The starting position
Four wins from the last four games after last week's international break. Yesterday's hard-fought 5:4 shootout win in Ljubljana was the start. Tomorrow, the Red Bulls want to secure three points at home against the Pioneers and thus keep their chance of knocking the Hungarians out of second place if Hydro Fehérvár AV19 falls behind. The Red Bulls also want to take revenge for the overtime defeat in Feldkirch on January 6 and, above all, gain further self-confidence for the playoffs, which begin in just over two weeks.
The Pioneers have already punched their pre-playoff ticket, but with a bit of luck could still work their way up from tenth to ninth place and thus avoid Innsbruck in the best-of-three series. The team from Vorarlberg will therefore throw everything they have into the race and will now try to give the reigning champions a leg up away from home after their last home win.
In step for the final GD duel
The table situation may speak clearly in favor of the Red Bulls. In the last five rounds, however, the Vorarlberg side have also shown signs of seriousness. Both teams have won four of their last five games, scoring 22 (RBS) and 21 goals (PIV) respectively.
While the Red Bulls had to go the full distance to penalties in their last two wins against Asiago and Ljubljana, the Vorarlbergers enjoyed a 4-2 win in Bolzano and only yesterday a 5-4 overtime victory against Innsbruck. A duel at eye level can therefore be expected in Salzburg tomorrow.
