This week we would to present to you something that hasn’t to fit directly with our music, but with our roots.
I’m talking about the main Ice Hockey team of our town: the Hockey Club Bolzano.
The italian Anthem during one of the last match of the season in the “Palaonda” the Stadium of Bolzano
Our city is linked with strenght to the hockey, it’s almost a religion, just for understanding, the fans calls Bolzano “Hockeytown”.
I don’t want to bore you telling the history of the team from the 1933 to date, or mentioning all the trophies won (31 in sum), but I want to recount how went this just ended season.
Since 4 seasons HCB left the Italian Championship for playing in a supranational League managed by the Austrian federation, the E.B.E.L.. The level is higher, the budget required is higher, at all the levels you can imagine, a bigger challenge for the franchise of Bolzano.
Like the better tales, the HCB won the E.B.E.L. Championship at its first season. The luck of the rookies they said. Then 2 years of good seasons (Always gaining the play-off bracket) but nothing special.
And we arrive at the current season 2017/18. We are in winter, at the half of the regular season. Bolzano is last at -12pt for the nearest team. It is a nightmare. The society decides to change the goalie, to change the coach, to change all that seems not working.
Like in the best nightmares the new goalie moved to another team after a couple of games, the new substituted injured in his debut game….. everything seems to run against the HCB team.
The guys of the “Curva” sings Always how big is the “Vecchio Cuore Biancorosso” (the old White-red hearth), and, as Always, they are right!
In a couple of months HCB climb the ranking from the last slot to the first qualifying for the play-off bracket.
Play-off are a good success for a so began season. But as all the fairy tales, the dream can not end. At the first round HCB beats Klagenfurt in 6 matches, in the semi-finals, HCB beats Vienna in 6 matches.
We are in the finals.
Bolzano against Red Bulls Salzburg. Passion against money. Heart against Business. (Beer against Energy Drink. ahahahha –sorry–).
The series go until the last match. Game 7 is played in Salzburg.
That’s the result:
No further words are needed. That’s HCB, that’s the “Vecchio cuore Biancorosso”, that’s Hockeytown.
GREEN ARROWS 