ICE Hockey League 2021-2022 (Salzburg wins championship)

[Theokritos]

Games today:

Free stream:​

Znojmo vs Salzburg
19:45 CET = 13:45 EST
Znojmo is down 0-3 and faces elimination. They obviously and unsurprisingly don't have the means to top this Salzburg team, but a win at home to push the series to Game 5 can't be ruled out.
Stream: Sport - IceHL: Ice Hockey League

Pay stream:​

Klagenfurt vs Vienna
19:15 CET = 13:15 EST
Klagenfurt played some of their good hockey in the last game, but ended up losing anyway. If they can keep it up though, they have a good chance to tie the series.
Stream: ICE Hockey League Live Streaming

Pustertal vs Fehervar
19:45 CET = 13:45 EST
Like Znojmo, Pustertal faces elimination. After the great second half of the regular season they've had it would be a disappointment to go out 0-4, so the team should be expected to do everything to get at least one home-win in this series.
Stream: ICE Hockey League Live Streaming

Ljubljana vs Villach
19:45 CET = 13:45 EST
After the last two games Villach should be favoured here, but their defensive worries (eight goals conceded in those two games they've won) don't bode well for them in the playoffs in general and Ljubljana will certainly give everything in what is likely to be their last home game of the season.
Stream: ICE Hockey League Live Streaming

 

[Theokritos]

Games yesterday:

Znojmo vs Salzburg 0-1 (Salzburg wins series 4-0)
Salzburg went ahead very early and was in control for the first half of the game. Then Znojmo became increasingly dangerous. In the last period the home team created a lot of pressure, but Salzburg goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux stopped everything coming his way. Not a bad series by Znojmo, but Salzburg keeps being in a league of its own and will be hard to stop this season.

Pustertal vs Fehevar 4-5 (Fehervar wins series 4-0)
What a bitter defeat for Pustertal! In the first period they played some of their best hockey and worked themselves to a 3-0 lead. Finally a win for them in their first playoff series? No! Fehervar took over in the second period and scored four unanswered goals to turn the game around. In the last period the home team created more chances again but couldn't tie the game. An empty-net goal for Fehervar with less than 2 minutes to go sealed the outcome, a PP goal in the last second of play couldn't save Pustertal. Fehervar had a good share of luck in this series, but nevertheless deserve to advance.

Klagenfurt vs Vienna 2-3 (Vienna leads 3-1 now)
The first period was physical. Klagenfurt had the upper hand and created more offensively than in many previous games. Vienna defended hard and kept KAC from scoring at even strength, but the home team got two PP goals. Bad news for them though: Vienna scored two goals out of almost nothing. 2-2 after the first period. Klagenfurt declined offensively in the second period and neither team scored. In the last period, KAC didn't create much danger anymore, meanwhile Vienna created a share of chances and used on to score the game-winner. Klagenfurt certainly has it in them to not go out in Game 5, but they need to produce offence more consistently and at this point Vienna is certainly favoured to take the series.

Ljubljana vs Villach 2-5 (Villach leads 3-1 now)
The home team gave a good effort, was the better team for 60 minutes and created enough chances to win, but failed to capitalize on them. VSV backup goaltender Alexander Schmidt had a good game and his team proved clinical when attacking. They made it 2-0 in the first period and then 3-0 in the second period out of just three or four scoring chances. In the second period Ljubljana made the score close again with two goals. But the last period was a repetition of the first period: Ljubljana attacked and Villach scored. A lucky win for Villach.

 

[Theokritos]

Games yesterday:

Vienna vs Klagenfurt 2-3 OT (Vienna leads series 3-2)
KAC avoided elimination with an away win against Vienna. The home team was in charge of the game during the first period and well into the second. Klagenfurt took several penalties and Vienna went ahead 2-0 on PP goals. But Klagenfurt, facing elimination, attacked more and more urgently as the game went on. They made it 2-1 after 30 minutes. In the third period they outplayed the home team by a good margin and were rewarded with the tying goal. In the overtime, they scored another one to win the game. Vienna could and should have done more after they went up 2-0, but still had their chances to win. Nevertheless a deserved win for Klagenfurt.

