The season came to an end for Innsbruck’s cracks on Tuesday. The Haie also lost the second game against the Pioneers in the pre-playoff and were defeated 2:5 in Feldkirch. Striker Martin Ulmer (35) announced his retirement after the match.
Before the opening face-off, league top scorer Steven Owre was awarded the Ron Kennedy Trophy as the most valuable player of the regular season. The Canadian immediately showed why, scoring the goal to make it 1-0 for the Pioneers after just 39 seconds. The match couldn’t have started worse for the Innsbruck team, who had their backs against the wall. Equalizer when outnumbered Mitch O’Keefe’s team received two penalties in the first four minutes, were lucky with a shot from the pole (3rd) and then equalized when they were outnumbered Nate Halbert (5th) out. That was an extremely important goal to regain control. Amateurish defensive behavior There was another open exchange of blows. The Haie missed two thousands: Kevin Roy had the empty goal in front of him and hit the post (8th); Gordie Green failed from close range (10th). That was extremely negligent. And the defensive behavior is amateurish. At 1:2 (12th), Van Nes was completely forgotten. Corey Mackin (18th) had the equalizer on his bat before the first break. Pioneers make everything clear. The second third has always been the Tyroleans’ weakest. This made the fans who traveled with them expect something bad. The fears came true. The Pioneers secured the preliminary decision with three goals in less than three minutes and played themselves into a frenzy. The Haie’s frustration resulted in many penalty minutes. In the final third, Halbert was able to make up for the result with his second goal. The Pioneers advanced to the quarterfinals with a 2-0 series win. In the second pairing Laibach was able to equalize against Pustertal, there is a playoff on Thursday. ICE HOCKEY LEAGUE: Pre-Playoff: Vorarlberg – Innsbruck 5:2 (2:1, 3:0, 0:1). Goals: Owre (1st, 28th), van Nes (12th), Woger (26th/PP), Pastujov (29th); Halbert (5./SH, 52.). Final score in the series: 2-0. Laibach – Pustertal 6:2 (1:1, 3:0, 2:1). Score: 1:1.
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