Ice Bulls second leg

“A 0-0 mentality is an absolute must”

Genoway (right) and the Ice Bulls want to clip Pelican's wings.(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

Just don't manage the result: The Ice Bulls can look forward to their second quarter-final appearance in the premier league today. However, just like in the first leg in Lahti, they will need a strong performance.

Intensive drills, good finishes, a lot of activity on the ice after the official training session - and a long conversation between Murphy, who is in great form as a defenseman, and coach Oliver David.

In conversation: David, Murphy(Bild: Robert Groiß)

The Ice Bulls are energized ahead of today's Champions League second leg against the Lahti Pelicans in the ice arena. Nobody wants to talk about the fact that they won the first leg 2:1. "For us, a 0-0 mentality is an absolute must," says the Bulls coach, emphasizing that the game will start from scratch again. "Otherwise there's too much calculating, a 0:1 shocks, makes for an oh and blah blah blah," explains David. Mario Huber, scorer of the 1:0 goal in Finland, has his own philosophy: "We ticked off the topic in the team immediately after the game and left the result there - the second leg starts at 0:0." Another energetic forecheck should remain the trump card, managing the result is forbidden.

Coach David ennobles the game
After great deeds on foreign ice in the group stage - victories against the Zurich Lions and Växjö Lakers - a second quarter-final appearance after 2018 (see statistics on the left) is now within reach in front of their own fans. Salzburg is through with a win or draw. If the Pelicans win by one goal, the aggregate score counts - and the game then goes into overtime.

As far as the Royal League is concerned, David ennobles the game for which Wukovits remains questionable: "This is the biggest game since I've been in Salzburg." Benji Nissner predicts: "It will be a defensive battle."

For the winner, the opponent has already been decided: Färjestad played Tappara Tampere 3:3 at home after a 3:2 away draw and awaits in the quarter-finals.