Villach vs Ljubljana 6-8 (Villach leads series 3-2)
14 goals in a playoff game? Of course in a game involving Villach! The tone was set early as Villach quickly concede two goals to fall behind 0-2. Villach rallied to turn that deficit into a 3-2 lead... but only to concede two more goals to fall behind again! VSV had a distinct edge in chances and in play, but defensive breakdowns and weak goaltending by both Alexander Schmidt and Toni Karhunen added up to kill them. In the second period, Ljubljana was able to build their 4-3 lead into a 6-4. Early in the last period, they added another goal. Game over? Well, Villach made it close once again and scored two more. 7-6 after 52 minutes of play! But they couldn't get another goal and Ljubljana ended up with an empty-netter. I don't doubt that Villach will still advance to the semifinals, but what are their chances there against Fehervar if they already concede 7 ES goals against Ljubljana?

 

[Theokritos]

Games today:

Klagenfurt vs Vienna
17:30 CET = 11:30 EST
Free stream: Sport - IceHL: Ice Hockey League

Ljubljana vs Villach
17:30 CET = 11:30 EST
Pay stream: ICE Hockey League Live Streaming

 

[Dueling Banjos]

Oli vs Vsv

Run & gun or tighter D, that is the question.

 

[Theokritos]

Games on Sunday:

Ljubljana vs Villach 3-2 OT (series tied 3-3)
In the first period Ljubljana outplayed Villach soundly and went ahead 2-0. And in fact they probably should have scored one or two more goals based on the chances they had. But instead of finishing off a weak VSV, Ljubljana set back in the second period and Villach was able to make it 1-2. In the last period, Ljubljana couldn't get going anymore while the visitors pushed for the tying goal ... and ended up getting it. But Ljubljana went on to score the game winner in overtime. A deserved win for them. Villach seemed to be a safe bet for the SFs, but now they've lost two in a row... On to game 7.

Klagenfurt vs Vienna 5-3
What a crazy start: 20 seconds into the game, Vienna made it 1-0 with their first shot on goal. 20 seconds later, their second shot also ended up in the net – 2-0 Vienna after 40 seconds! A shocked KAC spent the next three minutes watching Vienna play – but then Klagenfurt's first show on goal resulted in a goal too: 2-1! Klagenfurt found their groove now. They dominated the rest of the period while Vienna was reduced to defending – without success: KAC scored two more goals and thus made turned the 0-2 into a 3-2 lead. Klagenfurt stayed the better team during the second period and scored another goal – 4-2. In the last period they added another goal during a 5-against-3 PP. Then they took the foot off the gas. Vienna who had looked flat all game were now able to attack, but didn't get more than one late PP goal.

Games today:

Villach vs Ljubljana
19:15 CET = 13:15 EST
Game 7. Is Villach really going to end up giving this series away? The way they've played in the last two games isn't encouraging for them.
Pay stream: ICE Hockey League Live Streaming

Vienna vs Klagenfurt
19:45 CET = 13:45 EST
Game 7. Like Villach, Vienna might end up giving a series out of their hand in which they were up 3-1. They didn't look good through the last circa 80 minutes of play. The absence of coach Dave Barr (quarantined for Covid) who has arguably been the driving force behind the team's surprising success this year seems like a big problem for Vienna.
Free stream: Sport - IceHL: Ice Hockey League

Update: More bad news for Vienna. Nicolai Meyer and backup goaltender David Kickert already missed the last game due to Covid. Now six more players have been ruled out for today, including starting goaltender Bernhard Starkbaum. Thus, Vienna will play with a B team, including a young goaltender who has never played in the top league before. KAC only has themselves to defeat now.

 

[Theokritos]

Update: More bad news for Vienna. Nicolai Meyer and backup goaltender David Kickert already missed the last game due to Covid. Now six more players have been ruled out for today, including starting goaltender Bernhard Starkbaum. Thus, Vienna will play with a B team, including a young goaltender who has never played in the top league before. KAC only has themselves to defeat now.

Another update: I don't know what exactly is going on in Vienna, but starting goaltender Starkbaum and defenceman Matt Prepavessis have now been declared "fit to play".

 

[Theokritos]

Games yesterday:

Villach vs Ljubljana 4-1 (Villach wins series 4-3)
VSV didn't really play a better game than Ljubljana, but got two early goals and that made the difference. The game remained close as the Slovenian club answered with the 2-1 goal quickly. In the second period Ljubljana took 3 penalties (vs 0 by Villach) and the home team made it 3-1 on a PP goal. In the last period, Ljubljana was the more dangerous team, but just couldn't get another goal. In the end an empty-netter made it 4-1 for Villach. Nevertheless, a very respectable season and series by Ljubljana.

