Release from 10.09.2019

Press conference opens 17th season of the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga

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On Tuesday, the annual press conference in Vienna kicked off the 17th season of the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga. With the first game day on Friday, September 13th, the chase after defending champion EC-KAC is finally opened.

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This season will be the 17th season in which Erste Bank is the main sponsor of the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga. Dr. Karl Safron, the managing president of the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga, has a positive conclusion of the last years: "We had to endure some difficult years at the beginning. Today, however, we are proud to look back on a total of 16.5 million viewers, 5.372 games and 33.395 goals. The past season in the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga also brought two new records: with exactly 34.429 spectators, the final series between the champion EC- KAC and the spusu Vienna Capitals had more fans than ever before. Additionally we are very proud that for the tenth consecutive year, more than one million people went to the arenas,“ added Safron.

Erste Bank Eishockey Liga Managing Director Christian Feichtinger is already looking to the future: "We have already mastered the biggest challenge with the compilation of a game plan adapted to all circumstances. Now with initial talks at the upcoming IIHF congress in Rome it is important to find a twelfth club for the season 2020/21, which has the potential to be part of this long term success story."

Intensive exchange with the Austrian Hockey Federation
Mag. Gernot Mittendorfer, chairman of the Austrian Hockey Board, wants to set new steps in Austrian hockey together with the league leaders: "The Austrian national team should continue to be the premium product. The focus is on an optimal league structure and more investment in the junior teams." Mittendorfer describes the goalkeeper situation as an "open project ", which should be sustainably improved over a broader base in the youth leagues. In order to create even better conditions Christian Feichtinger is delighted with the development of the Alps Hockey League, where farm teams from Vienna and Linz will participate in the upcoming season.

Eleven teams, modified mode
Following the withdrawal of KHL Medvescak Zagreb, eleven teams will participate in the upcoming Erste Bank Eishockey Liga season. This changed the mode: The top five teams reach the pick-round after phase one of the regular season (220 games in 44 rounds) and receive 4-2-1-0-0 bonus points for the intermediate stage. In the qualifying round the remaining six teams fight for the last three remaining playoff tickets and receive 8-6-4-2-1-0 bonus points. In the intermediate stage, the teams meet each other twice.

The main topics of the press conference:

  • Servus Hockey Night is entering its tenth season as host broadcaster and will be broadcasting 40 to 45 games. All games are free to air on www.servushockeynight.com.
  • Sky-live matches still on Friday: Sky Sport Austria will also present about 50 live games on Friday. The experts has been supplemented with Florian Iberer and will again provide deep insights off-ice.
  • Glaubandich Young Star: Under the patronage of Erste Bank, one "Glaubandich Young Star of the Month" will be chosen from September to February. Eligible to vote are the experts of the Servus Hockey Night and Sky, the national team coach and the fans. At the end of the year the "Glaubandich-Young Star" will be determined from the six monthly winners.
  • Eisner Auto "Goal of the Month": Fans and experts from TV partners can vote for the first time the "Eisner Auto Goal of the Month ". In this election there will be once again a winner of the year at the end of the season.
  • Change in the overtime: In the upcoming season, in non-decision-making playoffs, the number of field players will change from five to three after the first overtime of 20 minutes.


Start of the season on Friday
On Friday, starting at 19:15, the first round of the regular season starts with four games. The reigning champion EC-KAC opens the season with a home game against Hydro Fehérvár AV19. Moreover the two other Champions Hockey League starters Moser Medical Graz99ers and spusu Vienna Capitals meet on the first gameday. The other two games will be the "West Derby" between the HC TWK Innsbruck "The Haie" and the Dornbirn Bulldogs and HCB Südtirol Alperia against the EC Red Bull Salzburg.

Here you find the press conference to see:

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Images (11)

EC-KAC
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spusu Vienna Capitals
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Moser Medical Graz99ers
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EC Red Bull Salzburg
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Hydro Fehévár AV19
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HCB Südtirol Alperia
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EHC LIWEST Black Wings Linz
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HC Orli Znojmo
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HC TWK Innsbruck Die Haie
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EC Panaceo VSV
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Dornbirn Bulldogs
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