EBEL: Bolzano elects itself as champion in Salzburg

History has repeated itself. Red Bull Salzburg is the title in the Erste Bank Ice Hockey League (EBEL) as already in 2014 at the HCB South Tyrol slipped. The favoured Salzburgers had to admit defeat to the outsider from Bolzano 2:3 (0:2,0:1,2:0) in a thrilling seventh final at home on Friday evening. The “best of seven” series went to Bolzano with 4:3.

Already four years ago, the Salzburg team had failed 2:3 at home in the EBEL finale due to the South Tyroleans, at that time in extra time. Also this time the bulls left the ice cream in the sold out Volksgarten with hanging heads. They had already secured their eighth Austrian championship title by reaching the final in the cross-border league. The seventh in the EBEL, the first since 2016, is still a long time in coming.

Bolzano shone with great efficiency in front of 3,400 spectators in Salzburg. The underdog took the lead with a double strike in the first period. First Dominic Monardo profited from an uncertainty of Salzburg-Goalie Bernhard Starkbaum, who searched the disc in vain behind him, and got dusty to the 1:0 (14.). Not a minute later, Bolzano’s top scorer Chris DeSousa made a pike jump (15th).

The statistics spoke clearly for Salzburg with 32:15 shots on goal. The South Tyroleans scored through Luca Frigo, who hit the short corner after a counter-attack, but also the next goal (26th). The Salzburgers had to take more and more risk, the opened Bolzano counter chances. Salzburg did not take advantage of the opportunities. The bulls, who again had to do without Thomas Raffl, who was injured on the inside ligament, were unscored in seven powerplays.

In the final third, the Salzburgers were increasingly pressing, but their efforts were only rewarded by a goal from Layne Viveiros in the 55th minute. The hosts were hopeful that Peter Mueller’s 2:3 shot, also prepared by Rob Schremp, brought the Volksgarten to a boil once again in the finish (59th).

The first EBEL decision game since 2014 went into a heartbeat final, but Greg Poss’s team did not score a goal in the remaining 87 seconds. The Salzburgers would have loved to have won the EBEL trophy in their own hall for the first time since 2007. Now the bulls had to watch the South Tyroleans cheer again.

In 2014, Bolzano won the EBEL title in the premiere season. Four years later followed sensational prank number two. At the end of November, when coach Kai Suikkanen took office, the South Tyroleans were still last in the standings, on the final match day of the intermediate round they just made it into the play-off in eighth place. There the “foxes” advanced against the KAC, the Vienna Capitals and finally Salzburg to the giant killer.

The second EBEL triumph is Bolzano’s fourth success in a cross-border league with Austria. One title in the 1993/94 Alpine League was followed the following year by another title in the Euroliga.