Just 48 hours after the away defeat against KAC, Linz will return to the Linz AG Eisarena tomorrow, Friday. With HC Pustertal, the Stahlstadters are challenging the table leaders of the win2day ICE Hockey League.
After five wins in a row, the Steinbach Black Wings suffered a defeat for the first time yesterday in a 3:5 defeat against the record champions from Klagenfurt. The next difficult task awaits the Upper Austrians tomorrow with HC Pustertal. The first meeting of this year’s season clearly went to the South Tyroleans 4-1. Henry Bowlby scored all four goals in this game and currently has 20 points scorer. The Wolves have had a strong season so far and have only had to admit defeat four times, including once in overtime. Nevertheless, HC Pustertal repeatedly showed weaknesses.
Before the international break, for example, the Wolves suffered a clear 1:9 defeat in the South Tyrolean derby. However, in yesterday’s game against the second-placed team from Laibach, HC Pustertal once again showed a strong performance and were able to successfully defend their lead in the table with a 5:3 win. Head coach Jason Jaspers’ team has impressed so far with a face-off rate of around 51%. The South Tyroleans have scored 61 goals on offense so far, led by Cole Bardreau, who leads the team’s internal scoring list with 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists). Another key player is goalie Edward Pasquale, who provides strong support with a catch rate of 91.53% in his 14 appearances.
Locker room update
The Upper Austrians got off to a very bad start yesterday against Klagenfurt and conceded two goals in the first three minutes. The Linz team fought their way back into the game with goals from Travis Barron and Brian Lebler, but in the end they had to return home without any points. A total of seven penalty times repeatedly brought the Upper Austrians out of their rhythm. Positive: Penalty killing was able to successfully combat all outnumbered situations and thus successfully create a discipline that could be developed to date. In terms of personnel, head coach Philipp Lukas still has to do without Stefan Gaffal and Aljaz Predan is also not there due to illness. Jonathan Oschgan will therefore be able to collect the next few minutes of action.
Advent calendar for a good cause
Together with their partner Samariterbund, the Steinbach Black Wings Linz support the good cause with lovingly designed chocolate Advent calendars. The second and final sale of the delicious anticipation of the Christmas season will take place at tomorrow’s home game.
Last chance to order jerseys before Christmas
The team from the fan shop would also like to point out that the Pustertal is the last opportunity to order individual jerseys for Christmas Eve. The producer cannot guarantee timely delivery for orders placed after November 14th. Nevertheless, the Linz AG Eisarena still has an extensive range of around 100 jerseys in different sizes for those who decide at short notice.
On Sunday, head coach Philipp Lukas’ team will continue away against the Pioneers from Vorarlberg. The next home game will be on November 23rd against the Drachen from Laibach. Tickets for this are available online at tickets.blackwings.at and at the box office.
Voices:
Head coach Philipp Lukas: “We have to find a way to stay out of the penalty box again. The league leaders are coming to Linz, that’s of course a challenge for us. I don’t think it was a bad game yesterday, but it was partly a sloppy and inconsistent game from us, we showed that better before the break and we’ll need a better one tomorrow if we want to win.”
Steinbach Black Wings Linz – HC Falkensteiner Pustertal
📅 Basic round 19: Friday November 14th, 7:15 p.m., Linz AG Eisarena
📺 Live stream: sporteurope.tv
blackwings.at , Image: Foppa Iwan – HC Pustertal
