Dzieduszycki’s OT marker sinks the Red Jackets

The 5550 fans in Albert Schultz Halle did not have to wait long for the first real action. However, it was the numerous fans from Klagenfurt celebrating first. Caps’ defenceman Jamie Fraser turned the puck over and Oliver Setzinger thanked him, giving the Austrian record champion the lead after just 21 seconds of play.

The Viennese reacted quickly and found the equalizer in the fourth minute. Bernd Brückler was not able to control Fraser’s one timer and Simon Gamache was ready to convert the rebound. Luke Walker shortly after had the chance for a short hander for the Red Jackets from Klagenfurt, but Nathan Lawson’s glove hand was ready. On the same man advantage, the Caps found the lead with Andreas Nödl’s perfect wrist shot on Matt Dzieduszycki’s assist.

The Carinthians, with interim coach Alexander Melllitzer behind the bench, were also eager to respond and continued to make pressure. Thomas Pöck only hit iron in the 10^th minute, but in the 12^th minute his brother Markus Pöck was able to tie the game up. They 23-year-old deflected Mark Popovic’s shot just enough to put the puck over the shoulder of Brückler.

In the middle frame both teams managed to give their defensive game more structure. Setzinger and MacGregor Sharp had the best opportunities for their respective clubs, but the score would remain at two goals each.

The final period was as exciting as it could possibly be. Both teams created good scoring chances, but it seemed as Klagenfurt found more loopholes in their opponent’s defence. Nathan Lawson proved his class denying Thomas Koch’s one timer and his left post helped him out on Manuel Geier’s attempt. It was though the team coached by Jim Boni to score the 3-2 go-ahead goal with 6 minutes and 25 seconds to go. On the man advantage, Florian Iberer brought the puck into the slot area, where the puck bounced off a KAC players’ skate and into the net.

The joy of the home team fans did not hold on long though. Only 86 seconds later Kevin Kapstad capitalized on the 4-on-3 power play putting the puck behind the goal line and the game was tied again. Hometown hero Rafael Rotter had the last scoring attempt during regulation time, but he was denied by Brückler’s spectacular glove save.

In overtime, KAC’s Jamie Lundmark was sent to the sin-bin. Matt Dzieduszycki had no intention to miss this chance and, on Rotter’s perfect assist, gave the Caps the extra point.

With this 4-3 victory, the Capitals now are on sixth place. On Friday, defending champion Red Bull Salzburg will visit Vienna in another important matchup.

Tweets by @eurohockey