Milano soar! Klagenfurt handed their first defeat of the season as the Rossoblu climb to the top of the table. Another monster performance from Smith between the pipes: 62 saves for the Italian-Canadian netminder. Caamano scores twice. Milano's road trip continues on Friday evening in Villach, live on DAZN.
1st PERIOD · 0-2 Klagenfurt outshot Milano heavily in the first period (18-6) without ever giving the impression of controlling the game. Milano looked calm and compact in every situation and, as in Vienna, struck on the power play: McKegg finished off fine work by Finoro and Saracino with a deft piece of stickhandling in tight, beating Vorauer. Saracino then had a glorious chance to double the lead, but the Austrian goaltender denied the breakaway with the tip of his skate. KAC raised the tempo, but Smith was ready to deny McKinnon's wraparound attempt. The Austrians also squandered a promising shorthanded 2-on-1. With the danger averted, the Rossoblu made it 2-0 through Caamano, whose angled shot beat a less-than-perfect Vorauer on the blocker side. The league leaders' response was immediate: first Smith was outstanding on Hundertpfund, then Grant swatted away a puck heading into the net after a deflection. Milano wasted a power play late in the period.
2nd PERIOD · 0-1 The middle frame opened with a good double chance for Milano's fourth line, which Madaschi and Cuglietta were unable to convert. There followed several minutes in which the home side took the initiative, to no effect. Ten minutes in, Milano's top forward line (joined at that moment by Albis and Gios on the blue line) produced the most spectacular shift of the night: more than a minute of puck possession in the attacking zone that turned into a siege. First Albis was denied from point-blank range by a miraculous save from Vorauer, then Hannoun left the Austrian five literally dancing, setting up the 3-0 from a crafty McLaughlin, who banked the puck in off the Austrian goaltender's back. From then on, Klagenfurt threw caution to the wind and tried everything to beat an ever-alert Smith. A couple of miracle saves from the Milano netminder were aided by a touch of luck: Unterweger's slapshot with 14 seconds left in the period rang off the inside of the post.
3rd PERIOD · 2-1 The third period was a different story altogether, and as the minutes ticked by it became a real ordeal. Milano dug in in front of a monumental Smith but were beaten twice: Petersen opened the scoring on the power play and Obersteiner added a second from a goalmouth scramble. It became a siege. Milano took two penalties on the same play and had to defend two minutes of 5-on-3. Grant took charge, Smith continued his inspired evening and the dam held. An incredible effort, finally rewarded by Caamano's empty-net goal that put the game to bed.
