Successful title defence: Salzburg once again cham­pions of the win2day ICE Hockey League

In a sold-out Sparkasse Arena in Bolzano, the two teams engaged in an intense battle from the opening minutes. The hosts had the first major chance on the power play through Christian Thomas. However, as had so often been the case in this final series – only one power-play goal had been scored across the first six finals – the first man-advantage situation of the evening also produced no reward.

Thereafter, neither HCB Südtirol Alperia nor EC Red Bull created any major chances, although the Foxes had slightly more of the opening period. Both finalists repeatedly got pucks to the net, but were too harmless overall to beat the goaltenders, who had already produced several outstanding performances in this final series, in the first period.

After the restart, the visitors made the first attacking moves, but overall it remained an evenly balanced contest. Bolzano had the first good chance when Salzburg goaltender Atte Tolvanen denied the onrushing Angelo Miceli with his pad.

In the 26th minute, Peter Hochkofler was sent to the penalty box and the home side took advantage of the numerical superiority: Cole Hults scored from distance, with Tolvanen’s view obstructed. It was the second playoff goal for the 24-year-old defenceman. The Red Bulls then had two consecutive power plays. Salzburg found themselves in promising positions on several occasions, but were again unable to find the net. The period ended at 1:0 after another scoreless HCB power play.

In the third period, Bolzano initially looked more alert, defended uncompromisingly and gave little away. The home side also created chances: Daniel Frank was denied by the superbly positioned Atte Tolvanen 48 minutes in. Salzburg then began to build pressure steadily, increasingly establishing themselves in the offensive zone.

With 51 minutes played, they equalised: Thomas Raffl was set up by Nicolai Meyer in the high slot and found the net. Florian Baltram provided a strong screen in front of Sam Harvey. Bolzano were then given another power play, taking some of the wind out of the visitors’ sails, before Salzburg struck again in the closing minutes.

With 108 seconds remaining, Chay Genoway fired from the blue line and Nicolai Meyer skilfully deflected the puck. The goal was confirmed after a video review for a potential high stick. Bolzano quickly pulled goaltender Harvey, applied real pressure again with 6 against 5, but could no longer force overtime.

Salzburg captain Thomas Raffl in the Puls24 interview after the game: "It is incredible and indescribable. This year is a completely different story. They were the best teams of the regular season. We never lost belief. We knew we had what it takes and we were rewarded in the end. We focused on the little things that we had to do right. Incredible credit to our team, we can be proud."

win2day ICE Hockey League | 21.04.2023 | 7th final | Result:
HCB Südtirol Alperia - EC Red Bull Salzburg 1:2 (0:0, 1:0, 0:2)
Referees: K. Nikolic, Sternat, Nothegger, Seewald. | Attendance: 6.800
Final score in the best-of-7 series: 3:4
HCB goal: Hults C. (27./PP1)
RBS goals: Raffl (51 min.), Meyer (59 min.)