League leader Graz meets first pursuer Bolzano in the top match

The Moser Medical Graz99ers are top of the table with 19 points, closely followed by HCB Südtirol Alperia, who have 18 points. For Graz, it is the best start to a season in the club's history. In this interview, Manuel Ganahl talks about the successful start to the season and looks back at the 2009/10 season (to the story). Both teams have only lost once in regulation this season. With only 14 goals conceded, Bolzano has the best defense in the league, with goalkeeper Sam Harvey saving 94.2% of the shots on his goal (2nd place). Graz are also strong defensively: with 18 goals conceded, they have the third-best defense. Goalkeeper Jonas Gunnarsson is in ninth place with a save percentage of 91.7%. Last season, Bolzano won all four matches against Graz, two of them without conceding a goal.

The spusu Vienna Capitals are facing an intense weekend with two home games within 24 hours. They first host EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV on Friday, followed by a match against HC Pustertal on Saturday. It will also be the second game in a row for the “Wolves”, as they already face Hydro Fehérvár AV19 on Friday. The Capitals narrowly won the first meeting between Vienna and Villach this season 3:2. For Villach, it was one of four defeats in a row. VSV are eleventh in the table with just two wins from seven games. The Capitals are in eighth place with eleven points. The Viennese have so far only been victorious in front of their home crowd against Asiago last Friday. Villach are still waiting for their first points away from home.

“Bring your Heroes” gameday in Székesfehérvár
HC Pustertal is tied on points with Vienna in seventh place, but has been in strong form lately with three wins in a row and they have won all of their last five games against the Capitals. Pustertal also has positive memories against Fehérvár: Although they were beaten 2:5 in the season opener, they narrowly prevailed 4:3 in last season's quarter-finals. Fehérvár, currently sixth in the table, suffered their sixth defeat in six games in the Champions Hockey League during the week, but have won four out of seven games in the league so far. Fehérvár's home game against Pustertal is under the motto “Bring your Heroes”, a campaign of the league and teams, in cooperation with title sponsor win2day. Season ticket holders can bring friends, family members,... to the game and receive a 30% discount on tickets.

Making their home debut this season will be Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey. The Italians have so far played only away from home. The reason for this is that the Odegar stadium is undergoing renovation work. Their first home game will be against defending champions EC Red Bull Salzburg. The two teams already met in the season opener, with Salzburg narrowly winning 4:3. Salzburg are in fourth place in the table with 16 points, while Asiago are in twelfth place with four points. RBS suffered a defeat in the Champions Hockey League during the week, but their place in the round of 16 had already been secured. There they will face the Lahti Pelicans from Finland.

The second West derby of the season is also scheduled for Friday, when the Pioneers Vorarlberg host HC TIWAG Innsbruck. Innsbruck, who are tenth in the table, won the first duel of the season 3:1 and have three wins so far. Bottom-placed Vorarlberg have only won one game so far. They have picked up just one point in their last five games, and that was against defending champions Salzburg.

In the final duel of the evening, Steinbach Black Wings Linz will face Olimpija Ljubljana. After a bumpy start to the season, Linz have recently won three games in a row to move up to ninth place. Olimpija are eight points ahead of Linz in third place in the table. Last Sunday, the Slovenians won after regulation against league leaders Graz. In total, they have only been beaten twice this season. However, they have not won any of their last nine league games against Linz; their last success dates back to October 29, 2021.

win2day ICE Hockey League:
Friday, 18.10.2024:
19:15: spusu Vienna Capitals – EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV
Referees: BERNEKER, NIKOLIC M., Bedynek, Gatol-Schafranek. | >> live.ice.hockey <<

19:15: Hydro Fehérvár AV19 – HC Pustertal
Referees: HRONSKY, NAGY, Muzsik, Vaczi. | >> live.ice.hockey <<

19:15: Steinbach Black Wings Linz – Olimpija Ljubljana
Referees: FICHTNER, SIEGEL, Durmis, Konc. | >> live.ice.hockey <<

19:30: Moser Medical Graz99ers – HCB Südtirol Alperia
Referees: SEEWALD E., ZRNIC, Weiss, Wimmler. | >> live.ice.hockey <<

19:30: Pioneers Vorarlberg – HC TIWAG Innsbruck
Referees: NIKOLIC K., PIRAGIC, Martin, Sparer. | >> live.ice.hockey <<

19:45: Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey – EC Red Bull Salzburg
Referees: REZEK, SCHAUER, Hribar, Zgonc. | >> live.ice.hockey <<

Saturday, 19.10.2024:
19:15: spusu Vienna Capitals – HC Pustertal
Referees: BERNEKER, NIKOLIC M., Bärnthaler, Bedynek. | >> live.ice.hockey <<