After the 4-2 win against the league leaders from Laibach, Linz will meet the next title contender tomorrow, HCB Südtirol. Striker Ken Ograjensek celebrates 600 games in the win2day ICE Hockey League.
The title claims for the Karl Nedwed Trophy are also high in Bolzano this season. The South Tyroleans are currently in fifth place in the table with 34 points. The Foxes have already achieved 11 wins this season, one of them in overtime. Head coach Kurt Kleinendorst’s team got off to a strong start to the season with six successes in a row, but recently had to struggle with ups and downs. After the 9-1 victory in the South Tyrolean derby against the Pustertaler Wolves, there were three defeats against Graz, Fehérvár and Laibach.
The game last Sunday, again against the Graz 99ers, also went to the Murstadt team 6-3. The South Tyroleans were particularly vulnerable when they were outnumbered: against Graz, the Foxes conceded three of the six goals they conceded despite being numerically inferior. On the other hand, Sam Harvey is an experienced man between the posts who has so far impressed with a catch rate of 90.72%. The weakness in being outnumbered is offset by the strength in the power play. With a rate of 24.64%, the South Tyroleans are just ahead of the Steinbach Black Wings.
Bozen narrowly won the first duel of the season between the two teams 3-2. Cole Schneider contributed an assist and a goal and also leads the South Tyroleans’ internal scorers list with 24 points. The striker is in fourth place in the league-wide scorer list. The Foxes last won at the Untere Donaulände on January 13th, 2023. The Linzers, on the other hand, want to achieve their eighth home win in a row against Bozen after successfully defending their home fortress against Laibach.
Locker room update
The Steinbach Black Wings impressed in the duel with Laibach with intensive forechecking and patient defensive work. Above all, the Stahlstadt team knew how to take advantage of their outnumbered situations and scored two of their four goals in the power play. Tomorrow against Bozen, the Upper Austrians will once again need duel strength and fighting spirit in order to keep the three points in the Linz AG Eisarena.
However, some regulars are still missing from head coach Philipp Lukas’ line-up. Greg Moro, Christoph Tialler, Gerd Kragl and Luka Maver are still unavailable. Whether Stefan Gaffal will be ready for action again will only be decided at short notice.
Since the Upper Austrians can currently only rely on five regular defenders, they will have additional reinforcements from their own academy for the duel with the Foxes. Paul Eder is about to make his debut in the country’s top division. Ken Ograjenšek also has a special game coming up against Bozen: He is celebrating his 600th game in the win2day ICE Hockey League.
LIWEST with early gifts
Matchday sponsor LIWEST is already giving all fans a few early Christmas presents. In addition to specially made gossip fans, there are barbecue tongs in the Black Wings style for free.
After the game against Bozen there are two away games on the program before Brian Lebler and Co. return to the Linz AG Eisarena on December 3rd against Innsbruck. In the run-up to Christmas, the Linzers invite you to three home games in a row and are offering their own Nikolo special. All tickets are available at www.tickets.blackwings.at or at the box office
Voices
Assistant Coach Mark Szücs: “In my opinion, Bolzano is bigger and heavier as a team, but perhaps not quite as fast as Laibach. They defend very well – you can see that in the few goals they conceded. They don’t give up much, are very dangerous offensively and I expect a close fight again.”
Patrick Söllinger: “We have to start in a similar way to the one against Laibach. It will be an extremely intense game. They are physically strong, it will definitely be very physical and we have to counter that.”
Steinbach Black Wings Linz – HCB Südtirol Alperia
📅 Basic round 23: Wednesday November 26th, 7:15 p.m., Linz AG Eisarena
📺 Live stream: sporteurope.tv
blackwings.at , Image: Vanna Antonello
