The Prep Stars showed progress as they hosted the Linz BlackWings in Bundesliga action on Tuesday night. After getting romped 5-1 in the season opener versus the BlackWings, the Stars were looking for a measure of redemption, as well as a chance to prove that they are making ground on the other teams.

Sandro Aeschlimann, fresh off of a two week lay-off with an upper-body injury, got the nod in goal for the Stars, and they relied on him to provide solid goaltending as the Lower Austrian players hoped to go toe-to-toe with the league leaders.

The first period provided much of the scoring action, as the two teams combined for 5 goals in the first 20 minutes. Despite carrying an edge in zone time and puck possession, the Stars found themselves trailing the older Wings 3-2, as simple errors turned costly for the Prep team. The ‘Wings opened the scoring just 4:36 in, as a defensive gaffe at the offensive blueline allowed Marcus Bergman to move in alone on Aeschlimann, beating him with a forehand to backhand deke through the wickets. Just moments after, however, Marco Richter benefited from a solid forecheck by Varsity call-up Ricco Ratajcyzk, as the pass from the Linz defender deflected right to the stick of Richter, who made no mistake. Zak Hicks picked up the other assist. The Stars then took the lead on a nifty backdoor pass from captain Fabio Kläy, as Fritz Schrӧder made no mistake hammering home the pass. Daniel Leisser picked up the other assist on the play. Linz came right back, however, as a 2-2 was misplayed by the Stars backchecker, and Bergman again made the hometown team pay with his second of the night. The visitors then regained the lead with Bergman’s natural hat-trick being completed just 0:59 later, and the Stars found themselves down after the first twenty minutes.

The second period saw the two teams exchange goals, as the Stars drew even with Zak Hicks’ second point on the night. Richter stole the puck behind the net from the ‘Wings D, finding s pinching Hicks whose wrister bulged the twine. The Wings responded, however, regaining the lead just a minute-and-a-half later as a bouncing powerplay puck went off of two defenders before landing on the blade of Christoph Weinburger, who buried with Daniel Leisser looking on from the penalty box. The 4-3 score was how the second frame ended.

The third saw end-to-end action, with both teams seeing opportunities to win. After the Stars responded with a powerplay goal of their own from Stefan Hrdina (Kläy, Leisser), the show was stolen by Aeschlimann, who made several saves off of the BlackWings, preserving the tie, and giving the Stars their first points off of the ‘Wings this season.

“Overall, I was very impressed with our effort and our ability to come back, but we really put ourselves behind the eight-ball early with such poor reads on the defensive-side of the puck,” cautioned O’Leary. “We played hard and competed, but we made some glaring errors that gave them a point, for sure. That game was ours for the taking tonight, but we need to be better.” The effort was also duly noted by the attending fans, who welcomed the speed and intensity not often shown in the Klenkdome.

Things get no easier for the Young Stars, as they now host the Graz 99ers on Saturday, before a big tilt with rival Vienna Capitals on Sunday. After giving up a combined 16 goals against the two teams in their last meetings, the Stars are hoping to show a much tighter defensive zone, and certainly a more potent powerplay and penalty kill. Game times are 15:30 and 13:30 respectively at the Klenkdome.  

L.A. Stars Prep 4 vs. Linz BlackWings 4 (2-3; 1-1; 1-0)