A wave of emotions for Graz ice hockey fans: first the 99ers were 0:2 behind against Znaim in the all-or-nothing game in the pre-play-off, then with 4:2 they looked like the sure winner. Before it was 4:4 and it went into a seemingly endless overtime. After which the Czechs cheered. The 99ers are hereby on vacation.
The pre-play-off in the Liebenauer bunker began with a minute’s silence for Ukraine – there was also silence at the end for the 1639 Grazers: Because the 99ers turned a 0-2 deficit into a 4-2 against Znaim, but gave it away assured victory. In overtime, the revived Czechs turned off the light through Gorcik. 99ers Managing Director Bernd Vollmann took stock of the sobering mood: “A number of things, such as the Covid thing recently, went very unluckily this year.” The analysis was divided among the legionnaires: top scorer Hjalmarsson convinced. “But there was no goal-getter,” said Vollmann in the direction of Gordon, Martin and Zalewski. The defense has recovered since December, but the power play was average. The question of whether Jens Gustafsson remains coach in Graz will be decided after a thorough analysis.
source site-12