Release from 14.09.2025
On Sunday, the first final rematch of the win2day ICE Hockey League took place between defending champion EC Red Bull Salzburg and runner-up EC-KAC. The Red Bulls were victorious with a 4-1 win. Additionally, the Moser Medical Graz99ers, who were free from play on Friday, opened their season with a 4-0 away win against HC Falkensteiner Pustertal. At the top of the table, Olimpija Ljubljana remains in first place after a convincing 7-2 win over EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV. Meanwhile, HC TIWAG Innsbruck won the West Derby against the Pioneers Vorarlberg 3-2, Hydro Fehérvár AV19 secured a narrow 1-0 shutout against the Steinbach Black Wings Linz, and the Vienna Capitals narrowly defeated league newcomer FTC-Telekom 3-2 in overtime.
In front of 3,400 fans at the sold-out Eisarena Salzburg, the defending champions held a narrow 2-1 lead for much of the game. Devante Stephens extended the lead to 3-1 with just 2.5 minutes remaining, and Connor Corcoran sealed the 4-1 final score with an empty-net goal one minute later. Lukas Hörl opened the scoring in the 5th minute – the 22-year-old’s first goal in his 47th ICE League game. New signing Corcoran scored five minutes later to make it 2-0, meaning both of Salzburg’s first goals came from defensemen. Jan Mursak pulled one back for KAC in the 43rd minute, but the Red Bulls remained unbeaten and moved up to second place in the standings.
Graz Starts the Season with a Shutout
After a Friday bye, the Graz99ers dominated in their first match, winning 4-0 at HC Falkensteiner Pustertal. Chris Collins opened the scoring in the 25th minute. The former VSV forward returned to the ICE League after two seasons with the Augsburger Panther. Goals from newcomers Nick Swaney (31’) and Josh Currie (51’), along with Kevin Roy (43’), sealed the win. Goalie Maxime Lagacé recorded a shutout with 26 saves in his first game. For Pustertal, this was their first loss after an 8-1 opening win in Innsbruck.
Innsbruck Wins West Derby After Dream Start
Before 1,663 spectators in Feldkirch, the Sharks got off to a flying start. Sebastian Benker scored just 23 seconds into the game – the fastest goal of the season so far. After 10 minutes, Innsbruck led 3-0. Pioneers Vorarlberg fought back to make it 3-1 before the end of the period. Oskar Maier scored eight minutes before the final buzzer, but Innsbruck held on for a 3-2 win, bouncing back from their 1-8 opening loss to Pustertal.
Fehérvár Edges Linz
In a tightly contested match, Kristof Németh scored eight minutes before the end to give Hydro Fehérvár AV19 a narrow 1-0 home win over the Steinbach Black Wings Linz. Goalie Rasmus Reijola stopped all 29 shots, securing the first victory after their 0-4 opening defeat. Despite having higher expected goals (2.22:1.09) and more shots (55:32), Linz couldn’t get past the strong Finnish netminder.
Olimpija Remains at the Top
Olimpija Ljubljana continues to lead the table. Alongside Salzburg, they are the only team to have won both games on opening weekend. After an 8-1 win over Vienna, they followed up with a 7-2 victory over EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV on Sunday. Goals from Nik Simsic, Žiga Pance, and Alex Petan gave Ljubljana a 3-0 lead after 27 minutes. Villach fought back with a double strike to make it 3-2, but T.J. Brennan restored a two-goal cushion 15 seconds before the end of the period. In the final 15 minutes, Ljubljana added three more goals, completing their second scoring spree of the season.
Vienna Capitals Win in Overtime
The Vienna Capitals secured a narrow 3-2 overtime win over league newcomer FTC-Telekom. Simon Bourque scored the game-winning goal in OT. After two periods, Budapest led 2-1, but Carter Souch tied it at the start of the third. In the end the Capitals got their first win of the season.
win2day ICE Hockey League
So, 14. 9. 2025
Hydro Fehervar AV 19 - Steinbach Black Wings Linz 1:0 (0:0, 0:0, 1:0)
Referees: GROZNIK, REZEK, Durmis, Konc
Goals AVS: Nemeth K. (52.)
Pioneers Vorarlberg - HC TIWAG Innsbruck - Die Haie 2:3 (1:3, 0:0, 1:0)
Referees: K. NIKOLIC, SCHAUER, Martin, Sparer
Goals PIV: 1:3 Gallant C. (19.), 2:3 Maier O. (50.)
Goals HCI: 0:1 Benker S. (1.), 0:2 Dobnig J. (3.), 0:3 Corbeil B. (10.)
EC Red Bull Salzburg - EC-KAC 4:1 (2:0, 0:0, 2:1)
Referees: OFNER, STERNAT, Bedynek, Puff
Goals RBS: 1:0 Hörl L. (5.), 2:0 Corcoran C. (10./PP1), 3:1 Stephens D. (58.), 4:1 Corcoran C. (59./EN/PP1)
Goal KAC: 2:1 Mursak J. (43.)
HC Falkensteiner Pustertal Wölfe - Moser Medical Graz99ers 0:4 (0:0, 0:2, 0:2)
Referees: HOLZER, M. NIKOLIC, Rigoni, Weiss
Goals G99: 0:1 Collins C. (25.), 0:2 Swaney N. (31.), 0:3 Roy K. (43.), 0:4 Currie J. (51.)
Vienna Capitals - FTC-Telekom 3:2/OT (1:1, 0:1, 1:0, 1:0)
Referees: FICHTNER , SMETANA, Gatol-Schafranek, Riecken
Goals VIC: 1:0 Hults C. (18./PP1), 2:2 Souch C. (41.), 3:2 Bourque S. (61./OT)
Goals FTC: 1:1 Trépanier M. (20.), 1:2 Tóth G. (29.)
Olimpija Ljubljana - EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV 7:2 (2:0, 2:2, 3:0)
Referees: PIRAGIC, ZRNIC, Hribar, Jeram
Goals OLL: 1:0 Simsic N. (12.), 2:0 Panze Z. (20./PP1), 3:0 Petan A. (27./PP1), 4:2 Brennan T. (40.), 5:2 Bericic M. (46.), 6:2 Meyer N. (53.), 7:2 Crnovic A. (57.)
Goals VSV: 3:1 Lindner P. (33.), 3:2 Rebernig M. (38.)