Release from 31.03.2025

Showdown for the second final ticket: KAC hosts Linz in deciding game

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In the semi-finals of the win2day ICE Hockey League, the EC-KAC and Steinbach Black Wings Linz will play a decisive seventh game after the Upper Austrians equalized the series with a 2:0 home win on Sunday. The deciding game will take place on Tuesday at 19:30 in the Heidi Horten Arena in Klagenfurt.

It is the 23rd game seven in league history. While Linz has a clearly positive record in deciding games, the KAC has struggled in these encounters so far and has almost always left the ice as the loser.
Since the league was founded in 2000/2001, Game Seven have always provided goosebump moments. This will be the 23rd time such a decisive game has been played.

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This is the eighth game seven for the EC-KAC since the league was founded, but the record in decisive games does not speak in favor of the Klagenfurt team. They have only won one of seven decisive games - on April 5, 2009 in the final against Salzburg (2:1). Since then, they have been defeated in five seventh games, four times by Salzburg, most recently last season, when the Red Bulls clearly prevailed 6:2 in the decisive final game.

In comparison: Linz has only lost one game seven so far - on March 21, 2023 in Bolzano by 2:3 after overtime. The Upper Austrians have been victorious in the other five deciding games, most recently in this season's quarter-final, which they won 3:2/OT against Graz.

In the KAC's favor, however, is the fact that the home team has won in 16 of the 22 seventh games played so far. In addition, the Black Wings' mixed playoff form away from home could be an advantage for Klagenfurt: In their last 13 playoff away games, Linz have only managed to win once in regulation time and twice after overtime. However, both overtime victories were in this year's playoffs - one in Graz and one in the series opener in Klagenfurt. In the other two games in the Heidi Horten-Arena, the KAC was victorious 5:2 and 5:3.

Game 7 result from Klagenfurt:
19.04.2024: Final: KAC - RBS 2:6
22.03.2022: Quarter-final: VIC - KAC 3:2
11.03.2016: Quarter-final: RBS - KAC 5:2
14.04.2011: Final: KAC - RBS 2:3 OT
07.03.2010: Quarter-final: RBS - KAC 4:2
05.04.2009, Final: KAC - RBS 2:1
12.04.2005, Final: VIC - KAC 6:2

Game 7 result of Linz:
16.03.2025, Quarter-final: BWL - G99 3:2 OT
21.03.2023, Quarter-final: HCB - BWL 3:2 OT
20.03.2015, Quarter-final: BWL - HCB 4:3
10.03.2013, Quarter-final: BWL - VSV 4:3
04.03.2012, Quarter-final: BWL - VIC 8:3
23.03.2010, Semi-final: VIC - BWL 5:7

win2day ICE Hockey League:
Tuesday, 01.04.2025:
EC-KAC - Steinbach Black Wings Linz
Referees: OFNER, STERNAT, Mantovani, Nothegger. | >> puls24.at/eishockey <<
Standings in the “best-of-7” series: 3:3