The anniversary is perfect. With the 5:2 (1:2, 1:0, 3:0) over the Pioneers Vorarlberg, the Steinbach Black Wings celebrated their incredible 750th victory since entering the ice hockey upper house in autumn 2000. As a reminder: The The Linzers celebrated their very first triumph once morest Kapfenberg on October 5, 2000 in front of 1,800 eyewitnesses. Today’s chief scout Rick Nasheim scored three goals in the 9:2 win, and current head coach Philipp Lukas and his assistant Mark Szücs also entered the scorer’s list.
Image: OÖN:Oberösterreichische Nachrichten
8,531 days later, 3,282 fans at the Untere Donaulände were also treated to a magnificent goal spectacle. However, there were teething problems, which were probably due to the nine-day break from competition.
Brian Leblers 40. Scorerpunkt
The Black Wings needed time to get up to speed. But they showed morale and didn’t let the fact that they were behind twice once morest a strong opponent from the country throw them off track.
In the third third, Werkl was in full swing – one-way ice hockey with a move to the opponent’s goal. This was also necessary when looking at the table constellation. The fight for a top 6 position – equivalent to a direct play-off quarter-final ticket – is tough and doesn’t allow for a fall.
The EHC maintained fifth place, but the lead of one point over seventh-placed Innsbruck is a touch of (almost) nothing. “We have to stick with it, you don’t get anything for free,” says captain Brian Lebler, who shook off his jamming and recorded his season scoring points of 38, 39 and 40.
The 35-year-old’s 3-2 win in the 44th minute was something of a liberating blow; Linz suddenly began to work magic on Shrove Tuesday. Niklas Bretschneider, the “Man of the Match”, increased to 4:2 (48th), Martin Stajnoch to 5:2 (49th). There were just 265 seconds between these three direct hits.
That’s what you call gaming frenzy – much to the delight of the crowds, who saw their EHC off to the dressing room to the sounds of “Sweet Caroline” and “Hey, that’s going on, we’re partying all night long.” But the opponent from Feldkirch might also be happy because they moved straight into the so-called pre-play-offs (round of 16).
The Ländle-Cracks benefited from the 3-0 defeat by the Vienna Capitals, who missed the knockout phase for the first time in 19 years.
EC-KAC - Fehervar AV19 5:2 (0:1,3:1,2:0) Black Wings Linz - Pioneers Vorarlberg 5:2 (1:2,1:0,3:0) HC Innsbruck - Graz99ers 4:1 (2:0,0:0,2:1) Olimpija Ljubljana - Vienna Capitals 3:0 (0:0,0:0,3:0) Asiago Hockey - EC VSV 2:4 (1:0,1:1,0:3) Pustertal Wölfe - HCB Südtirol 4:5 n.V. (3:0,1:1,0:3,0:1)
1. EC-KAC 45 28 3 6 8 173:99 74 96 * 2. Fehervar AV19 44 26 2 3 13 142:122 20 85 * 3. EC Salzburg 44 22 6 4 12 133:103 30 82 * 4. HCB Südtirol 44 21 5 0 18 127:114 13 73 5. Black Wings Linz 44 18 5 8 13 143:113 30 72 6. EC VSV 44 19 5 4 16 147:131 16 71 7. HC Innsbruck 44 17 7 6 14 127:124 3 71 8. Pustertal Wölfe 45 18 5 5 17 134:132 2 69 9. Olimpija Ljubljana 44 17 5 4 18 137:132 5 65 10. Pioneers Vorarlberg 45 17 3 3 22 144:146 -2 60 ** 11. Vienna Capitals 45 9 7 7 22 109:161 -52 48 12. Asiago Hockey 44 7 5 9 23 112:178 -66 40 13. Graz99ers 44 6 5 4 29 84:157 -73 32
* = im Viertelfinale ** = im Pre-Play-off
Author
Alexander Zambarloukos
Sports editor
Alexander Zambarloukos
