Starting position
Tuesday's 2:1 win in the CHL away game against the Lahti Pelicans and yesterday's 5:3 win in Vienna - the Red Bulls have made a good return to league competition after the international break and have worked their way back up to 5th place in the ICE Hockey League. The Red Bulls have been very compact in both games and want to show this team unity against Bolzano tomorrow.
HCB South Tyrol are currently top of the table and the team to beat if they want to play at the top. Even though the South Tyroleans only won 1:0 in Innsbruck yesterday after overtime, they and the Red Bulls have won their last two games (against Villach on Wednesday) and can draw confidence from that. The Red Bulls, who won the first match-up 3-2 in Bolzano at the end of October, are ready for another hot game and are ready for the next Salzburg-Bolzano chapter.
Troy Bourke vs. Anthony Salinitri
The second match-up of the season between Salzburg and Bolzano is also a comparison of the top scorers of both teams. Troy Bourke has had a strong season for the Red Bulls so far and leads the internal scorer list with 19 points (9 goals, 10 assists). The 30-year-old striker struck again yesterday in Vienna with a goal and an assist.
Anthony Salinitri has also scored nine times, making him Bolzano's highest scorer so far. Together with 4 assists, the 26-year-old Canadian has 13 scoring points. Only club colleague Adam Helewka has 2 more points with 7 goals and 8 assists, making him the top scorer in Bolzano.