Milano HC began a demanding week with a 5-3 defeat in Graz. On the 99ers’ difficult ice, the Rossoblù twice drew level, but from the midway point of the game the Styrians stepped up the pace and struck three times to take control. Milano still kept themselves in the contest with Dal Colle’s goal in the 50th minute, but the score did not change again before the final buzzer. The Rossoblù scored two of their three goals on the power play. Milano’s week continues on Friday with a home game against Klagenfurt.
FIRST PERIOD 1-0. After their first four games at home, Milano HC took to the road for the trip to Graz. As in the most recent win against Fehérvár, Berti started in goal. The first line was made up of Saracino, McKegg and Dal Colle, while Houde, Finoro and Allison remained unavailable. The game was played at a high tempo from the opening minutes, with Milano taking an open approach against the reigning champions, who immediately showed their quality around a constantly alert Berti. Shortly before the midway point of the period, the hosts took the first penalty, but Milano were unable to capitalise and were then penalised themselves, with Valentine sent to the box. Graz made the man advantage count: Clay Hanus skated in alone and found an unstoppable corner behind Berti from a tight angle. The visitors appeared to feel the blow and only pushed forward again late in the period, coming close to an equaliser when a dangerous shot from Grant forced Graz goaltender Kiviaho into a decisive save. Graz led 1-0 at the first intermission.
SECOND PERIOD 3-2. Milano sharpened their aim in the second period, finding the net after 142 seconds. On the power play, Alex Grant finished off a well-constructed sequence with a fine long-range shot. The Styrians’ response was immediate. In the 25th minute the hosts went back in front through Paul Huber, who capitalised on a defensive error by the Rossoblù and beat the defence with an elegant backhand. Milano kept pushing and, on a quick counter-attack, levelled at 2-2 through Michael Dal Colle, who finished a fine move built by Saracino and McKegg. The pattern, however, remained the same: every time the Lombards fought their way back, the 99ers restored their lead. Milano’s equaliser lasted less than a minute, as Dobnig found a gap in the defence and deflected a dangerous puck past Berti. From that point on, Graz began to pull away. With 20 seconds left in the period, Paul Huber struck again, beating Berti after collecting a shot in the slot. Graz led 4-2 at the second intermission.
THIRD PERIOD 1-1. Play was end to end in the final period. Caamano put a valuable puck into the slot, but the chance came to nothing. On the counter, Hanus beat Berti with a long-range one-timer across the goal, set up by a fine pass from Currie. Milano relied on their top line to reopen the game but lacked some sharpness. Around the 45th minute, a couple of particularly incisive shifts allowed the Rossoblù to put pressure on the Graz defence. Midway through the period, an incident put Milano back in contention: Kirchebner was sent off for two minutes and the Rossoblù power play made no mistake, with Saracino feeding Dal Colle, whose angled shot cut the deficit to 5-3. The goal served as a wake-up call. Graz missed a golden opportunity through Currie, while Kostner was unable to convert another chance for Milano. Milano pushed hard in the closing minutes, pulling Berti well ahead of time and playing the last 65 seconds six-on-four, but the score did not change before the 60th minute.
FULL BOX SCORE: https://ice.hockey/stats/spielstats?gameId=8241