Vienna vs Klagenfurt 3-2 (Vienna wins series 4-3)
What an inexplicable lack of effort by Klagenfurt. They had come back from a 1-3 deficit in the series and the red carpet was almost rolled out for them: due to Covid cases, Vienna had to play with just three league-quality lines and without the regular coaching staff. With their backs against the wall, the home team (led by James Sheppard and Matt Bradley) fought for their lives – as expected. Klagenfurt, facing the golden opportunity to advance? They didn't bother to show up for a decisive playoff game, didn't skate, didn't play with intensity. If not for yet another good showing by their goaltender Sebastian Dahm, they would have lost a few more goals. Kudos to Vienna for fighting til the end, but overall this game was lost by KAC more than it was won by their opponent.

Semifinal series (starting on Thursday):

Salzburg vs Vienna

Regular season record at Salzburg: 2-0 Salzburg (but one game went to OT and the other to SO), GD 4-2
Regular season record at Vienna: 1-1, GD 7-6

Vienna has fighting spirit, but even at full strength they can't match the depth of Salzburg (who have added goalgetter Brian Lebler for the playoffs). And it remains to be seen how many players can return from Covid in time for Game 1 tomorrow. The same goes for head coach Dave Barr. My prediction: Salzburg in 5, maybe in 6.

Villach vs Fehervar

Regular season record at Villach: 1-1 (Fehevar's win was in OT), GD 7-6
Regular season record at Fehervar: 0-2, GD 3-8

Villach has finished ahead of Fehervar in the regular season, but they have yet to find consistence in defence and that issues has carried right over into the playoff. Fehervar has the better balance between offence and defence. My prediction: Fehervar in 6.

 

[Theokritos]

Games today:

Salzburg vs Vienna
19:45 CET = 13:45 EST
Just like in Game 7 of the QFs, Vienna will be without its coaching staff and will ice a B squad. 11 players are unavailable (7 of them due to Covid) – including both the starting and the backup goaltender, so a young goaltender without any league experience will have to stand in. And just like in Game 7, this Vienna B team can be expected to battle hard. But Salzburg is not KAC. They should approach the game with the right attitude and, with their superior depth, anything but a home win would be a big surprise.
Free stream: Sport - IceHL: Ice Hockey League

Villach vs Fehervar
19:15 CET = 13:15 EST
Anything seems possible. One of the key questions: whether Villach is defensively focused or not. If they are, this could be a close playoff game. Or a clear win for Villach. If they are not, then a high-scoring game is in the cards. Either with plenty of goals for both teams. Or a blowout win for Fehervar. In one sentence: It's very hard to make a prediction for this Game 1.
Pay stream: ICE Hockey League Live Streaming

 

[Theokritos]

Games yesterday:

Villach vs Fehervar 3-2 OT (Villach leads series 1-0)
The home team took the opening period off, which is never a good idea against a dangerous Fehervar team. VSV was lucky to only fall behind 0-2. In the second period they were finally awake, got a bit of a flukey 1-2 goal and then they tied the score. In the third period both teams had a few chances. Overall it was a pretty evenly played game in which Villach managed to get the game winner in OT.

Salzburg vs Vienna 4-1 (Salzburg leads series 1-0)
As expected, the decimated Vienna squad was highly motivated again. But Salzburg is not Klagenfurt: right away the home team gave Vienna some to handle defensively. Score after the first period: 3-1 Salzburg. Afterwards Salzburg took the things a bit easy, maybe too easy. Vienna spent the second period attacking and they created a good share of chances, but couldn't score. In the third period they ran out of gas and Salzburg was the more dangerous side again. They needed the empty net to score a fourth goal though. Not a great game by Salzburg, but it was enough to handle Vienna's B team.

 

[Theokritos]

Games on Saturday:

Fehervar vs Villach 6-3 (series tied 1-1)
A fast and entertaining game. The first period was closely contested and Fehervar went ahead 2-1. In the second period they outplayed Villach and made it 5-1. In the last period Villach took over, made it 5-3 and had a few more chances, but in the end Fehervar scored an empty-net goal.

Vienna vs Salzburg 2-3 OT (Salzburg leads series 2-0)
What a punch in the gut for Vienna! They were ahead 2-0 until 40 seconds before the end of regulation. Then Salzburg made it 2-1 and, 30 seconds later, they tied the game! They went on to win in OT.

