HC Bolzano earnt themselves a stubborn overtime victory against Skellefteå who couldn’t outscore the Italians despite putting a mammoth 46 shots on net.

Bolzano were unfortunate not to win the game in regulation, which began with them scoring after just 38 seconds when forward Daniel Catenacci slotted home past a back-pedalling Skellefteå defence. The goal was clearly a shock for Swedish Head Coach Tommy Samuelsson, whose team found themselves two goals down after the Foxes efficiently dispossessed his side again and struck on the counter. This time it was Michael Blunden who put his name on the scoresheet after receiving an acute pass from his fellow forward.

Skellefteå refused to go down without a fight, replying with a goal of their own with just over five minutes left in the first period. A blocked shot from the blue line fell nicely in front of the net for Linus Lindström, who spun and fired a shot past the reactionless netminder. The Swedes didn’t let a break after the first third slow their momentum as they gave Bolzano a taste of their own medicine, scoring after 46 seconds. An ambiguous spinning shot in front of the Foxes net turned into an exquisite pass for defenceman Filip Berglund, who was in the right place to tuck it away.

By this point, Skellefteå had grown into the match and were enjoying lengthy spells of possession while the Foxes were struggling to orchestrate any attacks of their own. With only five minutes left in the second period, the Italian side were gifted a powerplay; something they snatched with open arms. The lifeline gave defenceman Marco Insam the chance to flex his slapshot, which conveniently found the top shelf of Mantas Armalis’s net to put his team 3-2 up just before the break.

After another team talk, Skellefteå continued to dominate and were rewarded for their persistence when Jujamatti Aaltonen made up for his open net miss earlier in the period by silencing the 3,000-packed crowd in Eiswelle with a late goal. At three goals apiece, the two teams battled tirelessly into OT where a penalty shootout had to settle the draw. Alexander Petan scored the only penalty to give the Foxes a rugged win in Group C.