Third consecutive away game for Milano, who head to the Vorarlberghalle in Feldkirch on Wednesday night to take on hosts Pioneers, coached by former Milano Rossoblu player Alex Caffi. The two teams find themselves in opposite situations: coach Shedden's side have a perfect record after wins in Innsbruck and Linz, while the Austrians have lost at home to Villach and Graz. "All the more reason for us to go into the game with the right approach," warns Blake McLaughlin. "I expect them to come out strong in the first 5 minutes. Like the other night, we need to play it 'simple' and stick to our system."
The 26-year-old center from Grand Rapids, Minnesota has been in fine form to start the season, with 3 goals and 1 assist to his name: "I'm really happy with this start. My line is clicking well — we found our chemistry already in the final stage of pre-season and everything's going in the right direction. I played with Nick Caamano for almost all of last season, so I know him very well, and Dante Hannoun is an exceptional player, able to create space and deliver passes with precision."
Coach Shedden confirms Jake Smith between the pipes, the other standout performer of the opening two rounds: with 70 saves (98.7%) and a shutout, he's the cover star of the Ice Hockey League so far. The rest of the lineup — still without Allison, who is following a specific program to recover from an upper-body injury — remains unchanged.
Tomorrow marks the start of another long road trip that will take Milano to Budapest on Friday and Vienna on Saturday, rounding out a week of "overtime." The home debut is set for October 9th against Innsbruck: tickets go on sale on Ticketmaster starting September 28th, while the season ticket campaign continues.
Tomorrow's game against Pioneers Vorarlberg gets underway at 7:30 PM, streamed live on Sporteurope: https://shorturl.at/iLhFc
