Tommy Koch on the derby
No name sponsor! KAC rejected an offer
The KAC has not had a sponsor in the club name since 1995 - now there have been talks with the "Kärntner Sparkasse". In the end, nothing came of it. This makes Klagenfurt one of four teams in the ICE League without a "partner" in its name. "Krone" columnist Tommy Koch also talks about the derby on Wednesday - and the upswing of the Carinthian clubs.
In the middle of Advent, the sponsorship agreement between the KAC and "Kärntner Sparkasse" (partner since 1971!) was extended by three years until 2028. As the "Krone" learned, there were additional talks regarding a name sponsorship. General Manager Oliver Pilloni also confirmed this. "We've talked about it - but it's not an issue," says the 59-year-old, emphasizing: "They've extended for a considerable sum, which makes us extremely happy."
Last name sponsor 1994/95
The Red Jackets thus remain one of the few clubs in the league without a name sponsor - alongside Olimpija Ljubljana, Pustertal and Vorarlberg. The last time there was an addition to the club name was in 1994/95 in Klagenfurt with "Viko". For comparison: VSV receives a high six-figure sum from its main and name sponsor "iDM Wärmepumpen".
Seats sold out
Klagenfurt is doing extremely well financially, especially in terms of spectator numbers: At the beginning of the year, only a total of five (!) seated tickets were available for all six January home games.
Eighth win in a row
The run of success also continued on the ice: The team struggled for a long time in the 3-0 win in Innsbruck - but thanks to a strong Flo Vorauer in goal, they picked up their eighth "three" in a row. "They defended compactly - the 2:0 towards the end was the redemption," said goalscorer Raphael Herburger. Steven Strong and Nick Pastujov could return for tomorrow's derby (19:15).
Hats off! The way the two Carinthian teams are currently performing in the ICE League is simply magnificent. While VSV recently celebrated eleven wins in a row, the KAC has now also won eight in a row. The Carinthians have thus worked their way up the table. I'm expecting a derby thriller - and one of the hottest duels in recent years - mainly because of their doubly good form.
Like last year, it took a while for Klagenfurt to find the perfect lines. But now they have the right formations, which is why things are going so well. What's more, both goalies are really strong at the moment.
What's impressive is what the experienced line with Nick Petersen, Jan Mursak and Matt Fraser brings to the ice. For me as an older crack, the games in December and January were always a pleasure - you don't train much, just go from game to game and rest in between. That always helped me. You also notice a big change in Petersen's whole demeanor - the high-class technician is now working hard, blocking shots and even playing outnumbered.
The big KAC bonus? The special teams! They have the third-best power play with 24.73 percent and the second-best shorthanded team with 83.3 percent. A total of 100 is good in ice hockey - in Klagenfurt it's currently 107!
With 26.3 percent on the power play and 80.2 percent shorthanded, VSV has similarly great values. In Villach, it has paid off that they have relied on coach Tray Tuomie despite the bumpy start. When you have the team together for the first time from August, the automatisms cannot take hold so quickly. In the meantime, the system has arrived - it was important for the upswing that defender Mark Katic was fit. He is a very important building block.
Alongside John Hughes and Kevin Hancock in first and second place on the scorer list, Maxi Rebernig is the pleasant surprise for me - as an Austrian, he has been given a chance in the top line. By mixing the locals into the top line, VSV has four strong lines. That's why I don't see a favorite for the derby - it will be tight.
This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.
Kommentare
Willkommen in unserer Community! Eingehende Beiträge werden geprüft und anschließend veröffentlicht. Bitte achten Sie auf Einhaltung unserer Netiquette und AGB. Für ausführliche Diskussionen steht Ihnen ebenso das krone.at-Forum zur Verfügung. Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.
User-Beiträge geben nicht notwendigerweise die Meinung des Betreibers/der Redaktion bzw. von Krone Multimedia (KMM) wieder. In diesem Sinne distanziert sich die Redaktion/der Betreiber von den Inhalten in diesem Diskussionsforum. KMM behält sich insbesondere vor, gegen geltendes Recht verstoßende, den guten Sitten oder der Netiquette widersprechende bzw. dem Ansehen von KMM zuwiderlaufende Beiträge zu löschen, diesbezüglichen Schadenersatz gegenüber dem betreffenden User geltend zu machen, die Nutzer-Daten zu Zwecken der Rechtsverfolgung zu verwenden und strafrechtlich relevante Beiträge zur Anzeige zu bringen (siehe auch AGB). Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.