Was the best Davos-Player: Petr Taticek
Following last year's HC Davos loss to Adler Mannheim, their bad luck with German teams continued with a defeat at the hands of Ingolstadt due to one of their weakest performances of the tournament. By contrast, thanks to a strong performance in the second period of the game, the Germans saw their first victory at the tournament by beating HC Davos 4:3.
The team from Davos had already been ruled out as a contender for the overall victory in the tournament when the Muscovites seemingly went on strike in the afternoon game. The team's next disappointment followed quick on the heels of the afternoon game with their loss in this, the final game of the tournament's preliminary round.
Helpless to influence the outcome of the afternoon game where the team from Moscow played without any dynamics, consequently helping the Canadians to qualify for the Finale, Davos' motivation completely evaporated in the game which had become meaningless within the context of its home tournament. During two thirds of the game, the team made no meaningful effort to live up to the expectations of the paying customers.
Petr Taticek's two goals late in the game (42nd and 52nd minute) significantly added to the excitement and tension for all 6746 spectators. Ingolstadt survived the late game rally. Needlessly delaying their attack, the team from Davos pushed the tempo which had the modest team from Bavaria fighting for its life. But with luck and the excellent work of goalie Sebastian Vogel, the team from Ingolstadt was able to leave the Spengler Cup with the honor of a victory in Davos.
Reversal of fortunes after 1:0
The promising start of the Bündner team encouraged hopes for a pleasant evening. Andres Ambühl, the most successful goal scorer of the 82nd Spengler Cup, scored his 5th goal in the 6th minute of the game. This prompted the Germans who had until that point remained without a goal, to take the game much more seriously than the HDC. A quick equalizer at the beginning of the second period was followed by a reversal of fortunes.
Despite the fact that the home team delivered a disappointing performance for the most part, two Swiss players (albeit from "wrong" team) played an outstanding role in the game: Langnau's Daniel Steiner set up Setzinger's opportunity to make the score 2:1. Seconds before the second break, the player from Bern was able to take the score to 4:1 after a slick pass by Romano Lemm. This irrevocably tipped the scales in favour of the team from Ingolstadt.
It was only during the final period, presumably after a serious vocal dressing down by trainer Arno del Curto and the substitution of regular goal keeper Genoni, that the home team finally began to take the game seriously. However all that seemed possible despite the increase in tempo was to limit the damage caused by the embarrassing mid game score.
The irritation of the HCD Fans
The only emotional outburst during the game was provided by a supporting act during the break. When the man dressed in an HCD jersey outed himself as a fan of the Zurich Lions (ZSC), he was greeted with loud boos and whistles. In a feud between the two clubs that was sparked Beat Forster, even the fans in the standing area failed to see the joke. The recipient of these jeers took it with a pinch of salt, donating his prize to the HCD Junior Team.
By Sven Schoch (Si)
Translation: Olivia Kaferly
Davos - Ingolstadt 3:4 (1:1, 0:3, 2:0)
Vaillant Arena. -- 6746 spectators (sold out). -- SR Johansson/Zalaski (Sd/Ka), Fluri/Kohler (Sz). -- Tore: 6. Ambühl (Guggisberg) 1:0. 9. Greilinger (Milroy) 1:1. 22. Setzinger (Steiner) 1:2. 28. Ast (Milroy) 1:3. 40. Steiner (Lemm, Hinterstocker) 1:4. 42. Taticek (Marc Wieser) 2:4. 52. Taticek (Ambühl, Furrer) 3:4. -- Penalties: 3 times 2 minutes against Davos, 4 times 2 minutes against Ingolstadt.
Davos: Berra (41. Genoni); Naumenko, Niinimaa; Gianola, Grossmann; Gerber, Blatter; Furrer; Salmelainen, Pohl, Sonnenberg; Riesen, Marha, Sykora; Ambühl, Rizzi, Guggisberg; Marc Wieser, Taticek, Dino Wieser; Bürgler.
Ingolstadt: Vogl; Daschner, Muir; Kobach, Hinterstocker; Rourke, Martinovic; Greilinger, Ast, Milroy; Steiner, Lemm, Setzinger; Nickulas, Sarault, Keith; Roethke, Brandl, Boucher.
Game notes: Davos without Helfenstein, Della Rossa (both injured), Müller, Stoop, Leblanc, (all not registered), Forster (not qualified), Daigle, Jan von Arx und Reto von Arx (additional replacements). -- goal posts-/crossbar: 25. Sarault. -- Timeouts: 6. Ingolstadt. -- Davos from 59:02 without Goalie.
