Villach Proves Too Tough for Stars
The Villach Eagles showed the upstart U-20 Prep Stars just how far they’ve come, but also how far they have to go, extinguishing any fire the Stars had heading into last weekend’s games in Kartnen.
On Saturday, the Stars fought valiantly, but could not solve a stifling defense of stop the abundance of shots pouring towards goaltender Sandro Aeschlimann. Marco Richter opened the scoring on a deflection on the powerplay from Albert Krammer and Daniel Leisser to give the Stars a 1-0 lead, but Villach drew even just over a few minutes later on a powerplay of their own, and the two teams headed into the dressing room tied at one, despite Villach holding a 19-4 edge in the shots on goal department.
In the second period, Aeschlimann continued his heroics, but the Stars also tried to get back in the game. An even-strength goal by Villach was the only thing that beat the goaltenders, and after two the Stars trailed 2-1.
In the third, the Stars were again shut out by Villach, as they tried to beat the netminder, but instead it was Villach putting two more by Aeschlimann, and taking the 4-1.
Prep Stars 1 vs. VSV 4 (1:1; 0:1; 0:2)
On Sunday, the Stars countered with Johann Bauer in goal; once again, the Stars were unable to mount any offensive pressure sustained in the offensive zone.
The Stars trailed 2-0 after one, 5-0 after two, before finally getting one past the Villach goaltender to make it 5-1, but Villach responded with three more goals getting the 8-1 win.
“We played hard, but certainly we did not deserve to win these games. I think (Saturday’s) game was within reach, but our special teams got outplayed. Even on Sunday, five of the nine goals scored were special teams. We need to improve there, and we need to be more intense to counter their strength-factor. We certainly didn’t back down physically, but we could have been more acute and alert in the game.”
Next up the Stars host Vienna in what is sure to be a tough tilt Tuesday night at the Klenkdome. With just three games remaining in league play, the Stars are hoping to end strong and send a message to other teams that they are really to take notice. Game time is 19:30.
Prep Stars 1 vs. VSV 8 (0:2; 0:3; 1:3)
