coach Jason Jaspers had to accept bad news: Jason Akeson and Alex Petan, who had been injured in the last third of the game in Klagenfurt, were out. While Akeson could still return in this series, Petan's season is in the cards.
A victory for the collective
However, the absences did not have a negative effect on the Wolves' game, on the contrary: The Black and Yellows appeared even more united. They made up for the lost quality with an even greater workload. The Red Jackets were not given time to breathe in either zone, were lured out of their comfort zone with harshness and were repeatedly forced to make unfamiliar mistakes.
As so often in recent weeks and months, there was only one correct answer to the question of who was the man of the match: Eddie Pasquale. The Canadian goalkeeper benefited from the perfectly harmonious team, but at the same time he made big saves at crucial moments. Like in the third period, when he parried a Bauerntrick attempt by Mathias From thanks to a split. The third, all-South Tyrolean line of attack, made up of Matthias Mantinger, Raphael Andergassen and Ivan Deluca, also deserve special praise.
The highlights
| Strong start | Right at the beginning, the Wolves kill a power play before Matthias Mantinger scores the 1-0: Klagenfurt loses the puck behind the goal, Raphael Andergassen plays Mantinger free, who is positioned in front of the goal and does not miss this opportunity. |
| It goes back and forth | There are chances every minute: First, Cedric Lacroix narrowly misses the 2-0 lead twice, then Kevin Clark misses a solo effort. On the third attempt, Lacroix is finally successful - thanks to a follow-up shot during the power play. |
| Pasquale is here | The KAC increased the pace in the middle period, but the Wolves managed to keep the regular season winners out of the danger zone. Pasquale had no trouble defusing the Red Jackets' attempts. At the same time, the home team became dangerous through counterattacks. |
| The reassuring 3-0 | In the final third, the Wolves were unable to capitalize on a nearly two-minute power play, but just a few moments later they made it 3-0 in a simple power play: Tyler Coulter was in the right place after a long-range shot by Gustav Bouramman and pushed the ball into the empty net. |
| KAC risks everything | Five minutes before the end of the game, KAC coach Kirk Furey takes goalie Sebastian Dahm off the ice. The Wolves miss the empty goal several times, so the victory remains 3-0. |
The series now moves back to Klagenfurt, where the Wolves, with newfound confidence, are aiming for the first away win of the best-of-19.15 series on Friday (7:XNUMX p.m.). HC Bozen, on the other hand, conceded the series equalizer on Tuesday evening in Villach.
HC Pustertal – EC KAC 3:0
HCP: Pasquale (Bernard); Glira-Wesley, Svedberg-Zanatta, Osmanski-Bouramman, Gios; Purdeller-Findlay-Lacroix, Coulter-Frycklund-Conci, Mantinger-Andergassen-Deluca, Althuber-Traversa-Gschliesser.coach: Jasper
KAC: Dahm (Vorauer); Jensen Aabo-Maier, Strong-Nick, Sablattnig-Preiml, Klassek; Fraser-Hundertpfund-Petersen, Schwinger-Pastujov-Clark, Hochegger-Herburger-From, Van Ee-Obersteiner-Peeters.
coach: Furey
Gates: 1:0 Mantinger (6.30), 2:0 Lacroix (13.53), 3:0 Coulter (51.10)
Viewers: 3011
ICE Hockey League:
Villacher SV – HC Bozen 4:3 nVGoals: 1:0 Hancock (6.57), 2:0 Rauchenwald (7.16), 2:1 Salinitri (27.52), 2:2 Seed (30.53), 3:2 Rauchenwald (35.15), 3:3 Helewka (52.20), 4:3 Rauchenwald (76.42)
Audience: 3312
Score in the series: 1:1
AV Fehervar – Red Bull Salzburg 0:1
Goals: 0:1 Kosmachuk (27.46)
Audience: 3116
Score in the series: 0:2
Graz 99ers – Black Wings Linz 3:2 aet
Goals: 0:1 Lebler (12.55), 0:2 St-Amant (17.49), 1:2 Gooch (38.17), 2:2 Vela (59.08), 3:2 Hora (82.13)
Audience: 3797
Score in the series: 2:0
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