After leading 4-0, Salzburg did not let the victory slip away. ZSC legionnaire Vinzenz Rohrer unwittingly helped his compatriots.
EC Red Bull Salzburg has moved a big step closer to reaching the round of 16 of the Champions Hockey League. The Bulls celebrated a 4:2 victory at the ZSC Lions on Sunday, inflicting the Swiss champions’ first point loss in the current competition. After their third win in a row, Salzburg have eight points from four games and therefore have a good chance of being in the top 16 after the remaining games at the Växjö Lakers (October 8) and at home against Sparta Prague (October 15).
The Eisbullen got off to a dream start in Zurich. Peter Hochkofler took the lead in the first power play (3rd minute). Peter Schneider added a rebound (13th minute). Two minutes later, Ryan Murphy received help from the only Austrian in the Swiss team. Vinzenz Rohrer deflected his cross pass into his own goal. Zurich wanted to strike back before the break, but only warmed up Salzburg keeper David Kickert.
The Bulls also started the second period better. Lucas Thaler increased the lead to 4:0 with a hidden shot (26th minute). The shocked Swiss now put Kickert under even more fire. Finally, Denis Malgin managed to get around the Salzburg keeper and score from a tight angle (33rd minute). The Swiss were unable to take advantage of two power plays. They only managed to score their second goal at the beginning of the final period. After that, however, Kickert was no longer able to be defeated. In the end, Zurich had a clear lead in the shot rating with 73:29 (31:18 on goal), but Salzburg took home the three points.
“We had a really good start. The most important thing was that we found a way to keep going when the Lions got stronger,” explained Salzburg coach Oliver David, who particularly highlighted the performance of goalie Kickert. “He was outstanding and very focused. That made the difference today.”
