After the 2: 7 defeat in Ljubljana, the EC IDM heat pumps VSV will be a guest on Friday evening (Eisarena Salzburg, start: 7:15 p.m., live on the Radio Kärnten ice hockey magazine and on Sporteurope.tv) at the EC Red Bull Salzburg. The blue-whites want to find the track of success against the title favorite from the Mozart city.
The starting situation:
The EC IDM heat pumps VSV started the new season with mixed results: The 4-2 success at the start in Budapest was followed by a bitter 2: 7 defeat against Ljubljana, in which the blue-whites conceded three outnumbered outnumbered. The EC Red Bull Salzburg, on the other hand, made a perfect start: with a 4: 3 victory against Bolzano and a 4: 1 success in the derby against the EC-KAC, the bulls already scored six points against the direct favorites and presented themselves in strong form from the start. However, the Villacher makes hope the direct comparison: from the last five duels against Salzburg, three wins went to the VSV and two to the Mozart town. The last encounter in the Salzburg Volksgarten, which the eagles won 3-2, is particularly remembered – thanks to a hat trick by Guus van Nes.
The opponent:
The EC Red Bull Salzburg has been the dominant team in the league for the past two decades. As a twelve -aged Austrian champion and ten -time title holder in Icehl (formerly EBEL), the bulls again won the championship title last season. After second place in the basic round, Salzburg swept off the EC-KAC with a sweep (4: 0) from the ice in the final and crowned himself confidently to the champion. For the new season, Manny Viveiros took over a prominent name. The Austro Canadian knows the league and also VSV very well: Between 1991 and 1995 he himself stood on the ice for the “eagles”, later he worked for eight years at the EC-KAC as a trainer and sports manager. Internationally, Viveiros recently gained experience in North America, including as a head coach in the AHL at the Henderson Silver Knights and in the WHL with the Vancouver Giants.
Michael Raffl’s obligation also attracted a lot of attention. The striker, born in Villach and trained in Villach, returned to Icehl at HC Lausanne (Switzerland) after his time. With 629 NHL games for the Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals and Dallas Stars, Raffl is one of the most prominent new additions to the league and brings enormous routine and leadership quality to the Salzburg team. Particularly paying attention to newcomers Travis St. Denis: The 32-year-old Canadian brings the experience from 294 AHL games (0.50 points per game) and has convinced in the DEL for Straubing and Ingolstadt with a strong offensive (0.7 points per game) and his physical style of play in the past four years.
Opponents and Stats to Watch:
So far, the Mozartstadt residents have been particularly strong in the power play, where three out of seven occasions were used (42.86 %). The penalty killing, on the other hand, is still expandable: five out of seven outnumbered situations have been successfully defended, which only corresponds to a rate of 71.43 %. There is also potential for optimization for the Facoffs: only 62 of 134 attempts could be won (46.27 %). Goalkeeper attacks Tolvanen, on the other hand, presented himself again in top form. In two games against top teams, he conceded only four goals, reached a catch rate of 92.59 % and prevented 1.9 goals more than expected.
In addition, the Salzburg are extremely duel: they won 53.2 % of their duels on the ice. Salzburg’s top scorer is Michael Raffl, who already had six assists in the first two games. He also set six hits against the EC-KAC and won 56.1 % of his duels. Defender and newcomer Connor Corcoran also presented themselves strongly, who had previously booked two goals and an assist. He successfully and effective over 85 % of his zone exit, but in return can only refer to a plus/minus rating of -1.
Stats & Facts:
Statistically, there is still a lot of air up to the season, especially for the special teams: only 4 out of 8 situations without damage, which corresponds to a quota of 50 %. So far, the majority have remained goalless and ranked in the last place in the league comparison. The goal-efficiency also draws expandable: 82 shots on the opposing gate led to only 6 goals (7.3 %), while the “Expected Goals Conversion” was 77.9 %-in concrete terms, this means that 7.7 goals were expected statistically, but only six were achieved.
As a result, the so -called “conversion” (implementation rate) is 77.9% for the above, an optimal value would be 100%. Despite these shortcomings, the offensive line around Elias Wallenta (1 gate / 2 assists), Nikita Scherbak (1 goal / 1 assist) and its partner, Nick Hutchison (1 gate) stood out. Together they decisively shaped the attack game of the eagles and ensured most of the points. Defender Dylan MacPherson also convinced: With 2 assists, a plus/minus rating of +3, 52.5 % won duels and 84.2 % successful zone exit, he contributed significantly to both defensive and in the game structure.
ecvsv.at Image: VSV/Krammer
