Sweep for the title?

03 Apr 2013 | Alan Ilijic

KAC is one step closer and on the edge of winning another title. With a new, second win in Vienna they came to "heavens' doors" and are on the verge of winning a title with a sweep. Everything is ready in Klagenfurt for celebration, as KAC takes 3-0 lead.

Vienna - KAC 0:4 (0-3)

Carinthian KAC is in a fantastic situation to win the 30th title in franchise history. With another win on the road in Vienna, they lead 3-0 in the series. Vienna was standing no chance while KAC, after two hard-fought wins, finally broke the Capitals and ensured a big win.

KAC took a sky-high 4:0 lead by the end of the second period. At 15:58 Thomas Hundertpfund broke down Matthew Zaba in net for the Capitals. Assist came from Raphael Herburger.

"Why should we give up? We're under pressure all right, but that doesn't mean we can't win and we should give up", disappointed Caps' head coach Tommy Samuelsson remained sensitive and positive.

One-man show by Mike Siklenka was what came next. At 16:43, while Jamie Lundmark was in the box serving penalty for high sticking, Siklenka took the puck and scored against Zaba to double the lead. At the very start of the second, 55 seconds into it to be precise, Siklenka scores another one on a powerplay, assisted by new league's MVP Jamie Lundmark and Thomas Hundertpfund.

At 28:09 the final score is set by Tyler Scofield on the assist from Raphael Herburger, who had his second of the night. Fabian Weinhandl came into play to replace Zaba in net and allowed no goals, nevertheless it meant nothing to the Caps as they couldn't score.

"They wanted to win more easily", Rafael Rotter complained against KAC players' aggressiveness. "We have nothing to lose and we'll put all our effort into that game."

However, the statistics is largely in favor of KAC. Only one team was able to come back after 0-3 in the series, and it was Black Wings Linz three years ago in the semifinals agains - Vienna Capitals!

The next game is set for Friday, and if KAC won in the regular time, they would assure the title with the sweep and the trophy would go to Carinthia. Can they pull it off?