In the second minute of the game the home team builds a good attack and finally Sarauer receives a good pass and he takes it in great rhythm into the offensive zone. He drifts to the wing but still manages a good shot and although the rebound comes out, there is no arriving teammate.

In the sixth minute Gander builds an attack on the wing and he fires a shot but Bálizs makes the save. The next minute Tóth fights hard for the possession of the puck but finally he is able to fire a shot but the shot doesn’t have much strength. Németh takes possession of the rebound and he almost manages to take it in front of the goalie but finally he is stopped with a fault.

Another minute later – in the resulting powerplay – the puck is passed around well by the home side and finally Banham fires a shot from the top of the face-off circle but Hübl makes the save.

In the 15th minute the puck is shot around the home team’s net and Piche fires a shot from the blue line. Whitfield tries to take possession of the rebound but Bálizs manages to put his glove over the puck.

In the 19th minute in another powerplay for the home side Piche threatens with a distant shot but the puck lands in Bálizs’s glove. In the last minute of the first period Sapa Fehérvár AV19 passes the puck around and finally Jackman fires a shot but Hübl makes the save and the first twenty minutes end scoreless.

 

The visitors take the lead in the third minute of the second period with a powerplay goal. Piche pretends to shoot from the blue line but instead he makes a nice pass to Santorelli at the long side of the net who scores from a short distance.

In the fourth minute Sapa Fehérvár AV19 loses the puck in the neutral zone with a diagonal pass and Bolzano comes in a counterattack three on one and finally Insam shoots from the center of the offensive zone but his attempt hits the upper post of the net.

Bolzano takes a two-goal lead in the fourth minute. Zisser takes a low shot and the rebound lands in front of Gander who takes the puck across in front of Bálizs and scores into the empty side of the net. In the sixth minute Insam shoots from the wing but Bálizs makes a nice save. The next minute Sapa Fehérvár AV19 comes within a single-goal difference. Naglich builds an attack on the wing, then he shoots the puck towards the net. The arriving Sarauer puts his stick into the attempt but after hitting the post, the puck bounces to the side. The puck is then passed back and there is a huge crowd in front of the net trying to push it into the net and following consultation of the video goal judge, a goal is awarded for the home side.

In the 14th minute Sapa Fehérvár AV19 keeps the puck well in the corner of the offensive zone, then it lands in front of Sarauer and although the puck is bouncing, he is in a clear shooting situation but his attempt flies above the net.

In the 18th minute Banham passes the puck behind the offensive baseline, then the puck is passed back and Benk can take the one-timer but Hübl makes the save but Bolzano keeps its one-goal lead.

 

In the first minute of the third period Varga fires a big shot from the blue line and there is a big fight for the rebound but Bolzano finally manages to clear their defensive zone. In the fourth minute Mihály loses the puck in the defensive zone and Bolzano can attack two against none but Bálizs makes a huge save.

In the fifth minute Bálizs loses possession of the puck behind his net and the puck is passed back while the net is empty but the defensive line manages to make the block. Bolzano returns to a two-goal lead in the sixth minute. The puck is shot into the offensive zone, then it is passed back to Nicoletti who fires from a distance and there is a large crowd in front of Bálizs and he cannot make the save.

In the tenth minute McGregor has the puck behind the Bolzano net, then he passes it towards the front of the net where Mihály takes the shot but Hübl makes the save. Sapa Fehérvár AV19 comes within a one-goal difference in the 12th minute. Bolzano’s defenseman shoots his teammate in the back and Németh collects the puck and from a short distance he scores into the upper part of the net.

Seconds later Bolzano makes another big defensive mistake and Mihály can shoot from a short range but this time Hübl makes a big save. In the 14th minute Banham has a breakaway attempt but he cannot score at the end.

Sapa Fehérvár AV19 ties the score in the 15th minute. Hetényi builds the attack on the wing and he also takes the shot. The arriving Benk puts his stick into the attempt and scores over the shoulder of Hübl.

Bolzano secures their victory and series-win in the 18th minute. The home side cannot clear their defensive zone and Bolzano collects the puck by the board. Egger receives a good pass and he can shoot undisturbed although from a distance but Bálizs cannot make the save and Bolzano can prepare for the semifinal series.

 

Tom Pokel, HCB Südtirol head coach: We knew that it will be a tough game because anytime a team faces elimination, it gains a lot of energy and plays with a lot of desperation. Overall I am satisfied with our team spirit, the way that we fought for each other. Everytime we had difficulties, we came back with an answer. I think the key was the first game, it could’ve been a completely different series should Sapa Fehérvár AV19 have won that game.

Marty Raymond, Sapa Fehérvár AV19 head coach: It’s tough to make comments, probably I need a few days. Overall I think we exceeded the expectations regarding the season. Several young players have improved a lot, we have a cohesive team with good team spirit. Our goal next year is to reach the top eight again. I would like to congratulate Bolzano, they are a great team that played very hard, they deserve the promotion to the semifinal.