Games today:

Villach vs Fehervar
19:15 CET = 13:15 EST
Pay stream: ICE Hockey League Live Streaming

Salzburg vs Vienna
19:45 CET = 13:15 EST
Free stream: Sport - IceHL: Ice Hockey League

 

[Theokritos]

Games last Monday:

Villach vs Fehervar 0-4 (Fehervar leads series 2-1)
Another good game by Fehervar, meanwhile the home team didn't get much going even when they had a 5v3 opportunity. A disappointing showing by Villach while Fehervar didn't miss a beat.

Salzburg vs Vienna 4-0 (Salzburg leads series 3-0)
Vienna looked tired in this one and was overmatched against Salzburg, even though the latter didn't go all out. They didn't need to anyway. In the end the score was flattering for Vienna as Salzburg had 3 or 4 more grade-A chances.

Games today:

Fehervar vs Villach
19:15 CET = 13:15 EST
Pay stream: ICE Hockey League Live Streaming

Vienna vs Salzburg
19:45 CET = 13:45 EST
Free stream: Sport - IceHL: Ice Hockey League

 

[Theokritos]

Games on Wednesday:

Fehervar vs Villach 5-4 OT (Fehervar leads series 3-1)
Fehervar started well again while Villach once again had a bad first period. Score after 15 minutes: 3-0 Fehervar! But the home team took the foot off the gas way too early and Villach started fighting back. They made it 3-1 before the first break and took over. Score after 30 minutes: 3-3. Fehervar got the lead again before the period was over, but in the last period Villach kept having the edge and finally tied it up again. Fehervar, however, scored the winning goal early in OT. A bit of a lucky win for Fehervar, Villach was the better team for two periods.

Vienna vs Salzburg 1-5 (Salzburg wins series 4-0)
Vienna showed more life than in Game 3, but were still no match for Salzburg again. After the home team got the lead through a powerplay goal, the visitors stoon tied the score and in the second period they made it 3-1. Early in the last period, the 4-1 goal followed. Vienna spent the last period attacking without success until an empty-net goal produced another goal for Salzburg. End of the season for Vienna.

Side note: The ICE Hockey League has three Champions Hockey League spots for 2022-2023. The first two went to the #1 and #2 teams of the regular season, Salzburg and Villach. The last spot was reserved for the remaining team to do best in the playoffs. Now even in case Villach still manages to turn the series against Fehervar around, the Hungarian club is still officially the "best of the rest" as they've already won 3 semifinal games while Vienna was swept. Thus, the third Champions Hockey League spot goes to Fehervar.

Game today:

Villach vs Fehervar
19:45 CET = 13:45 EST
Game 5! Villach need to win to avoid elimination and based on their performance in two of the last three games, they have a win in them. Fehervar have been good, but also incredibly efficient (and at times lucky) at a rate that cannot go on forever.
Free stream: Sport - IceHL: Ice Hockey League

 

[Theokritos]

Game on Sunday:

Villach vs Fehervar 1-4 (Fehervar wins series 4-1)
Villach carried the play and got some favourable refereeing, yet still ended up losing the game and being eliminated. 9 minutes of PP weren't enough for them to score, meanwhile Fehervar were their usual = effective self and went ahead 2-0 in the second period. Then Villach's next man advantage finally produced a goal. In the last period Fehervar turned the score to 3-1 and Villach's final offensive efforts didn't succeed. An empty-net goal sealed the outcome: 4-1 for Fehervar, both in the game and in the series.

The final series between Salzburg (who are Austrian champion now since Villach has been eliminated) and Fehervar starts next Tuesday.

 

[PanniniClaus]

Game on Sunday:

Villach vs Fehervar 1-4 (Fehervar wins series 4-1)
Villach carried the play and got some favourable refereeing, yet still ended up losing the game and being eliminated. 9 minutes of PP weren't enough for them to score, meanwhile Fehervar were their usual = effective self and went ahead 2-0 in the second period. Then Villach's next man advantage finally produced a goal. In the last period Fehervar turned the score to 3-1 and Villach's final offensive efforts didn't succeed. An empty-net goal sealed the outcome: 4-1 for Fehervar, both in the game and in the series.

