The spell is finally broken. The EC Red Bull Salzburg celebrated their first victory in the fourth game of the best-of-7 semi-final series against the KAC on Saturday and thus prevented the historic embarrassment of being swept 4-0 out of the play-off by the Carinthians. In a hard-fought match, the Eisbullen prevailed in the Volksgarten with 4: 3 (2: 1, 1: 1, 1: 1).
The threatening “sweep” and the most recent 6-0 defeat in Klagenfurt had put Salzburg under considerable pressure. Dominique Heinrich’s early opening goal with a backhand shot into the near corner was all the more liberating. The KAC struck back within a minute: Blaz Gregorc surprised Salzburg goalkeeper Jesper Eliasson with a concealed shot. The Eisbullen were only briefly shocked and went into the first break with a narrow lead after a goal from Austin Ortega. In the second third, first the KAC met, then Salzburg through John Hughes in the power play.
The Eisbullen thus went into the final third with a 3-2 lead, which they defended for a long time with great fighting spirit and a little luck. In the most spectacular defensive action, the entire team barricaded the goal area with their bodies and prevented Nick Petersen from another goal. The final minute brought again high tension: First David McIntyre scored in the empty goal for the supposed preliminary decision, but the KAC hit back within 25 seconds with the 3: 4. After that, the Salzburg human wall held tight again and brought the well-deserved home win over time.
“That was a big step for us today. I’m proud of the team how they pulled it off,” said captain Thomas Koch, who was last suspended. “Now we know that we can and have to add more on Monday.” Coach Matt McIlvane was also relieved. “I really liked the way we started the game. The third round wasn’t really nice, but it was fun,” summed up the American, who of course sees further potential for improvement. “We still haven’t shown our best ice hockey to the KAC.”
EC Red Bull Salzburg – KAC 4:3 (2:1, 1:1, 1:1). Goals: Heinrich (4th), Ortega (11th), Hughes (32nd / PP), McIntyre (59th / EN) and Gregorc (5th, 60th), Petersen (25th / PP).
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