Nothing to get! The ice hockey cracks of the 99ers drove in Hungary at Fehervar as losers from the ice. Graz had to struggle with severe failures, the last contingent ran out of breath against the leaders at 1: 3 in the end. The situation for 99ers coach Jens Gustafsson is not getting any easier. Sunday comes Znojmo.
Youth research? A look at the 99ers line-up against Fehervar gave that impression. Seven failures (including top performers such as Oberkofler, Grafenthin, Boivin, Peters or Joey Martin) had to digest the Grazer. There were ten (!) Players who were younger than 22 years old in the squad.
But the “fountain of youth” withstood the constant Hungarian pressure for a long time. Also because a Fehervar goal by Fournier (5th) was not given at the beginning due to a goalkeeper disability. Although the leader of the table was always superior, the Styrians braced themselves against bankruptcy. Ultimately in vain. Nilsson circled the target in the final third into the far corner – 1-0 (50th). Horvath increased to 2-0 (55th). The subsequent goal by Hjalmarsson (56th) was only cosmetic. When Graz put everything on one card, Hari (60th) hit the empty goal. “A strong fighting performance. In the end we lost our strength, ”says manager Vollmann.