2024-01-01 21:09:28
The top of the ICE ice hockey league came together on New Year’s Day. While league leaders Fehervar suffered their third defeat in a row at home with a 1:5 against Olimpija Ljubljana, their pursuers KAC (6:1 against the Vienna Capitals) and Red Bull Salzburg (2:1 at the Graz99ers) celebrated victories. Fehervar is now only one point ahead of Klagenfurt and three points ahead of defending champion Salzburg.
The Hungarians’ points cushion dwindled from nine points to one within a week. In terms of lost points, Salzburg and the KAC are already ahead.
The Carinthians caught up with their next, well-deserved victory two days after their success at Fehervar. The Red Jackets dominated the first third at home against the Vienna Caps, but only went into the dressing room with a score of 1-1. In the middle third, Marcel Witting (32nd, 37th) and Steven Strong (33rd) made the decision. The Caps are already nine points short of tenth place, which brings them a place in the pre-play-offs.
Salzburg was also the better team in Graz and was 2-0 ahead thanks to goals from Peter Schneider after 48 seconds and Ryan Murphy in the power play (32nd). After the bottom of the table’s goal from Sam Antonitsch (54th), the Red Bulls still had to fight for the three points.
The Black Wings Linz consolidated fourth place with a 5-2 win at VSV and ended their negative run against the Adler, who had won the last five duels. After Villach fought back from 0-3 down (27th) to 2-3 (37th), Brian Lebler (39th) and Logan Roe (43rd) scored Linz’s second win in the last six games.
The Innsbruck Haie took advantage of the Villach defeat and took sixth place with a 4-2 win in Bozen. Adam Rockwood (10th), Gordon Green (14th) and Corey Mackin (36th/PP) turned a 0-1 deficit into an ultimately decisive 3-1 lead. The North Tyroleans inflicted their first home defeat on HCB Südtirol after nine wins and moved into a direct play-off place with their third win in a row. The Pioneers Vorarlberg had to admit defeat 2:5 in Asiago.
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