Brilliant home win

99ers back on track after a spectacular performance

Vorarlberg goalie Madlener made life very difficult for the 99ers and captain Korbinian Holzer at the start.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

After two defeats in a row, the ice hockey cracks of the 99ers are back on track, defeating the Vorarlberg team by a clear 7:1. There was no doubt about this home victory at any time. A look at the shooting statistics also proved this - in the end, they spit out 49:12 for the team from Graz.

The 99ers' ice hockey team had recently suffered two defeats. The team from Graz were therefore fully focused on victory in their home game against Vorarlberg. And at an extremely unusual time for a visit to the Liebenauer Bunker - after a morning pint with "Die Lauser", the game got underway at 12 noon. The local players slipped into a special jersey with a traditional costume design. 

The 99ers played against Vorarlberg in a special traditional costume jersey.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

2907 spectators did not miss the match and supported their team from Graz. Incidentally, not a single fan from Vorarlberg made it to the Styrian capital. The 99ers started the game better and quickly created some good chances. However, they were unable to score at first - partly because Roy failed to score after nine minutes in the power play. However, the spell was broken after 18:15 minutes when Lukas Kainz fired Graz into the lead. They went into the first break with a 1:0 lead. Incidentally, the shooting statistics spoke for themselves - 16:3 for the 99ers. "My first goal of the season! Thank God I was in exactly the right place," beamed the scorer.

Double strike for the preliminary decision
The game continued in the same vein in the second period, with the 99ers steaming ahead. But it was mainly thanks to Vorarlberg goalie David Madlener that it took the 99ers a while to score again. But he had no chance in minute 34, when Rok Ticar made it 2:0 with a follow-up shot after a poke-in. And just 85 seconds later, Nik Albano made it 3:0 in the power play. The early preliminary decision. "Our bunker, our bunker, hey, hey," could be heard echoing deservedly from the stands afterwards. But the visitors did not give up and scored the equalizer in the 37th minute. "We just have to keep playing our game and watch out at the back," said Michi Kernberger during the second break.

After two defeats in a row, the 99ers were once again celebrating a win.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Things got off to a flying start in the final period: Less than two minutes had been played when Casey Bailey made it 4:1. And the 33-year-old then also made it 5:1 (44'). Crowd favourite Sam Antonitsch scored to make it 6:1 in the 51st minute to the applause of the fans. By then, the 99ers were already playing for the gallery. Manuel Ganahl's 7:1 was a perfect match: a perfect shot right into the corner of the net! The Graz fans thanked their players for the 7:1 spectacle against the bottom team with a chant of "Kill them all, shoot them out of the arena!".