Post SV ended SV Arminen’s reign as Austrian men’s champions with a breathtaking first leg 4-0 win laying the base for their overall success, winning the title for the first time since 2006.
** Picture from elmaximusmanfredo (click for more pictures)
In so doing, they have qualified for the EHL Men’s KO16 for the first time in their history having played in the EHL Ranking Cup in 2022.
Post captain and EHL legend Benjamin Stanzl was thrilled to see his side put in a perfect performance, saying afterwards: “I’m overjoyed – we really deserved the win. In the decisive phase, we as a team convinced. Finally, we can claim an outdoor title for ourselves again!”
In game one, they led from the 13th minute from a stroke via Peter Kaltenböck and they pulled clear in the second leg with Maximilian Scholz and Bohdan Kovalenko both scoring in quick succession. Scholz added another in the third quarter to give them the first leg.
Arminen, though, were still in contention as goal difference counted for nothing and a win would take the series to a shoot-out.
As such, leg two was far tighter. A fiery first half ended scoreless with both sides going close. Niklas Grüner, though, allowed Post some breathing room when he stabbed home a chance in the 41st minute.
And they were further out of range courtesy of Kovalenko who was a key figure all weekend. Florian Steyrer pulled one back to keep the result in the balance going into the last quarter.
Kovalenko, though, sealed it with a brilliant backhand shot for a 3-1 Post lead; Sebastian Eitenberger pulled one back from a stroke but too late to change the outcome.
