Friday, 09. January 2026 |
Red Bulls vs. Olimpija Ljubljana
The Slovenians equalized an early Salzburg goal in the first period. However, Salzburg's attack became increasingly dominant. The Red Bulls scored twice in each of the following two periods and ultimately celebrated their first win of the season against the strong Slovenians in the nearly sold-out Salzburg Ice Arena. Today also marks the 12th consecutive win for the Red Bulls, equaling their own club record for the second time.
Highlights Red Bulls vs. Olimpija Ljubljana
Game Summary
First, Thomas Raffl was honored on the ice – he had played his 1,000th league game in the last game in Bolzano – and then the Red Bulls got off to a perfect start. In the fourth minute, with traffic in front of the net, a pass from Brandon Coe found Michael Raffl, who scored from close range. Shortly afterward, his brother almost added another, but was stopped by Ljubljana's goaltender Lukáš Horák (6th minute). Salzburg continued to apply pressure and were solid defensively during their first penalty kill. Then the visitors' offense started firing on all cylinders, and Salzburg's goaltender Atte Tolvanen made several good saves, but was powerless again on the penalty kill against Bine Masic's one-timer from close range (16th minute). By that point, the game was already evenly matched, and after the first 20 intense minutes, the teams went into the locker room tied 1-1.
Thomas Raffl with his special Jersey
Just seconds after the restart, the Red Bulls were fortunate when their shot hit the post. Ljubljana was now applying pressure, but the Red Bulls regained the lead on a power play. Travis St. Denis scored on the rebound into the half-open net (24th minute). A minute later, Thomas Raffl missed his chance in front of the net, failing to connect properly with the puck (25th minute). The game continued to be end-to-end, and the physicality of the play increased significantly. Salzburg then enjoyed a strong spell with numerous good shots, though at times the Red Bulls were almost too playful in front of the net. Shortly before the second intermission, Mario Huber was fouled on a breakaway and converted the penalty shot to give Salzburg a well-deserved 3-1 lead at the break.
After the intermission, the Red Bulls immediately tightened their grip on the game and dominated the opening minutes, including a good but scoreless power play. Ljubljana rallied, and T.J. Brennan hit the post with a powerful shot (45th minute). But Salzburg were now really on fire, consistently combining their way into scoring positions and at times completely dominating the visitors. Brandon Coe finally rewarded the home team, firing a wrist shot from mid-range right into the top corner (47th minute). Shortly afterward, Connor Corcoran was set up by a perfect pass from Thomas Raffl in front of the net and simply had to tap it in (48th minute). That sealed the victory. The Red Bulls showed until the final whistle that this was their game and ultimately won a well-deserved 5-1 victory.
Statements Thomas Raffl & Travis St. Denis
Statement by Travis St. Denis
"I think we played for the full 60 minutes today. It was close in the first period, but then we took control of the game and played well until the end, including some great saves from Atte. We stuck to our game plan, played well defensively, and that created scoring opportunities for us. And we converted a few of them."
win2day ICE Hockey League
EC Red Bull Salzburg – Olimpija Ljubljana 5:1 (1:1, 2:0, 2:0)
Goals:
1:0 | 03:33 | Michael Raffl
1:1 | 15:58 | Bine Masic | PP
2:1 | 23:04 | Travis St. Denis | PP
3:1 | 39:36 | Mario Huber | PS
4:1 | 46:43 | Brandon Coe
5:1 | 47:21 | Connor Corcoran
Audience: 3,205
Next home game of the Red Bulls
On 18 January vs. HCB Südtirol Alperia
Eisarena Salzburg | 4.30 p.m.
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