The Steinbach Black Wings went into the second test match of the pre-season with a few personnel changes. Graham Knott, Nico Feldner and Ian Scheid were given a break and Emilio Romig had to cancel at short notice due to illness. This gave youngster Raffael Aigner valuable playing time.
Both teams started the game cautiously. After a one-two between Söllinger and Aigner, the first shot on goal was taken. This was no problem for the visitors’ goalie, however. After a few minutes, it was the hosts’ turn again. After winning the face-off in the Landshut defensive third, Brian Lebler had a shot on goal, but the puck only grazed the side netting. The Steel City team was more alert and aggressive in the first phase of the game.
After a great pass into the depth, Andreas Kristler served Sean Collins, who was lurking in the middle. However, he steered the puck just past the goal. Just a few moments later, the home team had their first power play. Again, it was Kristler, whose shot bounced off Jonas Langmann into the middle, where Sean Collins could no longer react in time.
After that, Bayern managed to close the spaces in their own zone better. Linz found it increasingly difficult to advance into the third in an orderly manner. Instead, Bayern had their first shots on goal. Jack Doremus set up Tobias Schwarz well, but he just missed the ball. During the EVL’s brief period of pressure, the steel city team weakened itself when Shawn St-Amant had to go to the penalty box because of a crosscheck. Again, it was Jack Doremus who had the lead for his team on his stick. His shot narrowly missed the goal and only grazed the outside netting. The DEL 2 representative was now really on fire. Benjamin Zientek fired the next warning shot, but it bounced off the post. Simon Seidl suddenly found himself alone in front of Tirronen’s goal, but the Finn saved the tie until halftime with a strong reflex.
In the second period, the next power play for Landshut began. Andi Kristler had to take a break because of a backheel. The Lower Bavarians continued exactly where they left off before the break – putting pressure on the goal. Yannick Wenzel tested Rasmus Tirronen with a hard long-range shot. However, the Linz goalie was in the right place and was able to block the shot. The guests continued to push after that, while the home team seemed a little tired during this phase. Tobias Schwarz was well played free by his teammates, but was unable to get the puck past Tirronen’s shin guards. In the minutes that followed, the 1,562 spectators could see how their team became more alert again. Logan Roe worked his way well to the goal, but was intercepted at the last moment.
Happy Linz leadership
The next top chance also belonged to the Upper Austrians. Sean Collins made the perfect pass to Andi Kristler, but the puck again sailed just over the goal. It was now an open exchange of blows between the two teams. Tobias Schwarz had a shot centrally in front of the goal, but Tirronen held on safely. Nevertheless, some inaccuracies and the resulting penalties plagued the Steel City team’s game. In the power play, it was again Jack Doremus who posed a threat, but again only hit the post. On the Upper Austrian side, Henrik Neubauer was once again very noticeable in this game. With a turn, he danced around his opponent and finished while outnumbered, but narrowly missed Langmann’s goal. In the 39th minute, Niklas Würschl made the Linz AG Eisarena cheer for the first time. From the visitors’ point of view, his shot was unfortunately deflected and rolled into the goal. The team went into the final break with a 1-0 lead.
The last third started again with two penalties. Dominik Gross and Andi Kristler each received two minutes for excessive force. Both teams slowed down in intensity. The Landshut team had difficulty finding ways through the Linz defense. The guests were visibly frustrated by Linz’s physical play, but after a hard check only Brian Lebler had to go to the penalty box. Nick Pageau shot on the power play, but the puck flew past the left side of the goal. Tor Immo also tried his luck, but like his teammate before him, was thwarted by the Upper Austrian goalie.
The Steinbach Black Wings worked on their second goal in the last minutes of the game. Stefan Gaffal and Andi Kristler tried to work together, but failed. The most conspicuous Linz player of the evening, Henrik Neubauer, captured the puck in the neutral zone shortly before the end and headed towards the goal alone. The new signing from Upper Austria narrowly missed the goal and was therefore unable to celebrate his first goal in the Steel City team’s jersey.
The steel city team managed the narrow lead and secured their first test match victory of 2024/25 with a razor-thin 1-0. After an initial away game on Sunday, the next match will be a home game against the Augsburg Panthers next Wednesday. Tickets for the match against Augsburg are available online at tickets.blackwings.at available.
