No tra-la-la: WSC 4 – Vipers 6
At the end of three solid periods of hockey from both teams last saturday night at Vienna’a EisStadthalle, WSC stood on the back end, 6 – 4. No tra-la-la. No major fights. No major fuck-ups. Simply no win. And you cannot go back in time to change that.
None of us was particularly thrilled about losing, but the figures of Black and White held their heads high as they exited the ice. The first round of Eisner Auto Third League came to an end for us, and we stayed within the top 4 teams. (This gives us better positioning for the next interim round before the playoffs. The system is complicated, but if you know it, it isn’t. Don’t ask me to explain it).
Here’s the match break-down.
EHC Vienna Vipers came out strong and played that way from start to finish. At 1:17 in the first period the Vipers notched their first tally. 10 minutes later they got their second, making it 0 – 2 at 11:15.
Then at 13:00, WSC struck back when Rene Martinu, fresh back from a long stint on injured reserves fired one past the Vipers goaltender, making it 1 – 2, setting the stage for a match with fight, battle and shifting lead.
Early in the second period WSC showed they were in this game. Clemens Ederer scored his 4th of the season and two minutes later, Roman Balaz shot his 5th, putting WSC on top, 3 – 2. We didn’t hold the lead long. Vipers shot one in at 34:33, and another at 48:52 putting them back in front, 4 – 3. Period 2 comes to an end.
It seemed that anything was possible in the remaining period. Spannung pur.
The Vipers capitalised first, scoring at 56:27 in the third. Down by two, WSC had no choice but to score themselves back into it, and they did this. At 59:43 Mathias Klien whipped in his 6th of the season. WSC down by one, 4 – 5 with about 15 minutes left. This is where WSC experienced the void. It was back and forth hockey, but nothing clicked, and naturally, the clock kept ticking. The last minutes of play, WSC on the power play, WSC pulls goalie Helge Herglotz for the 6 against 4, but to no avail. The Vipers throw in goal 6, shorthanded, from their own zone to seal the deal.
Buzz. Game over.
It was an exciting game. The last seconds sucked, but the crowd showed their classic WSC respect. Thanks for that.
Shots on goal: 32 for WSC, 29 for Vipers. Statistic lovers, please click here.
WSC Man of the Match: Mathias Klien.
See you in 19!