Release from 14.02.2023
The HC Pustertal Wölfe returned to the fight for the pre-playoffs of the win2day ICE Hockey League. Thanks to four points of Olivier Archambault, the South Tyroleans won 4-2 at the direct rival Moser Medical Graz99ers and pushed the Styrians to rank eleven. In the race for the top six, the spusu Vienna Capitals came back with an unchallenged 4-1 home win over Linz. HCB Südtirol Alperia took the lead in the standings from defending champions EC Red Bull Salzburg, which lost to Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey for the first time this season. HC TIWAG Innsbruck - Die Haie probably made the decisive step towards third place with a clear victory, while EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV fixed the fourth place and with it home advantage in the quarterfinals.
HC Pustertal Wölfe knocked Moser Medical Graz99ers out of tenth place with a 4-2 road win and thus landed an important victory in the fight for a place in the pre-playoff. The South Tyroleans thus also won their fourth duel of the season with the Styrians. Four games before the end both teams hold 48 points, Pustertal holds the direct duel. Top-scorer Olivier Archambault was decisive for the HCP victory, as the Canadian was involved in all four goals, made two himself and gave the primary assist to the lead of Simon Berger (11.) and Filip Ahl's powerplay goal (41./PP1) respectively. Graz fought doggedly in the final period, but also lacked offensive power in three PPs.
Vienna pushes Linz out of top-6
The spusu Vienna Capitals improved to fifth place in the table with a 4-1 home win over the Steinbach Black Wings Linz. The Upper Austrians are outside the top-6 for the first time since the end of September. Ben Finkelstein (5.) gave the "Caps" an early lead in front of more than 4,000 spectators. The equalizer by Graham Knott (15.) was promptly answered by Lukas Kainz (16.), before Radek Prokes ensured the decision with a brace. Vienna won for the second time in a row, Linz conceded its third consecutive defeat.
Bolzano back at the top of the table
HCB Südtirol Alperia returned to the top of the win2day ICE Hockey League table with an unchallenged 5-1 home victory over HK SZ Olimpija. The South Tyroleans showed dominance from the first minute and were already 2-0 ahead after three and a half minutes with goals from Leonardo Felicetti (2.) and Mitch Hults (4.). By the 44th minute, the two-time champions increased to 5-0 and remained unchallenged throughout the game. For Bozen it was the 20th home win in the 23rd home game this season. Ljubljana suffered another defeat after last two games with points.
In their leap to the top of the table, the "Foxes" benefited from EC Red Bull Salzburg's defeat at Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey. The league newcomer celebrated a 4-2 victory against the reigning champion, winning for the first time against the "Red Bulls" and prolonging its home winning streak. Asiago celebrated its sixth home win in a row and is now six points clear of eleventh place in the table, sitting in ninth position. Randy Gazzola shone for the Italians, which scored two early goals in the second period to take the lead. The defender scored the opening goal and was also involved in the other three goals of the "Stellati". Thus, the Canadian scored also in the seventh consecutive game (8G|31A). Salzburg suffered its second defeat in a row.
HC TIWAG Innsbruck - Die Haie defended its third place in the table with a 7-3 road win in the West Derby at BEMER Pioneers Vorarlberg. The "Haie" decided the duel with three powerplay goals in the final frame. Top-scorer Adam Helewka made his comeback after an almost one-month injury layoff, scoring two goals and two assists. Daniel Leavens scored five points (1G|4A). Innsbruck also won the fourth meeting with Feldkirch, which suffered its third defeat in a row.
VSV fixes fourth place
EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV secured fourth place in the table with an unchallenged 4-1 home win over Hydro Fehérvár AV19 and thus home advantage in the quarterfinals of the win2day ICE Hockey League. The "Adler" took the lead through Robert Sabolic (25.), who also handed out two assists, and decided the game through two quick goals by Richter and Collins (34.) within 21 seconds. The Hungarians suffered another setback in the fight for the top-6, they are nine points behind sixth-placed Klagenfurt - with five games left to play.
Win2day ICE Hockey League | 14.02.2023 | Results:
Moser Medical Graz99ers – HC Pustertal Wölfe 2:4 (0:1, 1:2, 1:1)
Referees: OFNER, ZRNIC, Bärnthaler, Seewald. | Spectators: 1508
Goals G99: Olausson (24.), Granholm (44.)
Goals PUS: Berger S. (11.), Archambault (23., 28.), Ahl (41./PP1)
EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV – Hydro Fehérvár AV19 4:1 (0:0, 3:0, 1:1)
Referees: FICHTNER, NIKOLIC M., Hribar, Nothegger. | Spectators: 2835
Goals VSV: Sabolic (25.), Richter (34.), Collins (34.), Hughes (42.)
Goal AVS: Leclerc (56.)
spusu Vienna Capitals – Steinbach Black Wings Linz 4:1 (2:1, 1:0, 1:0)
Referees: SIEGEL, SMETANA, Bedynek, Gatol-Schafranek. | Spectators: 4150
Goals VIC: Finkelstein (5.), Kainz (16.), Prokes (30., 52.)
Goal BWL: Knott (15.)
BEMER Pioneers Vorarlberg – HC TIWAG Innsbruck - Die Haie 3:7 (1:1, 1:3, 1:3)
Referees: HUBER A., NIKOLIC K., Martin, Sparer. | Spectators: 1541
Goals PIV: Maver (9., 38./PP1), van Nes (51.)
Goals HCI: Shaw (4., 53./PP1), Helewka (26., 26.), Ulmer (39.), Coulter (50./PP1), Mackin (55./PP1)
Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey – EC Red Bull Salzburg 4:2 (1:0, 3:1, 0:1)
Referees: GROZNIK, PIRAGIC, Pardatscher, Zgonc. | Spectators: 1451
Goals ASH: Gazzola (10.), Finoro (22., 49./PP1), Moncada (25.)
Goal RBS: Baltram (26.), Schneider (56.)
HCB Südtirol Alperia – HK SZ Olimpija 5:1 (2:0, 2:0, 1:1)
Referees: BERNEKER, TRILAR, Rigoni, Snoj. | Spectators: 2015
Goals HCB: Felicetti (2.), Hults M. (4.), Thomas (22.), Frattin (38.), Frigo (44.)
Goal HKO: Sturm (47.)