Salzburg’s title defense started a little late because the KAC’s arrival was delayed due to traffic disruptions. The new coach Oliver David’s team was immediately in the game and put the guests under pressure with good forechecking in the first third. Tim Harnisch (14th), who pushed the puck over the line from a short distance, gave the team the deserved lead.
The KAC was the better team in the middle third, in which Florian Vorauer stood in goal for the ailing Sebastian Dahm, but always failed because of Atte Tolvanen. Salzburg, on the other hand, shone with efficiency and increased the lead to 3-0 through Chay Genoway (27th) and Luca Auer (33rd). In the 57th minute, the KAC rewarded itself with the 1:3 thanks to Johannes Bischofberger, who had the chance in the same minute to bring real excitement into the final phase. The striker failed with a penalty but Tolvanen, Salzburg captain Thomas Raffl made everything clear a little later with a shot into the empty goal (58th).
Lessons learned from CHL
“We didn’t let the KAC delay the start of the game due to travel and played a very good game. We learned from the games in the CHL and that helped us today,” said Raffl.
KAC coach Kirk Furey also saw positive things despite the defeat: “We didn’t have the necessary footwork in the first third, so Salzburg put a lot of pressure on us, but we were able to improve significantly in the second half and were very good offensively in the last half. We can take a lot of positive things from this game; we drew conclusions and made changes during the game.”
Bolzano continues the negative series in the derby
The Bolzano team have lost all four of their previous games in the Champions Hockey League (CHL) and also suffered a heavy defeat in the ICE. Corey Mackin used the first power play to give Innsbruck the lead (2nd), Senna Peeters with two goals (33rd, 52nd), Nathanael Halbert (40th) and Gordon Green (54th/PP) kept the Haie fans cheering , before the guests scored a consolation goal in the 59th minute. Former NHL striker Kevin Roy assisted four goals.
Capitals win in Graz after falling behind
When Marc Habscheid made his debut with the Vienna Capitals, the Viennese fell behind early on due to Sam Antonitsch (5th). Zintis Zusevics, who was brought from Graz in the summer, tied the score against his former club (6th) before Trevor Cheek became the match winner. The American first scored when he was outnumbered (28th) and in the 46th minute after an assist from the new top defender Dominique Heinrich. Michael Schiechl’s goal in the final minute came too late for a turnaround.
“The first game is always like a surprise bag. You never know what you’re going to get until you open them. We found a way to win the game. At the beginning we acted a little hesitantly, but that improved the longer the game went on,” said Habscheid.
The Black Wings Linz won 3-2 after extra time at Olimpija Ljubljana. Captain Brian Lebler decided the game after 35 seconds of overtime. The Pioneers Vorarlberg had to admit defeat to the upgraded Pustertal Wölfe 1:3, Fehervar won 3:0 in Asiago.
Win2day ICE Hockey League, first round
Freitag:
Salzburg – KAC 4:1
(1:0 2:0 1:1)
Goals: Harnisch (14th), Genoway (27th), Auer (33rd), Raffl (58th/EN) and Bischofberger (57th)
Penalty minutes: 12 and 8 respectively
Innsbruck – Bolzano 5:1
(1:0 2:0 2:1)
Tore: Mackin (2./PP), Peeters (33., 52.), Halbert (40.), Green (54./PP) bzw. Ford (59.)
Penalty minutes: 39 and 23 respectively
Graz – Vienna 2:3
(1:1 0:1 1:1)
Goals: Antonitsch (5th), Schiechl (60th) or Zusevics (6th), Cheek (28th/SH, 46th)
Penalty minutes: 4 and 6 respectively
Ljubljana – Linz 2:3 n. V.
(0:0 1:1 1:1 / 0:1)
Goals: Cepon (34th), Mehle (51st) or Knott (24th), Feldner (47th/PP), Lebler (61st)
Penalty minutes: 4 and 6 respectively
Pustertal – Vorarlberg 3:1
(0:0 1:0 2:1)
Tore: Hannoun (32nd/PP), Frycklund (47th), Petan (60th/EN) bzw. Maier (46./PP)
Penalty minutes: 14 and 39 respectively
Asiago – Fehervar 0:3
(0:0 0:1 0:2)
Tore: Day (29., 60./EN), Bartalis (53.)
Penalty minutes: 8 or 20
Tabel:
