Release from 14.04.2025

2024/25 Season Recap

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The puck dropped on September 20, 2024, marking the start of the 25th anniversary season of the win2day ICE Hockey League. 13 teams from four different countries entered the race for the coveted jubilee title. 203 days, 361 games, and 2,077 goals later, EC Red Bull Salzburg lifted the Karl Nedwed Trophy for the fourth consecutive time – and for the tenth time in club history. Let's take a look back at a thrilling anniversary season.

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The Regular Season
Under the motto “Home of Heroes,” the league delivered an intense and exciting regular season with 312 games and 1,856 goals scored. Nearly 20% of all matchups went to overtime, and the league lead changed almost weekly. Over the course of the season, Bozen, Graz, Fehérvár, and EC-KAC each spent time at the top of the standings. A fun fact: the eventual champion, Salzburg, never held first place during the regular season.

With a powerful finish – 18 wins in their final 22 games – EC-KAC clinched the top spot in the regular season standings. They secured one of the first two tickets to the 2025/26 Champions Hockey League, along with EC Red Bull Salzburg, who finished second overall.

The race for the remaining four direct playoff spots went down to the wire. Four teams were battling for three spots until the very last game day. In the end, the team that had spent the most time at the top – Hydro Fehérvár AV19 – missed out. The Hungarian squad had to go through the Pre-Playoffs, along with Olimpija Ljubljana, HC Pustertal Wölfe, and spusu Vienna Capitals. Fehérvár and Pustertal won their respective Best-of-Three series to complete the quarterfinal lineup.

Regular Season MVP
The win2day ICE Hockey League media panel voted John Hughes of EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV as the Most Valuable Player of the 2024/25 regular season. It was the second MVP award for the Canadian forward, who also won in 2011/12 while playing for Ljubljana. Hughes joins Peter Schneider as only the second player to earn the MVP title twice. He led the league with 59 points, including 47 assists, and was held scoreless in just 12 of his 48 games.

World Record in the Quarterfinals
The playoffs began with a bang: for the first time since 2018/19, total attendance surpassed the one million mark. Additionally, the Steinbach Black Wings Linz and Moser Medical Graz99ers made history, setting a new world record in professional hockey with six consecutive playoff games going to overtime – an unprecedented feat. Linz came out on top in Game 7 and joined EC Red Bull Salzburg, HCB Südtirol Alperia, and EC-KAC in the semifinals.

Another Seven-Game Semifinal Thriller
The Steinbach Black Wings Linz picked up right where they left off, starting their semifinal against EC-KAC with a dramatic overtime win – in the longest 3-on-3 overtime in win2day ICE Hockey League history. But EC-KAC came storming back and won the series 4–3, earning a spot in the ICE Finals for the second year in a row.

In the second semifinal series, EC Red Bull Salzburg showed dominance against HCB Südtirol Alperia. The Red Bulls secured the series 4–1 and advanced to their fourth straight final. Bozen, however, earned the third CHL ticket of the season.

Salzburg Crowned Champions in Anniversary Season
In the finals, EC Red Bull Salzburg delivered a true team performance, led by standout goaltender Atte Tolvanen. For just the fifth time in league history, a team completed a clean sweep in the finals – and Salzburg did it for the third time. It was their tenth league title – fittingly won in the league’s 25th anniversary season. For the first time since 2019, a team celebrated the championship on home ice. Remarkably, it was only the second time Salzburg lifted the trophy in front of their home fans.

Atte Tolvanen Named Playoffs MVP for Third Time
Following Game 4 of the finals, media representatives named Salzburg netminder Atte Tolvanen the Playoffs MVP for 2025. He was lights out against EC-KAC, allowing only two goals across four games. The 30-year-old led all goaltending stats this season and posted an outstanding .958 save percentage in the playoffs. It was the third time in his career that Tolvanen earned the MVP honor in the postseason.