ICE teams start final phase of intermediate round

bet-at-home ICE Hockey League| Pick Round | Tuesday, March 2nd 2021:
Tue, 2.3.2021, 7.15 pm: EC Red Bull Salzburg – spusu Vienna Capitals
Referees: BERNEKER, SIEGEL, Kontschieder, Nothegger. | >> FREE LIVESTREAM <<

• EC Red Bull Salzburg and spusu Vienna Capitals meet each other on Tuesday after their streaks came to an end with clear defeats on Sunday.
• RBS was defeated at home by Bolzano with 0:4, lost after three wins in a row.
• VIC remained without a point for the first time in the pick round, conceding its highest home defeat of the current season in a 1:6 loss to Fehérvár.
• The two teams are separated by only one point in the Pick Round, are one (RBS) and two (VIC) behind the KAC and thus still have all chances for the place behind regular season winner Bolzano and thus a place in the Champions Hockey League.
• Of the five duels so far this season, the first three went to VIC, RBS won the last two. The most recent 4:3 shootout win was hard to beat for excitement with three goals in the final 70 seconds.
• VIC has won each of its last three games in Salzburg outright, allowing just one goal against per game. VIC has scored in 17 of its last 20 games in Salzburg.
• RBS will see the return of Jack Skille, but will still be without convalescents Taylor Chorney and Paul Huber. Defender Alexander Urbom is still questionable (upper body).

Tue, 2.3.2021, 7.45 pm: HCB Südtirol Alperia – EC-KAC
Referees: RUETZ, TRILAR, Hribar, Pardatscher. | >> PPV LIVESTREAM << | VB33

• The HCB Südtirol Alperia fixed the win of the Pick Round with a shutout victory in Salzburg on Sunday. EC-KAC is in second place with three rounds to go - and has the best cards in the fight for the ticket to the Champions Hockey League.
• Klagenfurt, which was not playing on Sunday, lost its last game (Friday 3:5 vs. RBS), HCB has been without defeat for three games.
• At home, the "Foxes" have won their last six games after regulation, conceding no goals three times. But the road record of the "Rotjacken" is also strong, winning seven of the last nine games.
• The powerplay performance of the two teams in the pick round diverges: while HCB has successfully completed 38.5%, the KAC came to only 10.5%.
• The KAC has won three of the previous five duels of the season. The KAC is also the only team that defeated on HCB in the intermediate round.
• Forward Nick Petersen has scored in each of the five pick round games and is also the leader in team KAC scoring in this second championship stretch with six points.
• Manuel Geier is back in the lineup for the KAC after his suspension.

bet-at-home ICE Hockey League| Qualification Round | Dienstag, 2. März 2021:
Tue, 2.3.2021, 7.15 pm: HC TIWAG Innsbruck – Die Haie – Dornbirn Bulldogs
Referees: OFNER, SMETANA, Gatol, Sparer. | >> PPV LIVESTREAM <<

• The Tyroleans are at the bottom of the table with eight points and are eight points behind a playoff spot.
• To keep their minimal chance of making the postseason alive, HCI needs a win while also hoping for a Villach defeat.
• HCI has lost its last two games, while DEC has won its last two - conceding just one goal in each.
• The first duel in the QR HCI finally won 5:4 in the penalty shootout after a strong finish. In the first phase of the season, both teams have won two games after regulation.
• They have averaged 7,8 goals in their duels so far this season.
• HCI has scored in seven of its last eight home games against DEC (five wins).
• DEC has especially improved its power play in the intermediate round: the Vorarlberg team has scored on 46.1% (6/13) occasions. Their PK unit also dominated the Qualification Round with 92.9%.

Tue, 2.3.2021, 7.15 pm: Moser Medical Graz99ers – iClinic Bratislava Capitals
Referees: PIRAGIC, RENCZ, Vaczi, Zgonc. | >> PPV LIVESTREAM <<

• The Moser Medical Graz99ers lost their playoff spot for the first time on Sunday after their defeat in Dornbirn. In fourth place in the Qualification Round, the Styrians are on 13 points, three points behind third-place Villach.
• Reaching the postseason is no longer in G99's own hands. However, the Styrians' chance of making the playoffs would still be intact even with a loss on Tuesday.
• League newcomer iClinic Bratislava Capitals is tied with DEC at the top of the Qualification Round with 18 points - and is definitely qualified for the postseason with any win.
• After G99 won the first two duels of the season, BRC won the past three games after rgulation. On average, the Slovaks have conceded just 1.33 goals in those three games.
• G99 (6.54%) and BRC (9.5%) are those two teams of QR with the weakest scoring efficiency.
• The two teams in the intermediate round also have the weakest PP and PK on.
• Michael Latta returns to the line-up of the Graz team after his suspension.

Tue, 2.3.2021, 7.15 pm: Steinbach Black Wings 1992 – EC GRAND Immo VSV
Referees: STERNAT, ZRNIC, Bedynek, Seewald. | >> SKY SPORT AUSTRIA <<

• The Steinbach Black Wings 1992 are also under pressure on the third last matchday of the Qualification Round. The team from Linz has to win in order to keep the chance for the postseason alive. With three rounds to go, the Upper Austrians are five points behind third place.
• EC GRAND Immo VSV, on the other hand, can finally shake off Linz if they win - and would at least keep their advantage over fourth-placed Graz.
• Linz has been very strong at home recently, winning its last four games, three of them in regulation.
• Villach has yet to lose an away game in the intermediate round, conceding just five goals on foreign ice in those three encounters.
• VSV has won three of their five encounters so far this season. All games were decided in regulation time.
• Villach and Linz are the two teams with the best scoring efficiency in the Qualification Round (11.45% and 10.61%, respectively).
• VSV has improved its powerplay in QR, scoring seven times (30.4%).
• David Kickert is no longer available to BWI: The goalie joined the Augsburg Panthers and will play in the DEL from now on.