HCB Südtirol won the top game of the ICE Hockey League! The second-placed team from Bozen defeated HC Innsbruck 5:1 on their own ice and moved up to two points behind the leader in a game in the backhand. There were also home wins for the Vienna Capitals (4:1 against KAC), Black Wings Linz (5:3 against Asiago) and Pustertal (3:0 against the Graz 99ers). Red Bull Salzburg (3-1 at Fehervar) and Pioneers Vorarlberg (4-0 in Ljubljana) achieved away wins.
The South Tyroleans proved to be a stronger team against Innsbruck in the first half and should have gone into the first break with a better lead than Mike Halmo’s 1-0 lead (5th). After Corey Mackin made it 1-1, Daniel Mantenuto (27′), Angelo Miceli (28′), Luca Frigo (36′) and Matt Frattin (48′) ensured the home side’s clear success. The Innsbruckers failed to be the first team to secure a top 10 place – a win would have been necessary for that. Third Salzburg only scored the three points in the repeat of last year’s final against Fehervar in the finish, Peter Schneider (57./ SH) and Benjamin Nissner (60th/empty net) scored decisively. The fourth-placed Black Wings also had a long struggle with Asiago, and it was up to the 55th minute after goals from Michael Haga (9th), Emilio Romig (17th) and Graham Knott (25′) and Randal John Gazzola (24′), Stefano Marchetti (31′) and Allan Joseph McShane (44′) 3-3. Then Brodi Ripken hit Stuart, the decision bringing an empty net goal from Knott 57 seconds from the end. The third meeting this season went to Linz, who wrote again after two bankruptcies in a row. In contrast, Asiago has been without a win for five games. In Vienna, KAC was only able to keep the game open for two thirds. Manuel Ganahl (34′) equalized the Capitals’ lead through Matt Bradley (15’/PP). In the final section, Alex Wall (44th), Maxwell Zimmer (51st / PP) and Bradley (55th / SH) made everything clear. The hosts took revenge on Klagenfurt for the two defeats in the previous season duels, and that in front of 7022 spectators. “Full house, heated atmosphere, but we weren’t mentally compatible with this situation today, and we weren’t close enough together either, we can undoubtedly do that much better,” said coach Petri Matikainen to a clear 4:0 and thereby reduced the gap to the Slovenians to five points. Pustertal also gave the Graz 99ers no chance at 3:0.
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