EBEL: Underdog Bolzano makes Red Bull Salzburg despair again

The underdog from Bolzano spoiled the coronation of the financially strongest club of the Erste Bank Ice Hockey League in front of a home audience for the second time. The HCB South Tyrol, who started into the play-off as an outsider, brought the favourite Red Bull Salzburg to his knees with efficiency and fighting spirit, as in 2014.

Bolzano board member Dieter Knoll spoke of a fairy tale come true after the decisive 3-2 success, as the eighth and last team had just slipped into the play-off. “We kicked out the three best teams in Austria. You can see that money alone means nothing for a long time,” said Knoll, emphasizing his own well-functioning team structure. “The team stands together and fights together, that is the reason for our victory – although Klagenfurt, Vienna and Salzburg were individually better composed”.

After another final triumph, captain Alexander Egger was overjoyed to say goodbye to his favourite Salzburg team and said goodbye to the sports guesthouse. “This is a special moment for me, this was my last game. That’s very emotional for me, of course. I think there is no better end to my career,” said 38-year-old South Tyrolean champion.

At Salzburg, on the other hand, frustration and the realization that the lack of power play chance evaluation and the cold-bloodedness of the guests were decisive. “That’s a very bitter defeat, that’s how cruel the sport is. Bolzano deserved to win. Powerplay was our strength throughout the season, but we didn’t score in eleven overtime games,” Salzburg coach Greg Poss summed up.

His players – some of whom will join the red-white-red World Cup team with a frustrating experience in their luggage – were also aware of the reasons for the failure. “Once again, we didn’t score any goals in power play. I think that’s what broke our necks on the show. We’ve had enough good opportunities. We wanted to go home with the trophy, so the disappointment is there now, of course, and that will take a few more days,” said Dominique Heinrich. Raphael Herburger led the guests’ clever playground. “Typical Bolzano, they played very clever, they are a smart team.”

Ryan Duncan paid tribute to the winners, but was also aware of the many missed opportunities. “Bolzano has made a big game. We dug ourselves a hole we couldn’t get out of. We’ve come back, but they deserve to be champions,” Duncan said. Despite the Austrian title, which had already been secured with the final, the failure in the final did not meet one’s own requirements. “It’s nice to be Austrian champion, but of course we also wanted to win the EBEL. We worked all year for it, it’s frustrating, of course. It’ll be a while before we digest it.”