Bitter night for Milano as a patient, clinical Klagenfurt edge them out: two power-play goals from an inspired Grant not enough
A bitter evening for Milano, who fell by a single goal to a patient and clinical Klagenfurt side; two power-play goals from an inspired Grant were not enough. Smith was forced to leave the ice after taking a puck to the neck. “The first important thing,” said coach Shedden after the game, “is that Smith is okay and can travel with us to Ljubljana. As for the game, these are games we have to win. At one-all at home after 40 minutes, you have to find a way to take control: our five-on-five game has to improve drastically.”
FIRST PERIOD 0-1. After the 3-5 loss in Graz, Milano returned to home ice and welcomed back Eric Houde, who had not played since October 2. The forward slotted in on the wing of the third line alongside Lindquist and Kostner. The Rossoblù’s top line featured Caamano, McLaughin and Hannoun. Smith returned between the pipes. Finoro and Allison remained sidelined. The Austrians were missing several key players: Dahm, Preiml, Muršak, Hochegger, Fraser, Petersen and Öfner. The EC-KAC net was guarded by Latvian Mitens, making his second appearance for the Red-and-Whites. As usual, Milano looked for early shots from distance, but nothing that troubled the visitors’ defence, which was always quick to clear the zone. McKegg found a good lane, but his shot was smothered by Mitens. Klagenfurt played cautiously and relied on the counterattack. It was from a quick transition that Obersteiner found space and fired a shot to the near post that beat Smith. Just past the midway point of the period, Milano created their clearest chance so far: Madaschi broke in well in the offensive zone and tried to beat Mitens on the backhand, but the goaltender, despite losing sight of the puck, still managed to turn it away. Milano tried again with a good play from the Dal Colle–Saracino tandem, with Saracino taken down as he drove to the net. On the ensuing power play, however, the hosts struggled to set up. When they did, Dal Colle got a shot off in close, but nothing more. Back at even strength, the Carinthians applied pressure, especially when Milano tried to exit their zone. A very fast-paced game, but no breakthrough before the first buzzer, with the Austrians ahead by one.
SECOND PERIOD 1-0. The second period got off to a lively start at both ends. Milano had three clear chances through Dal Colle, Grant and Saracino, while Klagenfurt responded through van Ee and St. Denis. After the initial flurry, Milano remained the more proactive side. As the minutes passed, the Carinthians regrouped and disrupted the Rossoblù’s build-up, though this didn’t translate into major chances for the Austrians. At 27:00, Caamano was dangerous in front of Mitens, but the Latvian kicked out the pads. At the halfway mark the pace picked up again, with Smith deflecting a clear chance from Hudson. Milano answered through Wylie, who wound up from distance, but Mitens got a piece of it. It was a frantic phase: Waschnig tested Smith, who kept the score intact. The hosts kept pushing, winning a puck back in the offensive zone, and McKegg hit the post. At 33:00 came Milano’s first penalty kill, which had no effect on the score. At 37:00 Milano earned their second power play of the night and made the most of it: Lindquist, in full stride, dropped the puck for the onrushing Grant, who rifled it under the crossbar to the delight of the crowd. Milano closed the period on the attack after tying it 1-1 through 40 minutes, along with a scrum following a hit on Hannoun along the boards that gave the hosts another power play, which they played well.
THIRD PERIOD 1-2. Milano came out flying with a rush from Houde, but Mitens stopped the puck with his pads while sprawled on the ice. Milano seemed to have momentum. Instead, Klagenfurt took the lead through Sablattnig, who picked up the puck off a lucky bounce, cut to the middle and beat Smith with a sudden slapshot. Smith, unfortunately, remained at the centre of the action: the Milano netminder kept his team in it with a split save on a point-blank shot from St. Denis. The goaltender had to leave on a stretcher and was replaced by Berti. Klagenfurt scored almost immediately after the long stoppage to attend to Smith, with Hudson’s shot caroming into the net from the slot. Milano didn’t give up and turned to their greatest strength: the power play, with another fine shot from Grant capping some good puck movement to reopen the game. The contest stayed open until the end. Despite one power play apiece, neither team was able to capitalise, with Milano throwing everything forward, including on a delayed penalty in the final seconds, but the Carinthians held on for a 3-2 win.
