The Steinbach Black Wings Linz lost yesterday, Wednesday, against HCB Südtirol Alperia 3:6 in front of their home crowd. The special teams played a crucial role; the Linz team was probably not 100% satisfied with the referees’ performance.
A total of 28 penalty minutes were awarded in the encounter between the Black Wings and the Foxes – 14 for each team. In the middle third between minutes 23 and 35 there was almost always a crack from the Upper Austrians in the cooler. The South Tyroleans capitalized on this and scored two power play goals – one of which even came at 5on3.
Stefan Gaffal in the second third break: “It was a bitter third in which the rhythm was lost. It is what it is. We can’t influence the referees. I don’t know if everything they whistled was a penalty.”
Significantly for the game: the decisive hit also came from the special teams. The Linzers were in the majority, but the Foxes should be celebrating, Brad McClure made it 5:3 from the South Tyroleans’ perspective. Head coach Phil Lukas’ team at EC VSV will continue tomorrow.
Image: Black Wings Linz/Eisenbauer
