Release from 06.03.2023

Face-off of the ICE quarter-final series

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Eight teams are exactly 12 wins away from the "Karl Nedwed Trophy" - the championship trophy of the win2day ICE Hockey League. Under the motto "12 to Glory", the four quarter-final series will open on Tuesday. Thereby it comes already in the first playoff phase not only to the final remake 2022 between EC Red Bull Salzburg and Hydro Fehérvár AV 19, but also to the Carinthian derby. The first quarterfinal match between EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV and EC-KAC will be shown live on PULS 24 as well as in the free stream of the ICE TV partner.

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win2day ICE Hockey League, Quarterfinals - Game 1:
07.03. 19:15 EC Red Bull Salzburg - Hydro Fehérvár AV19
Standings in the "best-of-seven" quarterfinal series: 0:0
Referees: SIEGEL, STERNAT, Bedynek, Konc
>> Tickets for the game
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Already in the quarterfinals there will be a rematch of last year's finals. Last season, EC Red Bull Salzburg won 4-0 against Hydro Fehérvár AV19 to become the 2022 champion. However, the individual games of the series were not as clear-cut as the result reads. At the start of the final series, the eventual champions only prevailed in overtime, and the other three games were all hard-fought and on a knife's edge for a long time. However, this clash also took place once before in the quarterfinals. In 2019, the Salzburgers celebrated a 4:2 series win. Back then, the Hungarians captured the series lead in the first game.

This season, too, Salzburg enters the series with the Hungarians as favorites. While the Red Bulls finished the regular season in second place and thus already clinched their CHL ticket, Fehérvár had to take a detour via the pre-playoffs. In the duel for the quarterfinal ticket with Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey, the runner-up of past season did not miss a beat and won 2:0. The four meetings between Salzburg and Fehérvár this season have all gone to the reigning champions. While Salzburg scored an average of 4.25 goals in this duel, the Devils only managed 1.75 against the duo of Atte Tolvannen and David Kickert. Only against the Graz99ers did the Hungarians score fewer goals this season.

The Red Bulls will be able to start the quarterfinals with almost their full complement. On Tuesday, forward Troy Bourke, who missed over four months due to injury, will make his comeback. That leaves only Ty Loney missing.

07.03. 19:15 HC TIWAG Innsbruck - spusu Vienna Capitals
Standings in the "best-of-seven" quarterfinal series: 0:0
Referees: NIKOLIC K., ZRNIC, Nothegger, Seewald
>> Tickets for the game
>> PPV-Livestream
After a four-year break, HC TIWAG Innsbruck is back in the playoffs of the win2day ICE Hockey League for the first time - and even with home advantage. Nevertheless, the opponent of the Sharks is clearly more postseason-experienced. The Caps have always reached the semifinals in the last five seasons (excluding the 19/20 season, which was cancelled due to COVID 19). The Sharks, on the other hand, have only won one of their ten playoff series to date (2003 vs. G99).

This will be the fourth quarterfinal series between Innsbruck and Vienna. In the three previous series, the Caps prevailed. Of the 13 playoff duels so far, the Viennese recorded eleven victories.

The season duel record of these two teams is much more balanced. Both teams prevailed twice in the direct encounters. While Innsbruck won the first two games of the season, the Caps won both meetings in this calendar year. In the regular season, this duel was always a guarantee for numerous goals. On average, 9.5 goals were scored per encounter - more than in any other pairing in the win2day ICE Hockey League.

This quarterfinal series features some of the best scorers in the win2day ICE Hockey League. League MVP meets one of the most successful scorers (26 goals + 43 assists) - Max Zimmer. The Caps attacker scored 28 times this season, as did Adam Helewka, who will be in action for the Sharks.

07.03. 19:30 EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV - EC-KAC
Standings in the "best-of-seven" quarterfinal series: 0:0
Referees: HRONSKY, SMETANA, Durmis, Jedlicka | LIVE on PULS 24
>> Tickets for the game
>> Free Puls 24 Stream

This is the sixth Carinthian derby series in the playoffs since the league was founded. In four of the previous five series, the KAC prevailed - twice of them in the final (2001 and 2004). For only the second time since the league was founded, EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV and EC-KAC will meet in the quarterfinals. Two years ago, the Klagenfurters celebrated a 4-1 series win in the quarterfinals before crowning themselves champions. Out of a total of 27 playoff derbies, the KAC won 17 times.

However, the season record of these two teams could not be more balanced. Both teams celebrated two derby victories each, one of them in a shootout. The two games that were decided in regulation time also ended with a 1-goal difference.

EC VSV completed its most successful Regular Season in 21 years in terms of points average. The 1.88 points per game achieved this year were last surpassed in the 2001/02 season. Although the Eagles suffered one more defeat in the regular season than the EC-KAC, they still placed themselves directly ahead of the KAC in the standings and even distanced them by eleven points. The form curve of Head Coach Rob Daum's team has also shown a clear upward trend in recent weeks, with twelve victories from the last 14 league games and wins in all eight matches played on home ice in the 2023 calendar year.

However, the EC-KAC has a true playoff difference maker in its ranks - and has done so for many years: Thomas Koch has already scored 14 game-winning goals in playoffs since the league was founded - more than anyone else. However, it is unlikely that Koch will be able to make his comeback on Tuesday. After missing 30 league games due to injury, the KAC center forward has returned to ice training, but head coach Petri Matikainen will not bring him back into the lineup until he is fully recovered. Paul Postma, Nick Petersen, Manuel Ganahl and Daniel Obersteiner are also still in question.

07.03. 19:45 HCB Südtirol Alperia - Steinbach Black Wings Linz
Standings in the "best-of-seven" quarterfinal series: 0:0
Referees: GROZNIK, PIRAGIC, Snoj, Zgonc
>> Tickets for the game
>> PPV-Livestream

The Regular Season winner HCB Südtirol Alperia will meet the Steinbach Black Wings in the quarterfinals, who qualified for the playoffs as the last of all eight quarterfinal participants. After their success in the deciding game against the Moser Medical Graz99ers, the Upper Austrians can look forward to their first playoff participation after a two-year break. But HCB Südtirol Alperia is also celebrating its return to the postseason - the Foxes missed the playoffs for the first time since joining the league last season. This is the third time the South Tyroleans have entered the title series from the top seed.

This is the third time Bolzano and Linz have faced each other in a postseason series - all quarterfinal series. The Upper Austrians advanced to the semifinals twice in the process against the Foxes. In the last meeting in the postseason, the South Tyroleans had the better end and celebrated a 4:1 series victory in 2017.

In the regular season of the current season, HCB Südtirol Alperia acted much more successful. In 48 games, the Foxes had to admit defeat only eleven times. One of these eleven defeats was suffered by Bolzano against the Steinbach Black Wings Linz. The Foxes won the other three duels of the season. The Linz team found it particularly difficult to break down the compact defense of Glen Hanlon's team. The Black Wings managed an average of just 1.25 goals against the South Tyrolean goalkeeping team.

>> Detailed statistics on the individual duels can be found here.
>> Go to the playoff betting game of win2day ICE Hockey League here.
>> Go to the win2day ticket lottery here.