Release from 30.01.2026

Olimpija Ljubljana clinch playoff spot for 2026

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Olimpija Ljubljana cruised past defending champions EC Red Bull Salzburg with a convincing 5–1 home win on Friday night to secure their place in the 2026 Playoffs of the win2day ICE Hockey League. It marked their fifth straight victory, making the Dragons the fifth team to clinch a quarterfinal berth. All four home teams celebrated wins on Friday, with the Moser Medical Graz99ers among those closing the gap to the top. The Styrians are now level on points with second-placed Salzburg.

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Olimpija Ljubljana punch ticket against reigning champions
Olimpija Ljubljana delivered a dominant performance against reigning champions EC Red Bull Salzburg on Friday night to become the fifth team to qualify for the win2day ICE Hockey League quarterfinals. It was the Slovenians’ fifth consecutive victory, setting a new season-best streak for the Green Dragons.

The hosts looked the more dangerous side right from the opening faceoff. Jan Drozg opened the scoring in the fifth minute, netting his third goal of the season. Salzburg managed to pull level early in the second period, but Olimpija responded immediately. Nicolai Meyer restored the lead before Drozg struck again later in the period to make it 3–1. Drozg completed his hat trick early in the third with the 4–1 goal, and Nik Simsic sealed the 5–1 final score shortly after.

Graz99ers edge Pioneers once again
The Moser Medical Graz99ers prevailed 3–2 at home against the Pioneers Vorarlberg, extending their perfect record to four wins from four meetings this season. With the victory, the Styrians move level on points with second-placed Salzburg and continue to close in on league leaders KAC.

Graz took control from the outset and opened the scoring in the seventh minute, with Manuel Ganahl finishing a setup from Michael Schiechl. The hosts also successfully killed off an extended 5-on-3 penalty. Just before the intermission, Graz doubled their lead as Paul Huber deflected a shot from Kasper Kotkansalo past the goaltender.

The Graz99ers continued to dictate play in the second period, but Oskar Maier pulled one back for the Pioneers. The response came before the buzzer, as Huber completed his brace following assists from Anders Koch and Lukas Haudum to restore the two-goal cushion. Vorarlberg made it a one-goal game again in the third through Marlon Tschofen, but Graz were closer to extending the lead to 4–2 than the visitors were to forcing overtime.

With their fourth win in four season meetings against the Pioneers, the Graz99ers are now level on points with Salzburg, who have played three games more. League leaders KAC sit just four points ahead of Graz, having played one additional game.

Capitals stay in the race against Innsbruck
The Vienna Capitals earned a solid 5–2 win over HC TIWAG Innsbruck on Friday night during their Military Night celebrations. As a result, they remain the only team in the chasing pack (positions 7–11) still mathematically in contention for a top-six finish.

Vienna controlled the game from the start against the league’s bottom side and took the lead in the 17th minute through a point shot by Simon Bourque. Innsbruck briefly drew level early in the second period thanks to Max Coatta, but the Capitals continued to dominate. Goals by Leon Wallner, Zane Franklin and Carter Souch in the middle frame put the game out of reach at 4–1. Bourque completed his brace in the third period to make it 5–1.

Pustertal take big step towards quarterfinals
HC Falkensteiner Pustertal claimed an important 3–1 home win over EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV. The South Tyroleans controlled the opening period and took the lead through Alan Lobis, who capitalised on excellent vision from Cole Bardreau. It was the fourth goal of the season for the 21-year-old Wolves prospect. Still in the first period, Austin Rueschhoff extended the lead to 2–0.

Villach improved in the second period and generated several chances to get back into the game, but Pustertal netminder Edi Pasquale stood firm. The visitors continued to push in the third, and it looked for a long time as if Pasquale would post a shutout. However, John Hughes scored a late consolation goal with just under 90 seconds remaining. VSV went all in, but Rueschhoff sealed the 3–1 result with an empty-net goal, his second of the night.

With the win, Pustertal can now only be overtaken mathematically by the Vienna Capitals in the race for sixth place. The South Tyroleans currently hold a 17-point advantage.

win2day ICE Hockey League, 30. Jänner 2026:
Moser Medical Graz99ers – Pioneers Vorarlberg 3:2 (2:0, 1:1, 0:1)
Goals G99: Ganahl M. (7.), Huber P. (20.), Huber P. (38.)
Goals PIV: Maier O. (29.), Tschofen M. (45.)

Vienna Capitals – HC TIWAG Innsbruck 5:2 (1:0, 3:1, 1:1)
Goals VIC: Bourque S. (17.), Wallner L. (32./pp), Franklin Z. (36.), Souch C. (38./pp), Bourque S. (48.)
Goals HCI: Coatta M. (21.), Steffler D. (43.)

Olimpija Ljubljana – EC Red Bull Salzburg 5:1 (1:0, 2:1, 2:0)
Goals OLL: Drozg J. (5.), Meyer N. (34.), Drozg J. (38.), Drozg J. (52.), Simsic N. (53.)
Goals RBS: Stephens D. (30.)

HC Falkensteiner Pustertal – EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV 3:1 (2:0, 0:0, 1:1)
Goals HCP: Lobis A. (10.), Rueschhoff A. (14.), Rueschhoff A. (60.)
Goals VSV: Hughes J. (59.)