Red Bull & KAC need Game 7, Linz & Znojmo avoid tie-breaker
After Bolzano and Dornbirn have been knocked out of the playoffs, only one decision is awaiting in EBEL. Salzburg forced one last game against Klagenfurt in the quarter finals.
Klagenfurt – Salzburg 2:3 (series at 3:3)
Salzburg
was expected to dominate the series against struggling KAC. The Carinthians
finished the regular season on eight place and not few thought they would get
swept again by Red Bull. However, Klagenfurt fought back from a 0:2 deficit in
the series winning three games in a row and had the chance to clinch the
semifinal spot on home ice.
Salzburg
though showed right from the get-go that they do not want to be eliminated. The
defending champions gained a two-goal-lead in the first six minutes of play
thanks to goals by Andreas Kristler
and Ryan Duncan and were in good
control in the rest of the game. However Luke
Walker and Sam Strong cut the
led to one twice, leaving Ben Walter’s
goal in the 36th minute as the game winner.
Game 7 will
be played on Friday in Salzburg. Red Bull entered the playoffs as the favourite
and it would be pretty big surprise if the record champion from the self-declared
Austrian hockey capital could eliminate Salzburg. However, a lot can happen in
one single game. Luca Gracnar is
expected to return to Salzburg’s net after Juuso
Riksman was between the pipes for Game 6.
Dornbirn – Znojmo 2:5
(Znojmo wins series 2:4)
Znojmo has
established itself as a force in EBEL and also finished the playoff
qualification round on second place. However, prior to this year they were
never able to win a playoff series. Going into Dornbirn they had the chance to
enter the league’s Top Four for the first time in history.

Some EBEL Quarter Final action in Vienna.
Foto: Andreas Hofreiter
The Czech
Eagles did prove their intentions gaining a 3:0-lead in the second period. Two
goals by Antonin Boruta, after Colton Yellow Horn’s shorthander in the
25th minute, gave them a comfortable lead. The lead might have
though been too comfortable though, as goals by Marek Zagrapan and J Livingston got the Bulldogs back in the
contest. Roman Tomas had the right
answer though only 28 seconds later and Yellow Horn added an empty netter to
make it 5:2 Dornbirn.
Already in
2014 Dornbirn was up 2:0, in the quarter finals, before Red Bull turned the
series arund. Nevertheless the past season has been the Bulldog’s best in EBEL
thus far.
Linz – Bolzano 3:2
OT (Linz wins series 4:2)
Already
last season the Black Wings and Foxes met in the quarter finals, with the
Austrians winning in seven games. Also this year Bolzano wanted to force the
ultimate tie-breaker with a victory in Linz. The Foxes also played this way
right from the get-go, creating lots of dangerous play. However, Michael Ouzas remaind a wall and denied
various attempts by Anton Bernard. Alex Foster finally opened up the score
in the initial frame with a perfect one timer, nicely fed by Nathan DiCasmirro. Also in the middle
frame Bolzano was the pressuring team for almost 15 minutes, but it was Linz to
find the tying goal with Andrew Kozek.
Bolzano’s Brodie Reid found the well-deserved
lead again in the 50th minute. Reid has been a key player perfomer
for the Italians after a mediocre regular season by the 25-year-old forward.
The Foxes might have thought to have won the game already and were punished for
their lack of scoring efficiency. DiCasmirro turned the puck over on the defencive
blue line and Fabio Hofer made him
pay. With the score being at 2:2 the winner had to be determined In sudden deat
overtime.
Bolzano
could not capitalize on the power play, which has been the team’s biggest
weakness after the injury to Brendan Bell in Game 1. Taylor Vause had the wide open net in front of him or at least he
thought so, as Sebastian Piche made
an incredible diving save on the goal line to avoid the sudden death.
The Black
Wings made their scoring efficiency count again in the 75th minute.
Kozek broght the puck on net and Kurtis
McLean was able to use the rebound for the series winning goal, destroying
all Game 7 dreams the Italians had.
What’s next?
Villach
(beating the Vienna Capitals in 5 games), Linz and Znojmo have qualified for
the semifinals. The pairings of the second playoff round will be determined by
who wins Game 7 between Red Bull and KAC. If Klagenfurt advances, Znojmo-KAC and Linz-VSV will be facing each
other. If Salzburg makes it to the semifinals, Red Bull-VSV and Znojmo-Linz
will be the match-ups.