A great opening third, enough chances, great fighting – and yet the Haie in Graz ended up with no points after 2:3. “Too bad! We started very well, but then unfortunately we stopped playing our game. We have to do that in 60 minutes,” said a disappointed one Zintis Zusevics after the game. And yes, in the five power plays alone that the Sharks got against the 99ers, there would have been enough opportunities to give the game a different direction. In the Tyrolean camp it is now important to put the defeat behind us and look forward. Because the next tough opponent is already waiting tomorrow Black Wings from Linz. “Linz is strong offensively and has good new signings, so for us it means being good defensively and not allowing much,” says Zusevics. Also Haie-Goalie Evan Buitenhuis warns about the Linzers: “They had a bumpy start, but are now in better shape.”
The Black Wings suffered four defeats in a row at the start of the season. Twice there was a 0:5 defeat against the top teams Bozen and KAC, as well as a 1:2 home defeat against the Caps and a 0:2 in Graz. Recently, the Stahlstadters have shown great improvement. The Black Wings followed an 8:2 shooting festival against Asiago with a 4:2 at HC Pustertal. But this game was over a week ago. The Linzers haven’t played since then, so they are rested, but perhaps not in rhythm.
If the statistics are anything to go by, fans can expect a completely open game tomorrow. In the last 20 games against Linz in the TIWAG Arena, the winner was Innsbruck 10 times and Linz just as often.
HC TIWAG Innsbruck-Die Haie – Steinbach Black Wings Linz
Sunday, October 13th, 2024, 5:30 p.m. – TIWAG Arena
