EC Red Bull Salzburg sealed back-to-back European Trophy wins as they beat Finnish champions TPS Turku 3-0 at the Turkuhalli.
The Red Bulls headed into their third game in Finland within the space of four days without Marco Pewal (sick) and Brent Aubin (injured), but made an excellent start, taking an early lead in the third minute with a goal courtesy of Daniel Welser. The Finns then upped their game, exploiting the many penalties handed to Salzburg, but goalie Dan LaCosta made several great saves to ensure the Red Bulls kept a clean sheet. The Red Bulls maintained their 1-0 lead through to the end of the first period of what up to this point had been a relatively uneventful game, having been very fortunate that the Finns had failed to exploit the weaknesses in Salzburg's defence.
'We have grown stronger with each game and today we managed to overcome the problems we had in the first period of yesterday's game' – Pierre Pagé
Salzburg dominated the early stages of the second period, thanks also to a five-on-three power play situation, but once again had their strong goalie to thank after he came out on top of a one-on-one with a Finnish attacker. The pace then picked up, with both teams creating some great opportunities. Turku were unfortunate when a shot hit the crossbar in the 30th minute. The Red Bulls were proving the stronger side, with Andre Lakos bagging his first goal of the season; in the 40th minute he put Salzburg 2-0 ahead just before the end of the period with a backhander on the power play.
After a relatively "leisurely" start to the final period, Manuel Latusa took possession of the puck right in front of the goal mouth, outfoxing the goalie to score a merciless goal in the 45th minute. A good 2,000 spectators thus witnessed their home team fall 3-0 behind. And the Red Bulls continued to apply the pressure, forcing the Finns into an increasing number of mistakes, having been relatively error-free for the first 40 minutes. Denver Manderson was poised for a fourth goal in the 55th minute but his shot hit the crossbar, while LaCosta managed to defuse a number of dangerous situations. The Canadian was ultimately able to celebrate his first shutout on only his second appearance, the Red Bulls conceding no goals in the dying minutes to seal a 3-0 victory over Finnish champions TPS Turku.
The team as well as head coach Pierre Pagé were delighted by their second win in three games: "We have grown stronger with each game and today we managed to overcome the problems we had in the first period of yesterday's game. Despite several penalties, the players put in a more disciplined performance today and thoroughly deserve their victory, in which Dan LaCosta's strong performance in goal played a large part."
Captain Thomas Koch added: "We have made a pretty good start to the European Trophy, with two wins in three games, and we leave Turku having conceded no goals. But I still regard our team as something of an outsider, as we still lack the kind of experience required to play consistently well at such a high level. But the team continues to gel, even if there is still a lot of work to be done, and what we lack as a team we try to make up for in fighting spirit and enthusiasm."
Elsewhere on Saturday night, Oulun Kärpät maintained their perfect start with a 3-2 win over SC Bern, while Tappara lost 6-3 at home to ZSC Lions. Those results mean Salzburg move up to fourth in the Central Division.
For more on the European Trophy, head to the website or check out www.redbulls.com.
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