After being eliminated from the playoffs of the Champions Hockey League, EC Red Bull Salzburg continues without a break in the win2day ICE Hockey League.
The Steinbach Black Wings Linz, the current team of the moment, will be visiting the Eisarena Salzburg on Friday (7:15 p.m., Student Hockey Night). The Red Bulls want to build on their strong performance from their recent win against ERC Ingolstadt and also consolidate their position in the domestic league or work their way up.
Initial situation
It was a conciliatory conclusion, even if the end in the CHL round of 16 was painful. With the 4-3 win against ERC Ingolstadt yesterday, the Red Bulls not only beat one of the currently best DEL teams, but also took revenge for the significant defeat in the first leg in Ingolstadt.
Impressive Linz comeback
The focus is now once again exclusively on the challenges in the win2day ICE Hockey League – the first of which comes on Friday with the Black Wings Linz against the Red Bulls, because they have recently had an incredible run. Starting with eight defeats in the first ten games of the regular season, the Upper Austrians have improved enormously and have worked their way out of the bottom of the table with seven wins from the last eight games. Graz, Székesfehérvár, Vienna and Pustertal are among others on the tally list, only the KAC could not be defeated for the time being. This means that after 18 rounds the Linzers find themselves in 8th place in the table and are suddenly neighbors of the Red Bulls, who are in 7th place with four points ahead of the Linzers. The Red Bulls are aware of the danger that – coupled with a lot of self-confidence – is currently posed by the Black Wings. The Red Bulls also lost the first match of the season in Linz at the beginning of October with 2:3 after overtime.
Salzburg’s new team spirit
But the Red Bulls have also recently smelled morning air. Yesterday’s win against Ingolstadt and especially the way the Red Bulls performed was another step towards the performance that has distinguished the league champions in recent years; with powerful offensive play across all four lines and an orderly defense. The Red Bulls want to continue working on this and make life difficult for the Upper Austrians in the Salzburg ice arena again: The Linzers have not been able to win in Salzburg for eight games (across all seasons).
milestone
Salzburg’s Benjamin Nissner will be particularly motivated going into the game, as it will be the 27-year-old striker’s 500th game across all clubs in the win2day ICE Hockey League. He is the second Salzburg professional to achieve this milestone this season after Florian Baltram.
Statement by Benjamin Nissner
“We have to have the same motivation in every league game as we did yesterday against Ingolstadt. And we want to play against Linz with the same energy and worry less about their winning streak. Recently we have seen old playing patterns again and know that our team is good enough to win games. And we still have a score to settle from the first game with Linz.”
ecrbs-redbulls.com Image: Red Bull Salzburg – Manuel Mackinger
