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Following Tuesday night’s 3-0 (1: 0.1: 0.1: 0) at the Dornbirn Bulldogs, EC Red Bull Salzburg will take on KAC from Sunday. HCB Südtirol and Vienna Capitals contest the second semi-finals. This means that the top four teams are in the semi-finals after the intermediate round.
The finalists are also known only after four wins. Salzburg qualified en suite for the semifinals for the eighth time, Dornbirn could have done it for the first time. However, they are now 2-4 out in the quarterfinals after a 2-0 series lead for the third time.
The first third, like most of the game, were even, but Salzburg were slightly better in all segments of the game. It wasn’t until shortly before the first break that there were cheers for the first time on the ice: Florian Baltram faked Derek Joslin’s shot to give the lead in the 19th minute, just before the hosts’ penalty expired. After nearly double the playing time, it was again 23-year-old Baltram who hit point-blank range in the 37th minute after a counterattack by David McIntyre and Peter Hochkofler.
Goals were also rare in the last third, mainly thanks to good performances by goalkeepers Jean-Philippe Lamoureux and Dornbirn goalkeeper Thomas Höneck. The Vorarlbergers fought desperately to the end, but to no avail. The risk was finally punished with the third goal for Mario Huber’s guests (60th) in the empty goal.
Baltram, who had already scored in the previous two games against Dornbirn, laid the foundation for the last semi-finals, which Salzburg did not reach in 2012. Dornbirn was denied the first semi-final in club history. For the “Ländle” team a double, an unpleasant deja vu: already in 2014 they were up 2-0 in the quarter-finals against Salzburg and had lost 2-4. The same mishap happened to them against Znojmo in 2016.
Baltram summed up the series filmed in Sky’s interview with much improved defense compared to the first two games. “We were definitely better behind. In the first two games we allowed too many chances, Dornbirn played the first two games really well,” the double-scorer said Tuesday. In addition, like his teammates, he praised the recent good performance of “JP”, ie goalkeeper Lamoureux. Now the police finally want a title again. “Anything is possible. We are dying for the title, five years have passed,” said Baltram.
Dornbirn goalkeeper Höneckl was left with a “bitter aftertaste, if you later eliminated him” despite a good performance. After the good start, it was frustrating for the team not to score for so long. Lamoureux achieved the second consecutive shutout. “Salzburg has also found a good way to take our most dangerous weapons out of the game. Hats off and good luck in the semi-finals,” Höneckl said.
