Bolzano takes top position and CHL ticket | Villach and Linz are in the playoffs

Pick Round:
Vienna celebrates first win of the season against Salzburg
In the sixth attempt, the spusu Vienna Capitals celebrated the first victory of the season over the EC Red Bull Salzburg. While the Caps managed to catch up with the fourth-placed Klagenfurt team, Salzburg had to relinquish the lead to Bolzano after the second defeat in a row. From the beginning the guests presented themselves more powerful. Ali Wukovits and Riley Holzapfel gave the Viennese a 2-0 lead in the first section. Salzburg shortened in the middle third in the person of Connor Brickley, but the Capitals had the right answer. In the final section, the Red Bulls were unable to counter the strong Viennese and slipped into a clear 6-1 defeat. The Viennese impressively ended a four-game losing streak. For the first time since the second round of the regular season, Salzburg is no longer at the top of the table. Janos Hari of EC Red Bull Salzburg injured himself in the match against the Viennese and could not play again.

Bolzano conquers top of the table and CHL-ticket
The HCB Südtirol Alperia continued its series of successes. The South Tyroleans celebrated their sixth victory in the Pick Round in a row and ousted EC Red Bull Salzburg from the top of the table. With the 5:2 victory over Moser Medical Graz99ers, the foxes also secured a top 2 place in the intermediate round, thus redeeming the second Champions Hockey League ticket of the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga. The Moser Medical Graz99ers suffered their fifth defeat in the Pick Round and lost their place in the top 4. After a goalless third at the start, Brett Flemming put the hosts in the lead. The 99ers were able to equalize, but then the foxes could not hold on. Bolzano cheered three more times in the final section, won 5:2 and is now laughing from the top of the table for the first time this season. The South Tyroleans have so far captured 18 of 21 possible points in the pick round. Bolzano is particularly brilliant at home, having already played seven home games without defeat.

Qualification Round:
VSV is in the playoffs after a shootout win
After a three-year break, EC Panaceo VSV returns to the playoffs of the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga. The Villach-based team celebrated a hard-fought shootout victory as guests of Fehérvár AV 19 and thus fixed their participation in the postseason. Fehérvár AV 19, on the other hand, lost touch with the top three. Patrick Bjorkstrand took the lead for the guests in the 15th minute, but Fehérvár had the right answer at hand and promptly equalised. After a goalless middle third, the hosts took a 3-1 lead. This time, however, the Eagles struck back, with Brodie Reid shortening before Bjorkstrand forced the overtime with his second goal of the evening. In the extra five minutes, no team managed to bring about the decision. Anton Karlsson kept his nerve in the penalty shootout and scored the game winner. Fehérvár could only win one of six duels of the season against Villach.

Innsbruck remains in the top 3
HC TWK Innsbruck celebrated a 2:1 overtime victory against the Dornbirn Bulldogs and thus remains close to the top 3 places. The Sharks won for the first time in over a year in Dornbirn. For the Bulldogs, the playoffs are now finally out of reach. Although Dornbirn created good chances in the first section, they didn’t manage to score. After a goalless third at the start, the guests got into the game better and rewarded themselves with the leading goal by Caleb Herbert. The Bulldogs managed to equalise in the final section. Innsbruck acted more efficiently in the overtime - Tylor Spurgeon finally secured the extra point.

Linz solves playoff ticket despite defeat in Znojmo
Although the Liwest Black Wings Linz suffered a defeat at the hands of HC Orli Znojmo, they qualified early for the playoffs 2020 and for the second time in a row the Upper Austrians made their way into the postseason via the Qualification Round. But also HC Orli Znojmo took another step towards the playoffs. The 6-4 win over the Linz team gave the Czechs a one-point lead over the fiercest pursuers in the race for the eighth and final playoff ticket. Znojmo got a lightning start and was leading 2-0 after only five minutes, but the answer from the Linz team came just as promptly, with Rick Schofield and Alexander Cijan equalizing a little later. But that wasn't all: Radim Matus put his team back in front with his second goal of the evening. In the middle section, the hosts even restored their two-goal advantage, before Rick Schofield equalised again with his second and third goals of the evening.

Erste Bank Eishockey Liga, 8. Pick Round:
EC Red Bull Salzburg - spusu Vienna Capitals 1:6 (0:2, 1:1, 0:3)
Referees: PEARCE (CAN), PIRAGIC, Nothegger, Weiss
Goals RBS: Brickley (34./pp1)
Goals VIC: Wukovits (12.), Holzapfel (17./pp1), Zalewski (40./sh1), Baun (51./pp1), Dorion (55.), Vause (59./pp1)

HCB Südtirol Alperia - Moser Medical Graz99ers 5:2 (0:0, 2:1, 3:1)
Referees: BULOVEC, K. NIKOLIC, Pardatscher, Rezek
Goals HCB: Flemming (23.), Insam (26./pp1), Giliati (45.), Bernard (50.), Frigo (53.)
Goals G99: Hamilton (24.), Ograjensek (51./pp1), 

Erste Bank Eishockey Liga, 8. Qualification Round:
Hydro Fehervar AV 19 - EC Panaceo VSV 3:4 S.O. (1:1, 0:0, 2:2)
Referees: SIEGEL, SMETANA, Gatol, Kaspar
Goals AVS: Kaijomaa (17.), Yogan (46.), Sarauer (54,), 
Goals VSV: Bjorkstrand (15., 60./pp1), Reid (55.), Karlsson (65./ gwg-pen)

Dornbirn Bulldogs - HC TWK Innsbruck 'Die Haie' 1:2 O.T. (0:0, 0:1, 1:0, 0:1)
Referees: STOLC, VIRTA, Martin, Sparer
Goals DEC: Häußle (47./sh.), 
Goals HCI: Herbert (40.), Spurgeon (63.)

HC Orli Znojmo - EHC Liwest Black Wings Linz 6:4 (3:2, 1:2, 2:0)
Referees: OFNER, STERNAT, Nagy, Soos
Goals ZNO: Berisha (3.), Matus (5., 20.), Flick (21.), Svoboda (57., 60.)
Goals BWL: Schofield (10., 27., 33.), Cijan (13.),