Release from 03.04.2025

Final Series Opener for Anniversary Title Live on PULS 24

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After a total of 352 games and 2,066 goals scored during the 2024/25 season, EC-KAC and EC Red Bull Salzburg once again find themselves as finalists in the win2day ICE Hockey League. This sets up a rematch of last year's final, where the Red Bulls prevailed in a thrilling series that went the full distance. While Salzburg aims to turn the 25th anniversary season title into their personal milestone – their tenth championship overall – EC-KAC is chasing its seventh championship since the league’s rebranding. The final series kicks off Friday at 7:30 pm (Faceoff), LIVE on PULS 24 and JOYN.

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This will be the fourth time since the league’s rebranding that EC Red Bull Salzburg and EC-KAC meet in the championship series. Each of their previous finals matchups (2009, 2011, and 2024) went to the full seven-game distance. Klagenfurt entered all these series as the higher-seeded team with home-ice advantage but managed to lift the Karl Nedwed Trophy only once (2009) against Salzburg. However, this season's head-to-head record favors KAC, who won three out of four regular-season encounters – two of these victories coming in overtime and shootout. Nevertheless, in their last matchup, the only one so far in this calendar year, Salzburg delivered an impressive 5-0 shutout victory.

The road to the final was somewhat smoother for the Red Bulls compared to EC-KAC. The reigning champions first swept Hydro Fehérvár AV19 in the quarterfinals before overcoming HCB Südtirol 4-1 in an intense semifinal series. On the other hand, Klagenfurt required four more games to secure their spot in the finals. The "Rotjacken" initially dropped two games against HC Pustertal before going the full distance against Steinbach Black Wings Linz. Only this past Tuesday, EC-KAC punched their ticket to the finals with a 2-0 home victory – aided by a goal from Nick Petersen, marking his 62nd point this season. With that, Petersen surpassed Regular Season MVP John Hughes, whose season ended in the quarterfinals, to become the sole points leader. Two Salzburg stars are close behind Petersen in the scoring race: Peter Schneider currently sits at 58 points, while Benjamin Nissner has 57.

The opening game of the final series will be broadcast LIVE on PULS 24 and JOYN.

win2day ICE Hockey League, FINALE - Game 1:
04.04.: EC-KAC - EC Red Bull Salzburg 19:30 Uhr
standings of the "best-of-seven"-final series 0:0
Referees: HUBER, NIKOLIC M., Bedynek, Riecken