Innsbruck’s ice hockey cracks showed a strong performance in the Champions Hockey League on Tuesday, winning 2-2 in the first round of 16 game against Lukko Rauma after a 2-0 deficit in front of 2,000 fans. This means that the Haie have a chance of promotion next Wednesday in Finland.
The round of 16 home game against Lukka Rauma was proclaimed the highlight of the club’s history. The call was also followed on Tuesday by CHL boss Martin Baumann, who paid the youngest member of the premier class of European ice hockey a distinguished visit to the TIWAG Arena. The sharks were motivated to the tips of their hair, longing for a sensation, a good starting point for the second leg next Wednesday in Finland. They managed to do that with a 2-2 draw.Finns initially more efficientInnsbruck’s cracks came out of the international break well rested, started aggressively, showed the necessary but not too much respect for the highly favored Finns. They didn’t present themselves as confidently as expected in the first third, were prone to errors and gave a lot. Efficiency made the difference. For the Tyroleans, Daniel Jakubitzka (2nd), Luis Ludin (6th, 14th), Adam Rockwood (11th) and Gordie Green (15th) all missed. For the guests, Burke scored from the turn to make it 0-1 (12th), Kele Steffler had had an unfortunate fall in the 0-2 (18th) through repo. Shaw had fans cheering. Nothing was lost yet. In the second period, Brady Shaw (28th) failed after a nice pass from Corey Mackin. The Sharks had a huge opportunity to shorten the score with a 5:3 majority over 80 seconds, but they acted harmlessly. On the contrary: They almost scored a goal, goalie Evan Buitenhuis saved against Repo (33′). 15 seconds before the second siren the time had come and Shaw scored to make it 1-2. That made for an exciting final third. Dream combination to equalize. Buitenhuis initially kept his team in the game with a brilliant performance. The Tyroleans then tried to build up pressure. Senna Peeters, who was voted Young Star of the Month in the ICE, had a great chance to equalize (51st). It fell in the 55th minute. After a beautiful combination via Green and Mackin, Shaw scored his second goal. The fans were over the moon, the Finns were perplexed. They probably hadn’t expected so much resistance. In the two-leg format there was no extra time, the match ended 2:2. CHL round of 16: Innsbruck – Lukka Rauma 2:2 (0:2, 1:0, 1:0). Goals: Shaw (40th, 55th); Burke (12th), Repo (18th).
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