Despite missing eight regular players and temporarily being two goals behind, the EC-KAC was able to win its away game in Linz 5-3 on Sunday evening and thus become the first team in the league to qualify for the 2026 playoffs.
Post Game Comment from Head Coach Kirk Furey:
“Linz put us under pressure at times in the first third, but our performance was still quite okay and we also came up with our opportunities. After the 0:2 we had luck on our side in one situation or another, for example when the bat broke, which led to the short-handed goal. In the second third it went wildly back and forth, but we managed to stick to what we had set out to do for a long time. As the game continued, it became more visible that we had fresher legs that evening, I think it was ultimately the energy level that made the difference.
The young players were solid, but above all we received enormous leadership in the second and third third from our leading players, who made the right plays and scored the goals or, in Sebastian Dahm’s case, prevented goals from being conceded. We are currently a team that feels very comfortable in close games and that masters these one-goal games well. This is a quality that I believe we will benefit from this year. I couldn’t be happier that our team, with the help of the team behind and around the team, managed to reach the first stage goal today in the form of playoff qualification. In my opinion, well deserved, as is the day off tomorrow. But we’re not letting off the gas now, we have an important game on Wednesday and we’ll keep marching on.”
kac.at , Image: Black Wings Linz/Eisenbauer
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