HC Fal-Posteria saw off HC Bolzano 6-4 in a club friendly on Tuesday evening. The home side took the points at their own rink, but not without Bolzano making it competitive until the final whistle. It was a match that will leave both coaches with plenty to discuss before the season gets underway.
What caught the eye was the back-and-forth nature of it. Bolzano came in with confidence after consecutive shutouts against Starbulls Rosenheim and Merano, but they found Fal-Posteria ready to fight for every shift. The hosts had been mixed in their own run — wins against Litvinov and Rosenheim, but losses to Ingolstadt and Graz — so this was a chance to test themselves properly.
By then, you could see where the game was being won and lost. Fal-Posteria were camped in the final third for stretches, putting Bolzano under pressure that eventually told. The visitors responded well, but they paid for a sloppy opening period and couldn't quite find the rhythm they'd shown against Merano.
There wasn't much in the way of statistics to break down for a friendly, but the scoreline told its own story. Six goals for the hosts, four for the visitors — plenty of chances going both ways, though Fal-Posteria clearly found a way back into it when Bolzano looked comfortable.
For Bolzano, the clean-sheet run came to an end, but they'll take something from the result. They were never out of it, and the four goals scored show they can fire when it matters. Fal-Posteria will make life awkward for opponents this season, and this match suggested they're building something.