Season kick-off event: ICE feeling returns

Exactly 150 days after the EC-KAC lifted the championship trophy in front of empty stands, the fans will return to the arenas on Friday. After intensive months and meticulous preparations, the bet-at-home ICE Hockey League will start the 2021-22 campaign for the first time with 14 teams from six countries and a new game mode.

Comeback of the fans in the arenas
"The anticipation of being able to start the season under new conditions is great. Finally, spectators can come again and fill the arenas with atmosphere. Hockey without fans is not the same. It is true that we have made the most of the last season by offering a wide range of streaming services. But that can't be compared to the presence of fans. For us and also for the players, the return of the spectators is a top priority," says bet-at-home ICE Hockey League President Mag. Jochen Pildner-Steinburg at the season kick-off event in the PULS 24 studio.

"We were very lucky last year that the Austrian federal government helped us with an aid package. But nothing can replace fans in the arenas. We hope that we will be able to welcome spectators in the arenas throughout the season," says Christian Feichtinger, the league's managing director.

Last campaign, the bet-at-home ICE Hockey League already started into a new era with a new identity. "The first season was very successful for us. With the return of the fans, we can now set activities in the arenas," explains Claus Retschitzegger, bet-at-home's corporate spokesman.

ICE for the first time with 14 teams from six countries
For the first time in league history, 14 teams from six different countries will compete for the Karl Nedwed Trophy. "The great demand from applicants has put us in the fortunate position of being able to increase the number of league clubs. The majority of the owners were in favour of a championship with 14 teams. We are convinced that with HC Pustertal and HK SŽ Olimpija Ljubljana as well as returnee HC Orli Znojmo we have found further clubs with great potential. Together we have made a great commitment to our international league," reports League President Kommerzialrat Mag. Jochen Pildner-Steinburg.

The expansion of the league also led to an adjustment of the game mode. After 52 games in the regular season, the teams in first to sixth place qualify directly for the quarterfinals. The teams in seventh to tenth place will contest the pre-playoffs in "best-of-3" mode, whereby the seventh-placed team can choose whether to play the ninth or tenth-placed team. The winners of the two series complete the field of participants for the quarterfinals. The quarterfinal pairings will continue to be determined by a playoff pick. In this, the top 3 teams select their opponent. The fourth-placed team is not available for selection and will face the team that was not selected in the pick. Both the quarterfinals, the semifinals and the final will be played in a "best-of-7" mode. "The pre-playoffs are now the usual mode internationally and guarantee even more excitement. A lot can happen - we are looking forward to crowning the champion by 18 April at the latest," says league manager Christian Feichtinger.

COVID concept as basis for fan return
Last season, the "Return to Play" concept already formed the basis for the return to training and competition. "The comprehensive security concept of the bet-at-home ICE Hockey League, which was developed together with the Austrian Ministry of Sport, covers all eventualities and is defined down to the smallest detail. In the previous season, the carefully prepared concept - based on the pillars of prevention, security and fan safety - already proved its worth. In terms of content, nothing has changed compared to the previous season," Pildner-Steinburg reacted to recently published statements by the players' union. "The overriding goal with this concept is to protect not only the spectators but also the players in the best possible way. They are the most important asset for us," underlines the president of the bet-at-home ICE Hockey League. "The fact that this topic is being taken up in this form by the players' union, which has been in existence for a year and is a partner of ours, is absolutely incomprehensible to us," says Pildner-Steinburg.

Oliver Pilloni, General Manager of the EC-KAC, also cannot understand the approach of the players' union: "Our players had to sign papers in the Champions Hockey League that were much stricter than those of the bet-at-home ICE Hockey League. Something like this is now common practice and is practised in a comparable way in the DEL, for example. The bet-at-home ICE Hockey League and all the clubs make a massive effort to make the environment as safe as possible. For example, a doctor also has to sign a "fit-to-play" list for each player before all matches. I have to take my hat off to what the league and clubs are doing at this stage."