Bolzano take early surprise

15 Sep 2013 | Alan Ilijic

First week of the new EBEL season brings surprises and disappointments as Bolzano takes seed #1, while the reigning champion KAC sit in 11th spot.

The opening night featured a game in Dornbirn, where the hosts Bulldogs were waiting for VSV. The Carinthian team didn't allow any surprises and took the first points in the new season with a 6:3 win. Curtis Fraser topped the stats in points and goals recording a hattrick.

The following day, Sept 8th the first big game of the season took place with last season's finalists Vienna Capitals playing the champions KAC. The Klagefurt team didn't have the best start to the season, recording two losses in the same number of games prior to the Carinthian Derby against Villach scheduled for this weekend. Vienna took the win 4:1. KAC went to lose another one, this time in Steyr to Graz 99ers 1:0.

The league's newcomers, the biggest unknown of the new season, topped the statistics and the standings early on. With a solid team they've built, they managed to win in Innsbruck 6:1, then take a home win versus Red Bull Salzburg 4:3, while snapping another one on the road in Austria's capital, again tightly 4:3.

The Foxes from Italy lead the league after 4 games played with 100% 8 points and impresive goal difference 20-10. Mark Santorelli leads the league in points (7), plus/minus (+4), and assists (6). Trenton Whitfield leads the goals with 3 strikes.

Bolzano also have the best powerplay with 38,46%, while SAPA Fehervar are 100% on the penalty kill.

Rank	Team	Record	Trend	Comment
1	VSV	1-0-1	Up 5	Villach came strong on opening night and showed potential to be title contenders, or just pretenders?
2	HC Bozen	4-0-0	Up 10 BIG MOVER	Starting early on showed some pretensions to win the championship, but it's still early in the season.
3	Vienna Capitals	1-0-1	-	Won the opening game against the champions and lost tightly to current #1 team still leaves them with big odds for big things.
4	Znojmo	1-0-1	Up 3	Had a good start to the season taking out Red Bull at their rink. Could go far in the postseason with their highly potent team.
5	Dornbirn	1-0-1	Up 6	Lost on the opening night, but then hammered Olimpija in Slovenia 4:0. Maybe not a serious contender, but will make it hard to get points.
6	SAPA	1-0-1	Up 2	Opened the season with a road win at Znojmo, but losing to the top team after is nothing to be ashamed of. Always an uncomfortable opponent.
7	Graz 99ers	1-0-1	Down 3 A TEAM TO WATCH	Beat the champions at home, but looking at the roster they have more potential than #8 in the standings. Should improve next week.
8	Linz	1-0-1	Down 3	Entered the season disappointingly and will look to improve in the following weeks.
9	KAC	0-0-2	Down 8 BIG MOVER	Maybe the biggest disappointment entering the new season. The champions who ruled the playoffs last year had some roster changes, but looks like they lost the chemistry.
10	Red Bull	0-0-2	Down 8 BIG MOVER	With KAC and Olimpija finish the bottom of the table with no points. The club with the biggest budget isn't used to such reputation and will have to improve in the following weeks.
11	Innsbruck	1-0-1	Down 1	Although they're #9 in the standings, the Whales just don't have the quality to lead them throught he season. Maybe we are wrong, but time will tell in the mid-season.
12	Olimpija	0-0-2	Down 3	Could be one of the biggest disappointments as the season will progress. The only Slovene team is in deep problems, and it's visible on the ice. And the problems don't just include the roster quality...