The final series between Salzburg (who are Austrian champion now since Villach has been eliminated) and Fehervar starts next Tuesday.

Any chance you can give us a run down of line combos , styles of play etc?

 

[Theokritos]

Any chance you can give us a run down of line combos , styles of play etc?

I'll give it a try. Line-ups based on the semi-finals (with points per game over regular season and playoffs):

SALZBURG

Thomas Raffl (0.89) – Benjamin Nissner (0.91) – Peter Schneider (1.15)
Brian Lebler (0.91*) – Jan-Mikael Järvinen (0.48) – Paul Huber (0.22)
Ali Wukovits (0.75) – Florian Baltram (0.53) – Peter Hochkofler (0.38)
Tim Harnisch (0.07) – Danjo Leonhardt (0.33) – Lucas Thaler (0.30)

Dominique Heinrich (0.60) – Vincent LoVerde (0.32)
Mike Dalhuisen (0.42) – T.J. Brennan (0.98)
Keegan Kanzig (0.10) – Alexander Pallestrang (0.40)
Oskar Meier (0.13) – Kilian Zündel (0.10)

Atte Tolvanen (J.P. Lamoureux)

Absent with injuries are Ty Loney (1.00) and Mario Huber (0.50).
*Most of Leblers points were with Linz before his loan to Salzburg.

FEHERVAR

Brady Shaw (0.87) – Janos Hari (1.15) – Anže Kuralt (0.98)
Csanad Erdely (0.66) – István Bartalis (0.63) – Alex Petan (0.98)
Colin Jacobs (0.36) – Andrew Sarauer (0.58) – István Terbocs (0.59)
Balint Magosi (0.62) – Kristof Németh (0.21) – Akos Mihaly (0.28)

Josh Atkinson (0.92) – Henrik Nilsson (0.64)
Gleason Fournier (0.43) – Tim Campbell (0.69)
Jesper Dahlroth (0.20) – Milan Horvath (0.22)
Kristóf Retfalvi (0.07) – Daniel Szabo (0.09)

Rasmus Tirronen (Daniel Kornakker)

All players on board.

Fehervar play entertaining offensive hockey with skill and speed. They don't forget about defending either, but due to their open style they give the opponent space and allow counterattacks, which should suit Salzburg – who have plenty of firepower themselves but who play a more calculated game. At times Salzburg look almost too cool and even passive for my liking, but you can't argue with the results so far (both playoff opponents were swept). However, the same attitude did cost them games last year, so the question is: has coach Matt McIlvane now injected the right dose of patience and coolness into the vains of his players for them to take advantage of Fehervar? Or will they struggle to switch from cruise mode to battle mode if Fehervar plays with the urgency and intensity that IMO is their best hope to rattle and overwhelm Salzburg?

 

[PanniniClaus]

I'll give it a try. Line-ups based on the semi-finals (with points per game over regular season and playoffs):

SALZBURG

Thomas Raffl (0.89) – Benjamin Nissner (0.91) – Peter Schneider (1.15)
Brian Lebler (0.91*) – Jan-Mikael Järvinen (0.48) – Paul Huber (0.22)
Ali Wukovits (0.75) – Florian Baltram (0.53) – Peter Hochkofler (0.38)
Tim Harnisch (0.07) – Danjo Leonhardt (0.33) – Lucas Thaler (0.30)

Dominique Heinrich (0.60) – Vincent LoVerde (0.32)
Mike Dalhuisen (0.42) – T.J. Brennan (0.98)
Keegan Kanzig (0.10) – Alexander Pallestrang (0.40)
Oskar Meier (0.13) – Kilian Zündel (0.10)

Atte Tolvanen (J.P. Lamoureux)

Absent with injuries are Ty Loney (1.00) and Mario Huber (0.50).
*Most of Leblers points were with Linz before his loan to Salzburg.

FEHERVAR

Brady Shaw (0.87) – Janos Hari (1.15) – Anže Kuralt (0.98)
Csanad Erdely (0.66) – István Bartalis (0.63) – Alex Petan (0.98)
Colin Jacobs (0.36) – Andrew Sarauer (0.58) – István Terbocs (0.59)
Balint Magosi (0.62) – Kristof Németh (0.21) – Akos Mihaly (0.28)

Josh Atkinson (0.92) – Henrik Nilsson (0.64)
Gleason Fournier (0.43) – Tim Campbell (0.69)
Jesper Dahlroth (0.20) – Milan Horvath (0.22)
Kristóf Retfalvi (0.07) – Daniel Szabo (0.09)

Rasmus Tirronen (Daniel Kornakker)

All players on board.

