Final four away from home
The KAC’s mentality monsters chase match pucks
Things are getting serious in the ice hockey final between KAC and Salzburg! With an away win this Friday, the Red Jackets (lead 2:1 in the series) could already get match pucks. Curious: Both final coaches are debutants. "Krone" columnist Thomas Koch also sees a deserved KAC lead.
No matter if goal or goal against! KAC coach Kirk Furey hardly makes a face on the bench. But recently, after Bischofberger's 4:2 goal into the empty net at home, the Canadian totally exploded, celebrating the 2:1 lead in the final series.
"We are mentally strong!"
No wonder! Just like in Salzburg before, his boys had shown themselves to be mentality monsters and turned around a deficit both times. "We've worked all year on getting the boys to believe in themselves. We're mentally strong, everyone trusts their teammates," enthuses Furey, who didn't have to change much for the comebacks: "Minimal adjustments - the main focus is on us!"
Furey has one thing in common with Salzburg coach Oliver David: both are in the final in their first season as head coach (Furey last coached the KAC farm team, David was "co" in Biel/Sz), vying for the cup.
Final premiere also for Postma
Another newcomer to the final is KAC defenseman Paul Postma. The 205-time NHL crack became champion with the Red Jackets in 2021, but was out injured. "Back then, I was cheering in the stands. It's so much fun now, we have so much energy, everyone is in top shape!" Finn van Ee returns today, playing in the fourth forward line. The first match points are to come!
Schneider feels disadvantaged again
Arg "Schmalz" for the league criticism ("I understand that the league doesn't necessarily want Salzburg to win three times in a row!") in the TV interview for Salzburg's Peter Schneider: 5000 euros (of which 2500 euros conditional) fine! That means: he has to pay €2,500 immediately - if he makes a similar statement in the next 24 months, another €2,500.
In the 2019 final between the KAC and the Vienna Capitals, Schneider had already felt badly disadvantaged by the referees in an interview - and then had to watch the Red Jackets celebrate.
I'm really looking forward to the fourth game. The last two duels were extremely exciting and varied! The KAC has a deserved 2:1 lead in the final series, is always able to take control of the game and never loses its nerve even when trailing.
When things get tight, it's the special teams and the goalie that make the difference. Sebastian Dahm has been ahead among the goalies so far. He's playing unbelievably. KAC is also more effective with the special teams at the moment. The only thing that can be criticized is the starting third. The Red Jackets simply have to try and get into the game quicker.
I'm impressed by the KAC spirit. The lads can shift up two gears at the push of a button when they're behind. Like the recent 0:2 in Klagenfurt, which was turned into a 3:2 in 16 minutes - that only works when the team and the coaching team are a unit.
But Klagenfurt have to keep at it! The Bulls are far from beaten. You could see that in the third encounter in the final period. Salzburg dominated, only Dahm prevented the equalizer to 3:3 with a super reflex save. The Bulls can exert a lot of pressure, but only in phases. That's the difference to the last few years. They managed it for a longer period of time. There are a lot of ups and downs this year.
This Friday, however, I'm convinced that coach Oliver David's team will deliver their best match in this series so far. Because it makes a big difference whether the score is 2:2 or whether you're 1:3 behind in the best-of-seven series. The pressure is very high. I'm curious to see how Salzburg will deal with it in front of their own fans.
They are definitely nervous. You can see that from the comments made by Sturm ace Peter Schneider. Salzburg are certainly impressed by how strong the record champions are and they are increasingly realizing that their performance is not good enough.
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