Bolzano wins the first two games in Italian Serie A finals

The Bolzano Foxes managed to win on both home and away ice against regular season winners Val Pusteria, which last year lost the title in the finals against Asiago.

Val Pusteria - Bolzano 2:3 (0:1, 1:1, 1:1)
In the first game, Bolzano jumped suddenly in command thanks to a rebound goal by Jordan Knackstedt with less than 15 seconds played. The wolves then managed to even the score with DiCasmirro at the beginning of the second drittel, after some great saves by the opposite goalie Matt Zaba. The draw, anyway, lasted less than five minutes, as Stefano Giliati scored the 1:2 when left culpably alone in the slot after a shot by Knackstedt. Between the end of the first period and the beginning of the second, Val Pusteria missed two great occasions with Ling and Kelly, and so Bolzano closed the game with the second goal of the former Providence Bruins Jordan Knackstedt (2 goals and an assists in the game), after a generous rebound conceded by Stromberg. With less than nine minutes left to play, Watson then scored the second goal for the Wolves.


Bolzano - Val Pusteria 2:1 (1:1, 1:0, 0:0)
After the important away-win in game-1, Bolzano was expected to play a great game and take a solid lead in the series with a win on the home ice of the PalaOnda. And so they did. After falling early in the first, when Max Oberrauch took advantage of a mistake of the opposite penalty-killing line, the Foxes first tied the game with Sharp and then moved in front with a blue-line blast by Christian Borgatello. The Wolves played much better hockey in the (scoreless) second half of the game, but Bolzano goalie Matt Zaba shut the door on every attempt to score, gaining the title of MVP of the game and, by now, of the whole series.

The two teams will now play game-3 in Brunico on Tuesday, April 10th and game-4 in Bolzano, 48 hours later.

 

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