Fehervar play entertaining offensive hockey with skill and speed. They don't forget about defending either, but due to their open style they give the opponent space and allow counterattacks, which should suit Salzburg – who have plenty of firepower themselves but who play a more calculated game. At times Salzburg look almost too cool and even passive for my liking, but you can't argue with the results so far (both playoff opponents were swept). However, the same attitude did cost them games last year, so the question is: has coach Matt McIlvane now injected the right dose of patience and coolness into the vains of his players for them to take advantage of Fehervar? Or will they struggle to switch from cruise mode to battle mode if Fehervar plays with the urgency and intensity that IMO is their best hope to rattle and overwhelm Salzburg?

Awesome - thank you. Should be a good series.

 

[Theokritos]

Game 1 today: 19:45 CET = 13:45 EST. Free stream: Sport - IceHL: Ice Hockey League

Projected line-ups:

Salzburg:

Raffl (5, C) – Nissner (70) – Schneider (3)
Lebler (7) – Järvinen (71) – Huber (52)
Wukovits (9) – Baltram (89) – Hochkofler (26)
Predan (19) – Leonhardt (53) – Harnisch (40)

Heinrich (91) – LoVerde (41)
Dahlhuisen (2) – Brennan (43)
Kanzig (44) – Pallestrang (90)
Schreier (55) – Zündel (14)

Tolvanen (35) [Lamoureux (1)]

Fehervar:

Shaw (12) – Hari (16, C) – Kuralt (92)
Erdely (36) – Bartalis (10) – Petan (91)
Jacobs (71) – Sarauer (55) – Terbocs (34)
Magosi (82) – Nemeth (13) – Mihaly (93)

Atkinson (59) – Nilsson (31)
Fournier (20) – Campbell (51)
Dahlroth (45) – Horvath (22)
Szabo (28) – Retfalvi (56)

Tirronen (32) [Kornakker (1)]

 

[Theokritos]

Game 1:

Salzburg vs Fehervar 2-1 OT
Salzburg upped their game for the first encounter in this final series. After an entertaining and evenly played first period (score 1-1), Salzburg had a clear edge in the second period and it looked like Fehervar struggled with the continued high pace of the home team, even if they still got their share of time in the offensive zone. Salzburg, however, didn't score. In the last period Fehervar bounced back and created more chances, but again no goal was scored (well, actually one was, but it was disallowed). 1-1 after 60 minutes, which was a fair result. Salzburg went on to score the game-winner in the overtime, which regrettably switched to 3v3 after 20 scoreless minutes. A close game in which Salzburg benefitted from some favourable refereeing. Looks like this series is wide open.

 

[Theokritos]

Game 2 today: 19:45 CET = 13:45 EST. Free stream: puls24.at/eishockey

Projected line-ups:

Fehervar

Shaw (12) – Hari (16, C) – Kuralt (92)
Erdely (36) – Bartalis (10) – Petan (91)
Jacobs (71) – Sarauer (55) – Terbocs (34)
Magosi (82) – Nemeth (13) – Mihaly (93)

Atkinson (59) – Nilsson (31)
Fournier (20) – Campbell (51)
Dahlroth (45) – Horvath (22)
Szabo (28) – Retfalvi (56)

Tirronen (32) [Kornakker (1)]

No change on the side of Fehervar.

Salzburg

Raffl (5, C) – Nissner (70) – Schneider (3)
Lebler (7) – Järvinen (71) – Huber (52)
Wukovits (9) – Baltram (89) – Hochkofler (26)
Harnisch (40) – Leonhardt (53) – Loney (27)
Predan (19)

Heinrich (91) – LoVerde (41)
Dahlhuisen (2) – Brennan (43)
Kanzig (44) – Pallestrang (90)
Zündel (14)

Tolvanen (35) [Lamoureux (1)]

One change here: One of Salzburg's top scorers, Ty Loney, returns from injury, but he's penciled in the 4th line for the time being. We'll see whether he will get shifts with one of the higher lines too.

