Ice hockey Graz on a high

The 99ers are more successful than ever!

Holzer & Co. celebrated their eleventh win of the season in Bruneck.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Harry Lange's ice hockey team is on a high after the Italo-coups in Asiago and Bruneck. The points average is even better than in the successful Gilligan and Mason times.

Now the sold-out Liebenauer Bunker is bursting at the seams in Friday's hit against record champions KAC - the 99ers are in top form! With two strong victories at Asiago (5:2) and Pustertal (5:1), the Graz ice hockey team underlined its position as the best red-white-red team in the ICEHL at the moment. The points average of 2.05 is better than that of the basic round victories under Bill Gilligan (1.42) and Doug Mason (1.97). Nevertheless, coach Harry Lange raises his finger in warning.

With the convincing 5:1 in Bruneck, the 99ers have already surpassed last year's total score of 32 with 35 points after 17 games. Comparisons with the great 99ers teams in the club's history clearly come to mind. Harry Lange himself was there in 2009/10 when the Gilligan 99ers celebrated victory in the basic round with 77 points after 54 games. "We also had very good foreigners back then with Day, Norris and Healy," recalls Lange, "and several team players with Iberer, Herzog, Ganahl and the Harands. The situation is comparable."

Harry Lange follows in the footsteps of his former master Bill Gilligan (above) with the 99ers.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Striker Lukas Kainz was there live in 2018/19 when the basic round was won under Doug Mason with 87 points after 44 games. However, Oliver Setzinger's squad also had nowhere near the breadth of the current squad: "The 99ers are qualitatively better than in recent years," says Lange, "but above all quantitatively. There's no drop in performance, even if a top player like Vela is out, as is the case now. We have four lines plus two men who can all play. The battle for the ball is raging."

The 99ers have never rebuilt with 18 new signings and we still have to get much better.

99ers-Cheftrainer Harry Lange

Postscript: "We need a squad like this if we want to compete with the top teams. In the ICEHL, we have four teams to measure ourselves against: Fehervar, Bolzano, Salzburg and KAC. We've only played against such caliber teams twice so far, winning once and losing once." But: "The 99ers have never had a rebuild with 18 newcomers and we still have to get much better. We have quality, I like the way we play, the special teams (power play and penalty killing) work and we're very efficient. But now it's time for players who have shone elsewhere to put their egos aside and fight for the team. My big mission is to teach them to want the game without the glass!"

The points average of his 99ers makes Harry Lange cheer.

(Bild: Pail Sepp/Sepp Pail)

Next Friday (18:30, Merkur Eisstadion), the KAC, Lange's former club, where he played for 16 years and won the championship twice, will be the next real test. The arena is already sold out, around 4000 fans will be there.