KAC takes top-match victory over Olimpija

KAC takes top-match victory over Olimpija
Following Friday’s derby loss, EC-KAC bounced back in style on Sunday against Olimpija Ljubljana. Mario Kempe opened the scoring on the power play just five minutes in. League-leading scorer Nicolai Meyer responded quickly — also on the man advantage. KAC struck again later in the opening frame, but Ljubljana equalized once more. In the second period, the Klagenfurt side turned the game in their favor, punishing the league’s best power play with two more goals from their own special-teams unit. The Dragons were unable to mount a comeback in the third period and fell 5–2. With the win, fourth-placed KAC reduced the gap to Ljubljana to two points and remain well within reach of the top positions.

VSV edges Capitals
Fresh off a derby win on Friday, EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV kept momentum rolling with a 3–2 home victory over the Vienna Capitals. After a scoreless first period, the game opened up in the middle frame. Kevin Hancock put the home team ahead before Cater Souch tied it up. VSV regained the lead thanks to Nick Hutchison, and Hancock added his second of the night in the final period. Cole Hults cut the deficit late, but the Capitals couldn’t force overtime. With this win, VSV solidified their place among the league’s top six.

Linz continue upward trend
The Steinbach Black Wings Linz followed up Friday’s win over league-leader Pustertal with another strong outing on Sunday in Feldkirch, defeating the Pioneers Vorarlberg 5–4. Emilio Romig opened the scoring early, but the Pioneers answered both the first and second Linz goals, sending the teams into the first intermission tied 2–2. Linz took control in the second period, extending the lead to 4–2 through Romig’s second of the game and a goal from Graham Knott. Although the Pioneers battled back twice in the final frame, Linz held on for the win — their seventh victory in the last eight games.

Salzburg ends losing streak
After four consecutive losses — their longest skid in three years — EC Red Bull Salzburg returned to the win column with a 4–1 home victory over Hydro Fehérvár AV19. The Red Bulls showed renewed energy from the opening faceoff and were rewarded when Florian Baltram broke the deadlock in the 16th minute. Fehérvár improved in the second period but conceded the 2–0 goal to Michael Raffl late in the frame. Raffl struck again early in the third to make it 3–0. Fehérvár scored in the final minutes, but Salzburg closed out a deserved win.

Graz rallies past Innsbruck
The Moser Medical Graz99ers extended their winning streak to four games on Sunday night, keeping hold of third place in the standings. The start, however, belonged to Innsbruck: Sebastian Benker scored shorthanded for the 1–0 lead, and Devin Steffler made it 2–0 early in the second period. The 99ers, who carried more of the play throughout the game, capitalized better as the night went on. Chris Collins cut the deficit late in the middle frame. In the third, Kevin Roy took over — scoring the equalizer and then netting the game-winner with just 90 seconds remaining.

GAME RESULTS & SCORERS — ROUND 20
EC Red Bull Salzburg – Hydro Fehérvár AV19 4:1 (1:0, 1:0, 2:1)
Referees: HOLZER, M. NIKOLIC, Fleischmann, Weiss
Goals RBS: Baltram F. (16.), Raffl M. (37./pp, 41.), Raffl T. (44.)
Goals AVS: Terbocs I. (58.)

Pioneers Vorarlberg – Steinbach Black Wings Linz 4:5 (2:2, 0:2, 2:1)
Referees: HLAVATY, PIRAGIC, Pardatscher, Sparer
Goals PIV: Adams C. (7.), Tschoffen M. (18.), Macierzynski K. (41./pp), Florchuk E. (58.)
Goals BWL: Romig E. (5., 22.), Gaffal S. (11.), Knott G. (29.), Collins S. (43.)

EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV – Vienna Capitals 3:2 (0:0, 2:1, 1:1)
Referees: SCHAUER, SMETANA, Puff, Zacherl
Goals VSV: Hancock K. (23., 48.), Hutchison N. (38.)
Goals VIC: Souch C. (34.), Hults C. (54.)

Moser Medical Graz99ers – HC TIWAG Innsbruck – Die Haie 3:2 (0:1, 1:1, 2:0)
Referees: REZEK, SEEWALD, Bärnthaler, Moidl
Goals G99: Collins C. (27.), Roy K. (47., 59.)
Goals HCI: Benker S. (19./sh), Steffler D. (21.)

Olimpija Ljubljana – EC-KAC 2:5 (2:2, 0:2, 0:1)
Referees: OFNER, STERNAT, Bedynek, Mantovani
Goals OLL: Meyer N. (7.), Petan A. (20./pp)
Goals KAC: Kempe M. (5./pp), Schwinger S. (17.), Nickl T. (31.), Herburger R. (36./pp), Fraser M. (59.)