KAC cheers / Image: GEPA pictures
With a 4: 3 (3: 0.0: 1.1: 2) victory in Kiev at Donbass Donetsk, the KAC brought the promotion to the round of 16 of the Champions Hockey League in dry sheets. Austria's champions pulled away 3-0 in the first section on Wednesday without much effort, then enabled the Ukrainians to catch up with a break-in, but made the decision one minute before the end with a goal by Johannes Bischofberger.
Thomas Hundertpfund (5th, 8th) and Samuel Witting (20th) had previously scored for Klagenfurt, but in the 56th minute the “Red Jackets” had to accept the 3: 3 equalizer by Viktor Turkin, who were outnumbered. With 76 seconds to go, Manuel Geier prevailed behind the goal and served Bischofberger ideally, who sank the puck into the net.
The KAC remained undefeated in the fifth group game and are now with 13 out of 15 possible points unmatched at the top of Group G. The Carinthians are thus in the round of 16 of the Champions Hockey League for the first time. Head coach Petri Matikainen was not satisfied with the way the game went. “As a coach, I didn't like how this win came about today, but in the long run the result will be remembered more than our imagination,” said the Finn. In the end, he sums it up in a conciliatory way: “I am convinced that this experience and the course of the game, all the drama, were very instructive and important for us as a team and for our development.”
Also for the first time all teams of the ICE Hockey League are represented in the knockout phase (Red Bull Salzburg and HCB Südtirol have already qualified). The second leg of the KAC against Donbass will take place next Wednesday (8.20 p.m. / live ORF Sport +) in Klagenfurt.
