Game Summary
The visitors started the game with a perfectly legal goal, but one that was a classic football goal. Brett Pollock deflected the puck into the net with a kicking motion right in front of the crease (2nd minute), leaving Salzburg's goalie Atte Tolvanen somewhat surprised. The equalizer didn't take long to arrive, with Thomas Raffl redirecting Peter Schneider's shot in the slot (6th minute), a move that the visiting goalie Christopher Gibson didn't see coming. The Red Bulls then found themselves shorthanded twice in quick succession, and Bolzano applied considerable pressure. Tolvanen continued to make several excellent saves against the visitors. It wasn't until the final six minutes that Salzburg were able to mount a serious threat again. After a fast-paced first period, in which Bolzano dominated possession with their strong offense, the teams went into the locker room tied 1-1.
Following an initial power play in which the Red Bulls struggled to find their rhythm, the visitors regained the lead on a 2-on-1 breakaway. Pascal Brunner pounced on the puck from the face-off circle and fired it into the top corner (23rd minute). Just two minutes later, Bolzano scored a well-executed power-play goal to extend their lead to 3-1 (25th minute). This seemed to wake up the Red Bulls. They launched a furious attack on the Bolzano goal, and Mario Huber scored on the rebound to pull one back (27th minute). The game became more physical and emotional, with the momentum shifting wildly. But Salzburg kept their composure. Florian Baltram leveled the score with a powerful shot from a sharp angle that nestled under the crossbar (32nd minute). The onslaught continued. Benjamin Nissner was sent through a gap in the defense and finished on the run (37th minute), and then, during a 5-on-3 power play, Lucas Thaler added another goal after a brilliant pass from Michael Raffl to give Salzburg a 5-3 lead at the intermission. The Red Bulls had turned the game around with four goals after trailing 3-1.
The third period continued with energetic, end-to-end battles. Bolzano pushed the pace and had opportunities on another power play. The Red Bulls defended with full commitment, creating counter-attacking chances. But the game became truly exciting again towards the end. Bolzano closed the gap, with Brad McClure scoring in a scramble in front of the net to make it 4-5 (55th minute). Michael Raffl then effectively sealed the victory with a backhand goal after a quick burst of speed (57th minute), although another goal by the visitors was disallowed after video review. Raffl then added an empty-net goal (60th minute) to complete his brace and secure the 7-4 final score.
