Salzburg also won the fourth play-off match once morest Fehérvár and advanced to the semifinals.
Four games, four wins − that sounds like a no-brainer. However, it was not as easy for EC Red Bull Salzburg to beat Fehérvár in the ICE Hockey League quarter-finals as the 4-0 final score in the best-of-7 series suggests. In the final 6-1 win in Hungary on Tuesday, the Red Bulls (like in the two previous games) initially had to put up with a 0-1 deficit.
Because Fehérvár once once more got off to a better start and Janos Hari used the first power play of the evening to take the lead (4th). “We knew that they would come out at full throttle in their own arena. But we patiently held out,” explains Peter Schneider, who initiated the turnaround himself with a brace in the middle third and then increased it to 3:1 26 seconds following the start of the final third. With goalie Atte Tolvanen backing up once more, Mario Huber (45′) and Dennis Robertson (50′) followed up. Peter Schneider made the final score with his fourth goal.
“The game was closer than the result says. And the series was also extremely tight. Fehérvár challenged us in all areas. When we needed him, our goalie was fantastic and we defended well as a team,” was the Salzburg coach Matt McIlvane pleased with the performance.
Four-time goalscorer Schneider distributed even more praise: “It was a great team performance from everyone. Whether Atte in goal, the youngsters or how Peter Hochkofler blocked the shots when he was outnumbered.”
Salzburg is the first team to advance to the semi-finals. Bozen managed to equalize in their series with a 5-1 away win over Linz. The KAC increased in the Carinthian Derby to 3:1.
Fehérvár − RB Salzburg 1:6 (1:0, 0:2, 0:4). Goals: Hari (4th / PP) or Schneider (34th, 37th / PP, 41st, 52nd / PP), M. Huber (45th), Robertson (50th). Final score in the best-of-7 series: 0:4.
KAC – VSV 3:1 (0:1, 1:0, 2:0) 3:1, Vienna – Innsbruck 1:2 n.V. (0:0, 0:1, 1:0; 0:1) 2:2, Linz – Bozen 1:5 (0:1, 0:3, 1:0) 2:2.
