The starting position
The Red Bulls won yesterday's home game against HC Pustertal Wölfe 7:3 and thus gained further self-confidence, especially in the final period, which brought the decision with four goals after the visitors had equalized in the meantime. The Red Bulls had all their players on the ice for the first time apart from the long-term injured Florian Baltram and now want to grow together after their third win in a row and extend the series in Feldkirch.
The Pioneers Vorarlberg have developed into a serious competitor in two years. The 40-year-old head coach Dylan Stanley has breathed new life into the team and already reached the quarter-finals last season. Even though the Pioneers lost Steven Owre, their top scorer and MVP of last season's basic round, in addition to 12 other departures, the Canadian coach seems to have succeeded effortlessly in integrating 12 new players into the team. Although the Vorarlbergers have lost in Innsbruck and Bolzano so far, they have already celebrated a 4-3 home win against Hydro Székesfehérvár AV19.
The Pioneers' internal top scorers list is currently led by three newcomers. Ross MacDougall has 5 points (1 T, 4 A), Brady Gilmour (2 T) and David Keefer (1 T, 1 A) have 2 points each. Troy Bourke is leading the Red Bulls with 2 goals and 5 assists after four games. Thomas Raffl (2 goals, 3 assists) and Peter Schneider (4 goals, 1 assist) - who struck again yesterday with a brace - have 5 points.