Final duel with KAC
Only full focus on ice hockey counts for Eisbullen
Will the ice hockey final escalate further today in game three in Klagenfurt - or will the sport once again take center stage? A good part of it will be down to the referees. The team of Smetana and Piragic let a lot of things slide in game two of the final in Salzburg - on both sides - and often looked the other way.
"There's no comment on that," said Bulls manager Helmut Schlögl, who was happy that Nissner's controversial match time penalty on Monday was not followed by a suspension. Today, Sternat/Zrnic, the third and last duo from the pool of final head referees, will have a go.
However, after the 2:5 lesson, the Ice Bulls will no longer get involved in the mental games. "We were too focused on our opponents and the referees," says defender Paul Stapelfeldt. "We have to concentrate on ourselves again and play our game."
The David squad has often failed to do just that this season. Then a switch was thrown and there was no way back in the game. That was also the case on Sunday. "But it doesn't matter whether the game ends 2:5 or 4:10 - it's just a game," says captain Tom Raffl, counting on a reaction.
Cards are reshuffled
Drake Rymsha, who has already collected some arguments in favor of a new contract with the defending champions, also sounds the same note: "That was just one game, things should be different again in Klagenfurt." With the cards reshuffled. The 25-year-old US-American only had this to say about the tough interludes: "It's a play-off, they're not giving us anything, we're not giving them anything."
To coach Furey's delight, Lukas Haudum contributed greatly to the fact that the Carinthians were able to equalize in the series and remain unbeaten away from home in this year's play-off. With two goals and two assists, he led the visitors to a clear victory in Salzburg and now has the most scoring points of all finalists with 15 (five goals, ten assists). Raffl is close behind with 14 (7/7). The former KAC player, whose transfer to the newly rich Graz team in the summer has been official for some time, clearly wants to say goodbye with the title: "I will give everything to win the championship trophy once again!"
Momentum with the Red Jackets
But there is still a long way to go. In any case, the momentum has now shifted to the side of the record champions. After the Salzburgers managed the series 1:0. And that has provided the basis for victory in 21 out of 23 cases so far. Only twice has one team stood in the way: the KAC - in the 2012 quarter-finals and the 2017 semi-finals, both with 4:2 victories.
ICE Hockey League: Final (best of seven), game 3: Today: KAC - RB Salzburg (19.30, live Puls 24)/State in the series: 1:1).
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