 

[Theokritos]

Game 2:

Fehervar vs Salzburg 3-5
Salzburg was in charge the entire first period and created a lot of pressure, yet Fehervar made it 1-0 out of a quick counterattack. The visitors, however, tied the score before the period was over. More of the same in the second period: Salzburg had the edge, but Fehervar went ahead again. But this time Salzburg answered with two goals and thus went ahead 3-2, which was not undeserved. In the last period Fehervar's tying goal on the PP was quickly answered by another goal for Salzburg. With Fehervar trailing and creating more danger than in the previous periods, the finish promised to be a very exciting one, but actually turned out anticlimactic: Fehervar pulled their goaltender early and Salzburg scored an empty-net goal right away.

With Salzburg having won all of its 10 playoff games so far, it's very difficult to see how Fehervar could be able to turn the series around now. Anything but the title for Salzburg would be a massive upset.

 

[Theokritos]

Game 3:

Salzburg vs Fehervar 2-1
Another close game, both teams had stretches where they created a lot of pressure and both had their share of scoring chances. But Salzburg are ahead 3-0 now and could end the series today in Game 4.

19:45 CET = 13:45 EST
Free stream: Sport - IceHL: Ice Hockey League

 

[Dueling Banjos]

Thanks for all the write ups Theo, much appreciated.

Relatively boring playoffs if i am completely honest. I predicted Bulls - Feh finals long before it actually happened. Salzburg traditionally strong, Hungarians built a decent tough to play against team but it wasn't enough. Well earned 2nd place and CHL next year.

On the other hand, regular season was way more interesting, couple of big dogs not making it into top 6 automatically and such. Oli big surprise, extremely low budget for IceHL, Pustertal had it's moments, Bolzano lousy season for them and so on.

Have a good summer, see you in couple months.

 

[Theokritos]

Game 4:

Fehervar vs Salzburg 1-3 (Salzburg wins series 4-0)
The first period saw Fehervar's best performance in this series and perhaps all season. They put a lot of pressure on Salzburg and created several great scoring chances, but missed out on all but one of them. Salzburg, on the other hand, had one scoring opportunity all period and – made it count. Score: 1-1 after the first period, which was a heavy blow for a pretty dominant Fehervar team that should have been up by two or three goals.
In the second period Salzburg took over. Fehervar were either tired or demoralized from the first period. The away team made it 2-1 and was now in full control of the game. More of the same in the last period when Salzburg's lead didn't feel in danger anymore. Another empty-net goal put the finishing touch on their championship campaign.

Salzburg won the series deservingly and is as convincing a champion as one can imagine (1st in the regular season and won all of their three playoff series 4-0!). Some of the crucial factors in their win over Fehervar:
-They were able to step up their intensity after the semifinals
-They got stellar goaltending from Atte Tolvanen who was voted playoff MVP whereas Fehervar's Rasmus Tirronen was shaky
-The referees swallowed the whistle, which did Salzburg (as the bigger, more physical and perhaps also more cynical team) a favour
-Fehervar's incredible efficiency from the regular season was expectedly not sustainable, but it wasn't predictable they would miss out on so many good scoring chances in the final series

Thanks for all the write ups Theo, much appreciated.

Relatively boring playoffs if i am completely honest. I predicted Bulls - Feh finals long before it actually happened. Salzburg traditionally strong, Hungarians built a decent tough to play against team but it wasn't enough. Well earned 2nd place and CHL next year.

On the other hand, regular season was way more interesting, couple of big dogs not making it into top 6 automatically and such. Oli big surprise, extremely low budget for IceHL, Pustertal had it's moments, Bolzano lousy season for them and so on.

Have a good summer, see you in couple months.

Thanks!

The outcomes were rather boring, but the playoff series themselves weren't necessarily. Villach vs Ljubljana had plenty of excitement as had Fehervar vs Villach. Vienna vs Klagenfurt was dramatic and even had a surprising outcome. The finals, despite ending up 4-0, were very entertaining.

 

[Theokritos]

If I had to vote for coaches of the year this season, I would vote the following way:

1) Dave Barr. Going by the roster, his Vienna squad had no business finishing 4th in the regular season and advancing to the semifinals.

2) Kevin Constantine. Just a great season for Fehervar all around, their best performance in league history.

3) Mitja Šivic. His Ljubljana team was expected to finish at the bottom of the table, yet they ended up 6th and gave Villach a hell of a playoff battle.

HM: Raimo Helminen. Hired in mid-November, he turned Pustertal from a bottom-dweller into a playoff team.