Salzburg wins in Thomas Raffl’s 1,000th Game | Graz’ winning streak ends in Fehérvár

Around 5,000 fans attended the clash between HCB Südtirol Alperia and EC Red Bull Salzburg, which featured the league’s two in-form teams and marked Thomas Raffl’s 1,000th league match. In the end, Salzburg celebrated a narrow 2:1 shootout victory, clinching their eleventh straight win and handing Bozen their first defeat in five games. Troy Bourke was the only player to convert his shootout attempt. During regulation, defense and goaltending dominated the game. Both goals came in the first period: Mario Huber gave Salzburg the lead in the 12th minute, before Matt Bradley equalized for Bozen in the 16th minute on a power play. David Kickert was outstanding in goal, making 32 saves. In the third encounter of the season between the teams, it was Salzburg’s second win, leaving them third in the standings, eight points behind leaders KAC, with Bozen just behind, two points back and one game fewer played.

KAC extends lead
EC-KAC secured their third season win over HC Falkensteiner Pustertal with a 3:2 victory, extending their table lead to four points after Graz fell in Fehérvár. It was the KAC´s second consecutive win, while Pustertal suffered their fourth straight loss. Before more than 4,200 fans, the home team opened the scoring just 32 seconds in through Simeon Schwinger. Mathias From made it 2-0 in the 16th minute while shorthanded. The visitors scored just before the end of the first period, but David Waschnig restored KAC’s two-goal advantage in the 33rd minute. Mikael Frycklund’s late strike in the 56th minute added some tension, but Pustertal could not equalize.

Fehérvár upsets Graz
Moser Medical Graz99ers fell 2:5 to Hydro Fehérvár AV19, ending a five-game winning streak. Fehérvár celebrated their second straight win and now hold a seven-point cushion over FTC-Telekom, who are in 11th place. In the fourth meeting of the season between the sides, the Hungarians recorded their second win. Kristof Németh put the hosts ahead in the 19th minute after a costly mistake by Graz goalie Maxime Lagacé. Fehérvár extended the lead to 2-0 in the second period before Graz scored on a power play. Early in the third period, János Hári scored again on the power play (43rd minute), and seconds later Justin Richards made it 4-1, sealing the outcome. Graz could not recover.

Capitals deepen VSV crisis
Over 6,000 fans attended the clash between the Vienna Capitals and EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV. The Capitals won 5:2, handing Villach their ninth defeat in ten games. Villach dropped to 10th place, one point ahead of Budapest, while Vienna now holds a three-point lead over the Carinthians. Felix Koschek gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead in the first period. Between the 23rd and 25th minutes of the second period, three goals were scored, two for VSV, leveling the score at 2-2. Leon Wallner restored Vienna’s lead in the 47th minute, and the hosts added two more goals to claim their third win in five games.

Pioneers win High-Scoring West Derby
Fans saw ten goals in the West Derby between Pioneers Vorarlberg and HC TIWAG Innsbruck. The Pioneers won 6:4, claiming their first victory over the bottom-placed Innsbruck in the season. Innsbruck scored early in the third minute, but the Pioneers led 3:2 after the first period. By the 34th minute, the home team extended the lead to 5:2, with Oskar Maier scoring in short-handed play for his second goal. Innsbruck fought back to 4:5 with five minutes remaining, but an empty-net goal from Collin Adams sealed the victory 50 seconds before the final buzzer.

Ljubljana cruises to win
Fifth-placed Olimpija Ljubljana showed no mercy to FTC-Telekom, winning comfortably 5:1 at home. The Slovenes led 3:0 after the first period and added two more goals in the second. In the third, they slowed the pace, allowing Budapest to score a consolation goal. For Ljubljana, it was the first win after two consecutive defeats, while FTC suffered their sixth loss in a row, the third against Olimpija. The gap to 10th-placed Villach remains just one point.

win2day ICE Hockey League:
Tue, 05.01.2026:
Vienna Capitals – EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV 5:2 (1:0, 1:2, 3:0)
Referees: Nagy, Piragic, Nothegger, Riecken
Goals VIC: 1:0 Koschek F. (4.), 2:1 Souch C. (24.), 3:2 Wallner L. (47.), 4:2 Vey L. (53.), 5:2 Hults M. (60./EN)
Goals VSV: 1:1 Sintschnig P. (23.), 2:2 Hutchison N. (25.)

EC-KAC – HC Falkensteiner Pustertal 3:2 (2:1, 1:0, 0:1)
Referees: Smetana, Sternat, Bedynek, Puff
Goals KAC: 1:0 Schwinger S. (1.), 2:0 From M. (16./SH1), 3:1 Waschnig D. (33.)
Goals HCP: 2:1 Bowlby H. (20.), 3:2 Frycklund M. (56.)

Hydro Fehérvár AV19 – Moser Medical Graz99ers 5:2 (1:0, 1:1, 3:1)
Referees: Fichtner, Hronsky, Gatol, Konc
Goals AVS: 1:0 Nemeth K. (19.), 2:0 Erdely C. (25.), 3:1 Hari J. (43./PP1), 4:1 Richards J. (44.), 5:2 Gerlach M. (55./PP1)
Goals G99: 2:1 Roy K. (31.), 4:2 Schiechl M. (47./PP1)

Olimpija Ljubljana – FTC-Telekom Budapest 5:1 (3:0, 2:0, 0:1)
Referees: Groznik, Ofner, Muzsik, Wimmler
Goals OLL: 1:0 Brennan T. (7.), 2:0 Pance Z. (7.), 3:0 Simsic N. (18.), 4:0 Mahkovec M. (24.), 5:0 Mahkovec M. (28.)
Goal FTC: 5:1 Molnár D. (59.)

Pioneers Vorarlberg – HC TIWAG Innsbruck 6:4 (3:2, 2:0, 1:2)
Referees: Kainberger, Nikolic M., Martin, Sparer
Goals PIV: 1:1 Maier O. (6.), 2:1 Macierzynski K. (12.), 3:2 Bukarts R. (18.), 4:2 Dornbach C. (28.), 5:2 Maiero O. (SH1), 6:4 Adams C. (60.)
Goals HCI: 0:1 Klassek K. (3.), 2:2 Corbeil B. (16./PP1), 5:3 Lajeunesse T. (45.), 5:4 Rappold K. (55.)

HCB Südtirol Alperia – EC Red Bull Salzburg 1:2/SO (1:1, 0:0, 0:0, 0:0)
Referees: Nikolic K., Seewald, Rigoni, Zacherl
Goal HCB: 1:1 Bradley M. (16./PP1)
Goals RBS: 0:1 Huber M. (12.), 1:2 Bourke T. (65./PS)