Game recap
The Red Bulls started almost exuberantly into the match against the Klagenfurters, who could only arrive late due to an hour-long journey. The home side created several good scoring chances in the early stages, which initially bounced off the good Klagenfurt goalkeeper Sebastian Dahm. From the middle of the first period, the guests also came dangerously in front of Salzburg's goal, where Atte Tolvanen defended the first good shots from half-distance. In the 14th minute, however, Tim Harnisch scored after strong preparation by Paul Huber for the 1:0 lead, only had to push the puck into the empty goal after a rebound. On the second power play before the break, Peter Schneider hammered the puck against the bar (18th), Benjamin Nissner missed the open goal on the follow-up shot. After 20 minutes, Salzburg led 1-0 and could have scored more often.
After the break, the KAC provided more intensity on the ice with much more aggressive play. But Chay Genoway pulled away from the right face-off circle in the 27th minute and scored against young Florian Vorauer, who replaced Sebastian Dahm in goal after the break, for a 2-0 lead. Five minutes later, 19-year-old Luca Auer (33rd) netted from half-distance with the help of the visitors' defense for his third professional goal to make it 3-0. The Red Bulls continued to have the better opportunities in the final minutes of a game that got tougher, and defensively they played confidently with a continued strong Atte Tolvanen until the second intermission.
In the final third, the guests pressed for the Salzburg goal and challenged the Red Bulls' defense. Manuel Ganahl let a shot drip dangerously (46th), Atte Tolvanen passed up. The guests now forced the Red Bulls into their own zone for long stretches, Atte Tolvanen now had a lot to do, made with strong reactions also top chances like the one of Manuel Ganahl, who appeared alone in front of him, nullified (48th). The Red Bulls, however, kept the game open and delivered a hot final phase with the KAC, as the guests took the goalie off the ice five minutes before the end and Johannes Bischofberger promptly fixed the only Klagenfurt goal with a clear view from an acute angle (57th). A minute later, the same forward missed a penalty, this time failing to beat Atte Tolvanen. Thomas Raffl then put the puck into the empty Carinthian goal (58th) and thus fixed the deserved 4:1 victory of the Red Bulls.