Third title in a row

All that glitters is not gold for the Eisbullen

Mario Huber (center) and Co. had problems in front of goal.

(Bild: Kronen Zeitung)

After a difficult season, Salzburg were able to celebrate in the end The "Krone" takes a look at the tops and flops

With a gala performance in Klagenfurt, the Eisbulls secured their ninth Ice Hockey League title. The Salzburg team lifted the "Karl Nedwed Trophy" for the third time in a row. The cracks of coach Oliver David - Kickert and Stapelfeldt are already moving into the team camp today - celebrated in style. Time for the "Krone" to take a look at the not always rosy season.

New coach: Matt McIlvane left big shoes to fill at the Salzach. Oliver David has not (yet) been able to fill them completely, but the US-American is on the right track. After all, the Californian won the title in his very first season as head coach. The Bulls proved to have a good hand.

Mentality: While there were a few problem areas during the basic round, the play-offs still showed the tried-and-tested Red Bull field hockey. The mentality monsters struck ice-cold, especially in game seven of the final. The Red Jackets had practically no chance.

The captain: Tom Raffl is a true leader. Even at the age of 37, the Carinthian-born player was a force, especially in the play-offs. He was quite rightly voted the most valuable player.

Strong performance: Thomas Raffl

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Legionnaires: The Bulls didn't do themselves any favors with Adam Payerl. In general, they lacked a scorer. But they made good improvements. With Nicolai Meyer, they brought back the man for the important goals. Drake Rymsha became a face-off machine. Cameron Schilling was solid in defense.

Spectators: More people came to the ice arena, with an average of 2716 fans attending the Bulls' games. However, the fact that only a few games in the play-offs were sold out is shameful. The team deserved more.

Utilization of chances: The poor scoring rate was the David crew's major shortcoming. It was a recurring theme throughout the entire season. The Bulls fired 2247 shots, only 208 of which found their way into the goal. That's only 9.26 percent - the third-worst figure in the entire league.

Penalties: With 754 penalty minutes (11.3 per game), Salzburg recorded the most in the ICE Hockey League. Penalty killing also left a lot to be desired. 79.3 percent of all short-handed games were survived unscathed. In the last five years, the team has done much better.