The
Graz 99ers wrote club history: with a clear 6-2 win against
HC Pustertal In Bruneck they secured the championship title in the ICE Hockey League for the first time. Particularly impressive: The team remained undefeated throughout the play-offs and won all twelve games – a rarity in the league.
Pure emotions after the final whistle
After the decisive victory, all dams burst. captain
Korbinian Holzer
was overwhelmed and spoke of incredible pride in the team and the environment. Veteran Manuel Ganahl also highlighted the “Small newspaper” highlighted the team’s unity: “Pustertal played a brutal season and deserved to be in the final, but at the end of the day we are a brutal team. We have gotten better and better and marched brutally.”
Michael Schiechl found particularly clear words: “We’ve been through a lot of shit in the last few years, we’ve experienced everything in Graz. Now we’ve reaped the rewards. I never would have dreamed that we would win a title with Graz.”
The long road to the title
General Manager Bernd Vollmann spoke of satisfaction after years of struggle since 2012. Coach
Dan Lacroixotherwise rather reserved, was visibly emotional and highlighted the historic achievement of completing an entire play-off series without defeat – a feat that only two teams in the league had previously achieved.
Sports director
Philip Pinter
recalled that the team was bottom of the table just two years ago. The rapid rise to the championship title is therefore all the more impressive.
Key players and special stories
There were also moving stories away from the stars: goalkeeper Nico Wieser, originally planned as a substitute, impressed with strong performances in the final. His teammates particularly praised his mental strength. For Captain Holzer, the title was also the emotional highlight of his career.
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