Release from 18.02.2025

Open decisions and playoff outlook

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Seven games are scheduled in the last week of the Regular Season of the win2day ICE Hockey League, many decisions are still open. The hot championship phase begins on Sunday with the start of the pre-playoffs. Find out more about the coming weeks here.

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EC Red Bull Salzburg will face Olimpija Ljubljana in the only Wednesday game. If the reigning champions are unable to win the game, the EC-KAC will be the winner of the Regular Season. A win after regular time, on the other hand, would secure Salzburg a ticket for the Champions Hockey League.

Direct qualification for the playoffs will be decided in the final round on Friday. Steinbach Black Wings Linz and Hydro Fehérvár AV19 have their fate in their own hands. While the free from play Moser Medical Graz99ers could still drop out of the top six, EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV needs a win after regulation time and help from another arena (overview of the scenarios).

Pre-playoffs start on Sunday
While the top six qualify for the quarter-finals after the 52nd round, the 2024/25 season ends on Friday for the Pioneers Vorarlberg, Asiago Hockey and HC TIWAG Innsbruck (ranks 11-13). The teams in seventh to tenth place will contest the pre-playoffs in a best-of-3 format, with the seventh-placed team choosing whether to play the ninth or tenth-placed team. This choice will be made on Friday after the games - the seventh-placed team will announce its opponent in a video conference with all pre-playoff participants, and the two pairings will be published on the league channels immediately afterwards. The two series will begin on Sunday, February 23, with the other match dates being Tuesday, February 25 and Friday, February 28 (if necessary). The winners of the two series will complete the field for the quarter-finals.

Immediately after the end of both series - either on February 25 or 28 - the quarter-final pairings will be determined in another pick. The Top-3 teams after the Regular Season will select their opponent. The fourth-placed team is not available for selection and will face the team that was not selected in the pick.

Things to know about the playoffs
The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final are played in a best-of-7 format. The first team to win four games advances to the next round. In the semi-finals, the team with the highest ranking will face the team with the lowest ranking of the regular season. If all series in the quarter-finals and/or semi-finals are over after four or five games, the next round begins earlier than stipulated in principle.
The H/A/H/A/H/A/H rhythm has been defined as the general game mode for the 2025 playoffs. If the travel distance between the opponents is more than 250 km and all partners agree to this, series can also be played in H/H/A/A/H/H/A/H mode.

Overtime rule in the postseason
From the pre-playoff onwards, an endless overtime with “sudden death” will be played if the score is equal after regular playing time. In non-decision games, the number of field players is reduced to three players plus one goalkeeper per team after the first full 20-minute overtime. In deciding games, the game is played five against five until the winning goal is scored.