Ice Hockey League

KAC equalizes against Pioneers ++ Linz also wins

The KAC has struck back in its second quarter-final game in the ICE Hockey League!

(Bild: GEPA)

The KAC has struck back in its second quarter-final game in the ICE Hockey League! The winners of the basic round won 1:0 at the Pioneers Vorarlberg in Feldkirch on Tuesday evening and equalized the surprising 0:2 opening defeat to 1:1 in the "Best-Of-Seven" series. The Black Wings also managed the same in Linz, beating champions Red Bull Salzburg 3:2. HCB Südtirol, on the other hand, took a 2-0 lead, winning 4-2 at VSV. 

Klagenfurt got off to a good start in Vorarlberg. After Nicholas Petersen's skate goal was initially disallowed (5'), Finn van Ee put the visitors from Carinthia in front shortly afterwards (12'). What followed was a fiercely contested game with a high tempo, strong defensive lines and plenty of emotion, which repeatedly led to minor scuffles. However, neither team managed to score again and in a wild final phase, KAC goalie Sebastian Dahm kept the shutout and thus the victory.

Black Wings defeat Red Bull Salzburg 3:2
The Linzers had suffered a 4-0 defeat in Game 1 in Salzburg, which made the first home game in this quarter-final series all the more pleasing for the Upper Austrians. In front of 4,500 spectators, Nico Feldner gave the hosts, who set the tone in the first period, the lead after 74 seconds. Logan Roe increased the lead to 2:0 (39') at the end of the second period after a mistake by the visitors.

However, Salzburg scored a double before the break. Thomas Raffl scored in overtime twelve seconds before the end of the period and Lucas Thaler equalized just seven seconds later (40'). The Black Wings were not shocked and struck back in the final period in the person of Brian Lebler in the powerplay (45'). That was enough to tie the game in the quarter-finals.

VSV, on the other hand, had nothing to gain in their second game against the South Tyroleans. Brad McClure gave the visitors the lead early on (2'), which Dustin Gazley extended half an hour later in overtime (31'). Villach countered on the powerplay and Robert Sabolic reduced the deficit (35'). In the final period, Joshua Teves initially restored the two-goal lead (54./PP). But John Hughes made it exciting again for Villach with his goal to make it 2:3 (56'). However, Gazley had the last word again, scoring into an empty net (60').

The third games in all four quarter-finals will take place on Thursday.