SUMMARY: Against the Steel Wings coach Santeri Heiskanen has to do without four key players, Brunner, Sailio, Sharp and Frei, but he can line up Jake Smith again between the posts. In the Austrian city, the blue-reds start the game with commitment and shoot on goal 14 times creating more occasions than the hosts (12 shots), but the Steel Wings score two goals. In the space of 46 seconds between the minutes 7'37" and 8'23" Stuart and Freunschlag, the latter with a deflection, put the young Linz players ahead. The offensive efforts of the Rittner Buam, who later managed to overcome two penalty kills, were blocked by the careful Egger.

Shortly after the beginning of the middle period, at the 23rd minute, Quinz served two minutes in the penalty box for a delay of game from Smith. With a man down on the ice, the blue-reds manage to get one goal closer. Pechlaner shoots after a turnover, Egger lets the puck bounce and Kevin Fink scores the 2:1 (23'05") and realizes his fifth goal of the season. For the guests things got even better shortly after, when Stefan Quinz scored in backhand the draw after a fantastic action of Julian Kostner (28'01"). The forward of Renon's team found his fourth goal of the season. The Ritten Express takes speed. So, after half an hour, the Buam took the lead. After Giacomuzzi's shot parried by Egger, Granta brings the puck in his own goal (33'51"). Then the Rittner Buam are unlucky when, three minutes before the second intermission, Spinell gets a post, but then Smith overcomes himself with a great save on the adversary's counterattack.

The last period of the game also witnessed a back and forth. Linz pushed hard to draw, but Smith proved to be a rock in defending the goal. Two and a half minutes before the end of the game, Simon Kostner closes the game with a masterpiece: he backhanded the puck between Egger's legs and scored the final 2:4. For the Rittner Buam this is the first victory of 2022, the fifth in six games against the Linz team.

Steel Wings Linz - Rittner Buam 2:4 (2:0, 0:3, 0:1)

Goals: 1:0 Stuart (7'37"), 2:0 Freunschlag (8'23"), 1:2 Kevin Fink (23'05" /SH), 2:2 Stefan Quinz (28'01"), 2:3 Adam Giacomuzzi (33'51"), 2:4 Simon Kostner (57'35")

Photo: Max Pattis