KAC wins 355th Carinthian derby

Just two days after the 7:1 win in Bruneck, the EC-KAC celebrated a 6:1 derby victory. From Klagenfurt's point of view, the first period in the sold-out Heidi Horten Arena did not go according to plan. Villach survived an initial period of pressure from the home side and capitalised on one of their own chances: Marco Richter scored in the 16th minute, with 20-year-old Paolo Wieltschnig registering his first point in the win2day ICE Hockey League. In the middle period, the KAC turned the 355th Carinthian derby in their favour within a few minutes. Thomas Hundertpfund equalised and thus initiated the turnaround. Matt Fraser and Thomas Vallant then made it 3:1. VSV were unable to come back in the final third and Klagenfurt even converted their dominance into further goals. In the end, the Red Jackets celebrated their third derby win of the season.

Salzburg turns the game around in Asiago
EC Red Bull Salzburg won their away game against Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey 3:2 after shootout. The reigning champions had to work hard for their fourth win of the season against the Italians, coming back from a two-goal deficit in the final period. Stevan (7th) and Finoro (40th) ensured a surprising score after 40 minutes. Troy Bourke and Lucas Thaler held their nerve and sent the dominant Red Bulls into overtime. I nthe shootout Ali Wukovits secured the extra point for Salzburg.

Race for top 6 is getting more and more exciting
The spusu Vienna Capitals won their home game against Linz 2:1 in front of almost 4,900 fans thanks to a Cheek brace. After a goalless first period, the American put the Viennese team ahead in the 31st minute, but Shawn St-Amant equalised just a little later. Because the Capitals were fighting against an early end to the season at 1:1 and needed three points, they took full risks in the final phase with the extra skater. After a shot from distance, Linz goalie Tirronen's view was blocked and Cheek scored the winning goal to make it 2:1. With their first season victory over the Black Wings, Dolezal's team also kept their minimal chance of reaching the pre-playoffs alive. Linz remains in fifth place despite the defeat.

The BEMER Pioneers Vorarlberg celebrated their fourth win in a row, with head coach Dylan Stanley's team winning in Bolzano for the first time in its league history. The visitors took the lead in the 13th minute through Kevin Macierzynski, with Michael Pastujov adding a second shortly afterwards. In the middle period, the team from Vorarlberg even pulled away to 4:0 - Julian Metzler scored the fourth goal, he recorded a total of three points that night. Bolzano opened the scoring through Luca Frigo before the second period break, but a Thomas goal (57th/PP) was not enough to make the game exciting once more. While the South Tyroleans missed out on 'big points' in the race for the top six, the Pioneers are on the verge of securing their place in the pre-play-offs.

The big winner in the battle for direct qualification for the quarter-finals was HC Pustertal on Sunday. The South Tyroleans returned to winning ways after two recent defeats at Innsbruck. The now seventh-placed "Wolves" also overtook the Tyroleans in the table with their 4:1 away triumph. Mikael Frycklund scored the only goal in the first period. Akeson increased the lead to 2:0 after the restart, but Gordie Green got the home side on the scoreboard. Rick Schofield restored the two-goal lead while shorthanded, and the veteran also scored the final goal in the third period.

win2day ICE Hockey League | 04.02.2024
spusu Vienna Capitals - Steinbach Black Wings Linz 2:1 (0:0, 1:1, 1:0)
Referees: HRONSKY, SIEGEL, Konc, Snoj
Goals Vienna: Cheek (31., 59.)
Goal Linz: St-Amant (34.)

EC-KAC - ED iDM Wärmepumpen VSV 6:1 (0:1, 3:0, 3:0)
Referees: TRILAR, ZRNIC, Hribar, Zgonc
Goal Villach: Richter (16.)
Goals Klagenfurt: Hundertpfund (22.), Fraser (25.), Vallant (27.), Petersen (51.), Bischofberger (52.), Hochegger (58.)

Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey - EC Red Bull Salzburg 2:3 SO (1:0, 1:0, 0:2)
Referees: GROZNIK, PIRAGIC, Mantovani, Miklic
Goals Asiago: Stevan (7.), Finoro (40.)
Goals Salzburg: Bourke (46./PP), Thaler (54.), Wukovits (65./deciding penalty)

HC TIWAG Innsbruck - HC Pustertal 1:4 (0:1, 1:2, 0:1)
Referees: HUBER, SMETANA, Martin, Moidl
Goal Innsbruck: Green (35.)
Goals Pustertal: Frycklund (12.), Akeson (26.), Schofield (36./SH, 46.)

HCB Südtirol Alperia - BEMER Pioneers Vorarlberg 2:4 (0:2, 1:2, 1:0)
Referees: NIKOLIC M., SCHAUER, Rigoni, Sparer
Goals Bolzano: Frigo (39.), Thomas (57./PP)
Goals Pioneers: Macierzynski (13.), M. Pastujov (14.), Bull (23.), Metzler (31.)