Olimpija stay unbeaten | First win for Pioneers

Olimpija still flawless
HK Olimpija Ljubljana remain the lone unbeaten side in the win2day ICE Hockey League. The Dragons stormed past HC TIWAG Innsbruck with a commanding 9-3 victory and now average 6.8 (!) goals per game after five outings. The visitors struck three times within the opening ten minutes. Innsbruck battled back to make it 3-4 by the 30th minute, but Olimpija turned on the jets in the final frame, scoring five unanswered goals. Marly Quince, Zach Boychuk and Evan Polei each recorded two goals.

Pustertal first to beat Salzburg
HC Pustertal became the first team to defeat reigning champion EC Red Bull Salzburg this season. The Red Bulls had the better start, taking the lead through a Connor Corcoran powerplay marker in the 6th minute. But the Wolves turned the game around in the middle frame within four minutes: Rok Tičar tied the game before Tommy Purdeller, assisted by Tičar, put Pustertal ahead 2-1, sending the Intercable Arena into celebration. Salzburg pressed hard for the equalizer in the third, but HCP goaltender Eddie Pasquale stood tall and shut the door.

VSV bounce back in style
EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV ended a three-game skid with a convincing 8-3 road win at Steinbach Black Wings Linz, climbing back into the Top-6. The scoring was opened by the youngest player on the ice: 16-year-old Paul Sintschnig tipped in a shot from Alexander Rauchenwald for his first ICE goal. Steven Strong added a late first-period tally to make it 2-0. Inspired, the Eagles struck twice more in the middle frame to go up 4-0 before Linz got on the board. But VSV answered immediately, extended the lead to 6-2 after 40 minutes, and sealed the 8-3 win. Sintschnig capped off his night with a second goal, while Guus van Nes impressed with two goals and two assists.



Graz keep rolling, edge KAC
Moser Medical Graz99ers continued their strong run, following up Tuesday’s 9-4 win over Fehérvár with a 3-2 road victory against EC-KAC. The 99ers came out flying, jumping to a 3-0 lead within the opening ten minutes thanks to Paul Huber, Frank Hora and Josh Currie. Klagenfurt pushed back and cut the deficit with goals from Nick Petersen (12’) and Simeon Schwinger (27’). In a hard-fought final period, Graz battled to preserve the one-goal lead and secured their third-place position in the standings, now just one point behind Salzburg.

Pioneers celebrate first win
Pioneers Vorarlberg claimed their first win of the season in their fifth outing, defeating the Vienna Capitals 4-2 on home ice. Daniel Woger opened the scoring early (3’), but Leon Wallner tied the game shortly after (8’). Ivan Korecky restored the Pioneers’ lead before the first intermission. In the second period, Christoph Kromp equalized again for Vienna, but the hosts responded with goals from Nicholas Burke (PP, 30’) and Chris Adams (39’) to put the game away. With the win, the Pioneers moved out of last place, passing Innsbruck in the standings.

Bozen blank FTC-Telekom
HCB Südtirol Alperia earned a 2-0 shutout victory over FTC-Telekom Budapest to keep pace with the league leaders. Cristian DiGiacinto danced through the defense for a highlight-reel opener (8’), before Bryce Misley doubled the advantage early in the second (24’). Budapest generated chances but could not beat Foxes goaltender Gianluca Vallini, who secured the shutout.

Friday, September 26, 2025 – Results

EC-KAC – Moser Medical Graz99ers 2:3 (1:3,1:0,0:0)
Referees: FICHTNER, GROZNIK, Hribar, Puff
Goals KAC: Petersen (12’), Schwinger (27’)
Goals G99: Huber (5’), Hora (9’), Currie (11’/pp1)

Steinbach Black Wings Linz – EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV 3:8 (0:2,2:4,1:2)
Referees: SMETANA, SOOS, Bedynek, Seewald J.
Goals BWL: Romig (34’), Lebler (35’), Würschl (51’/pp1)
Goals VSV: Sintschnig (9’, 55’), Strong (19’), Scherbak (26’), van Nes (33’/pp1, 39’), Helewka (39’), Hancock (45’/pp1)

HC TIWAG Innsbruck – HK SŽ Olimpija Ljubljana 3:9 (1:3,2:1,0:5)
Referees: KAINBERGER, OFNER, Mantovani, Martin
Goals HCI: Benker (19’/pp1), Witting (29’), Coatta (30’)
Goals OLL: Quince (2’, 6’), Sodja (10’), Polei (25’, 51’), Boychuk (43’/sh1, 54’), Meyer (47’), Petan (51’)

Pioneers Vorarlberg – Vienna Capitals 4:2 (2:1,2:1,0:0)
Referees: HLAVATY, PIRAGIC, Fleischmann, Wimmler
Goals PIV: Woger (3’), Korecky (19’), Burke (30’/pp1), Adams (39’)
Goals VIC: Wallner (8’), Kromp (23’)

HCB Südtirol Alperia – FTC-Telekom 2:0 (1:0,1:0,0:0)
Referees: NIKOLIC K., SCHAUER, Pardatscher, Rigoni
Goals HCB: Diciacinto (8’), Misley (24’)
Goals FTC: –

HC Pustertal – EC Red Bull Salzburg 2:1 (0:1,2:0,0:0)
Referees: NIKOLIC M., STERNAT, Durmis, Konc
Goals HCP: Ticar (28’), Purdeller (32’)
Goals RBS: Corcoran (6’/pp1)

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