Bolzano wins the South Tyrol Derby | Salzburg extends winning streak to ten

For the second time this season, Bolzano came out on top against Pustertal. In Bruneck, the Foxes never trailed, but the win was hard-fought until the final buzzer. After a scoreless first period, Cristiano Digiacinto gave the visitors the lead in the 24th minute on the power play. Tommy Purdeller equalized for the hosts in the 27th minute, and after Matt Bradley put Bolzano ahead again in the 29th minute, Purdeller scored just 12 seconds later to make it 2-2. In the third period, Luca Frigo put Bolzano back in front in the 45th minute, followed less than a minute later by Brett Pollock, who extended the lead to 4-2 in the power play. Pustertal fought back, with Mikael Frycklund reducing the deficit to 3-4 ten minutes from the end, but the equalizer never came. Shane Gersich sealed the win with an empty-net goal 40 seconds before the final buzzer. For fourth-placed Bolzano, it was their fifth consecutive win, while sixth-placed Pustertal suffered their third loss in a row.

Salzburg continues unstoppable run
Defending champions EC Red Bull Salzburg remain unstoppable, claiming their tenth straight win with a 6:1 home victory over the Vienna Capitals. Travis St. Denis was the only player to score twice. Vienna opened the scoring in the 4th minute on the power play, but Salzburg quickly took control and turned the game around in the first period. They added two more goals in both the second and third periods. Salzburg remain third in the standings, seven points off the top, while the Capitals, who had won two consecutive games prior, are tenth, just one point above 11th place.

Shutout victory for Linz against Villach
Steinbach Black Wings Linz defeated EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV 3:0, moving ahead of Villach in the standings. The Upper Austrians now have a two-point lead over VSV, who dropped to ninth. After a scoreless first period, Niklas Würschl gave the hosts the lead in the 33rd minute on the power play. Villach dominated the final period and threatened the equalizer, but Emilio Romig made it 2-0, and Graham Knott sealed the win with an empty-net goal 54 seconds before the end. For goaltender Rasmus Tirronen, it was the second consecutive shutout at home, following a 7:0 victory over Hydro Fehérvár AV19 on December 30.

Graz records another shutout in Ljubljana
The Moser Medical Graz99ers also celebrated a shutout victory, defeating Olimpija Ljubljana 2:0. Graz remain just one point behind league leaders EC-KAC. Lukas Haudum scored both goals (9th & 41st minute), while Maxime Lagacé recorded his third shutout of the season. This was only the second match this season in which Olimpija failed to score – and once again, Graz was the opponent. On November 28, the 99ers had already won 1:0 in Ljubljana. For Graz, it was their fifth consecutive win, while Olimpija suffered their second straight loss and are now eleven points behind Graz in fifth place.

KAC keeps control in Innsbruck
League leaders EC-KAC defeated HC TIWAG Innsbruck 4:1, ending a two-game losing streak and maintaining a one-point lead over Graz. Innsbruck, bottom of the table, suffered their fifth consecutive defeat. After winning the first home clash against KAC 9:6, Innsbruck fell behind early this time. Jan Muršak scored for KAC in the 5th minute, Troy Lajeunesse equalized for Innsbruck in the 9th, and it was 1-1 at the first intermission. Early in the second, Filip Simovic scored his first goal in the win2day ICE Hockey League to make it 2-1, followed 54 seconds later by Fabian Hochegger for 3-1. Mathias From sealed the 4-1 win in the 55th minute.

Fehérvár wins third Hungarian derby
For the third time this season, Hydro Fehérvár AV19 defeated FTC Budapest, winning 6:3 away. Fehérvár had already won the first two clashes 6:1 and 6:3. The victory moves them up to seventh place, four points ahead of 11th-placed Budapest. In front of 2,400 fans, Budapest scored first after 83 seconds, but Fehérvár turned the game around in the first period. In the second, FTC equalized after 12 seconds, only for Fehérvár to retake the lead 48 seconds later. After 25 minutes, they had a two-goal lead, but Budapest reduced the deficit to 3-4 in the 29th minute. István Terbócs scored the go-ahead goal in the 43rd minute, and Max Gerlach made it safe in the 51st minute, scoring twice. Fehérvár ended their two-game losing streak, while Budapest suffered their fifth consecutive defeat.

win2day ICE Hockey League:
Sat, 03.01.2026:
Steinbach Black Wings Linz – EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV 3:0 (0:0, 1:0, 2:0)
Referees: REZEK, SOOS, Durmis, Jeram
Goals BWL: 1:0 Würschl N. (33./PP1), 2:0 Romig E. (57.), 3:0 Knott G. (60./EN)

HC TIWAG Innsbruck – EC-KAC 1:4 (1:1, 0:2, 0:1)
Referees: NIKOLIC M., SIEGEL, Rigoni, Sparer
Goal HCI: 1:1 Lajeunesse T. (9.)
Goals KAC: 0:1 Mursak J. (5.), 1:2 Simovic F. (23.), 1:3 Hochegger F. (24.), 1:4 From M. (55.)

Olimpija Ljubljana – Moser Medical Graz99ers 0:2 (0:1, 0:0, 0:1)
Referees: PIRAGIC, ZRNIC, Hribar, Zgonc
Goals G99: 0:1 Haudum L. (9.), 0:2 Haudum L. (41.)

FTC-Telekom – Hydro Fehérvár AV19 3:6 (1:2, 2:2, 0:2)
Referees: HLAVATY, NAGY, Gatol, Nothegger
Goals FTC: 1:0 Tammela J. (2.), 2:2 Shaw B. (21.), 3:4 Green G. (29.)
Goals AVS: 1:1 Erdely C. (10.), 1:2 Bartalis I. (17./PP1), 2:3 Gerlach M. (22.), 2:4 Archibald D. (26.), 3:5 Terbocs I. (43.), 3:6 Gerlach M. (51.)

EC Red Bull Salzburg – Vienna Capitals 6:1 (2:1, 2:0, 2:0)
Referees: GROZNIK, SMETANA, Mantovani, Pardatscher
Goals RBS: 1:1 Raffl M. (14.), 2:1 St. Denis T. (15./PP1), 3:1 St. Denis T. (24./PP1), 4:1 Nissner B. (26.), 5:1 Bourke T. (57.), 6:1 Huber M. (58.)
Goal VIC: 0:1 Hults M. (4./PP1)

HC Falkensteiner Pustertal – HCB Südtirol Alperia 3:5 (0:0, 2:2, 1:3)
Referees: OFNER, STERNAT, Fleischmann, Weiss
Goals HCP: 1:1 Purdeller T. (27.), 2:2 Purdeller T. (29.), 3:4 Frycklund M. (51.)
Goals HCB: 0:1 Digiacinto C. (24./PP1), 1:2 Bradley M. (29.), 2:3 Frigo L. (45.), 2:4 Pollock B. (46./PP1), 3:5 Gersich S. (60./EN)