Top clash and rematch of the finals at the end of the year

win2day ICE Hockey League | 30.12.2023 | Schedule:
Sat, 30.12.2023, 17:30: Hydro Fehérvár AV19 - EC-KAC
Referees: HRONSKY, PIRAGIC, Jedlicka, Zgonc | >> live.ice.hockey <<

At the end of 2023, there will be a big summit meeting between the league leaders and their closest rivals. While Hydro Fehérvár AV19 has already been at the top for three weeks, the EC-KAC only climbed to second place in the table on Thursday with a shutout win against HC Pustertal. The team from Klagenfurt captured points for the ninth time in a row. The Hungarians can boast a scoring streak of exactly the same length, even though they were beaten by EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV in overtime on Thursday. This was the second defeat in the last three games for the league leaders. Only once this season - in September - has Fehérvár suffered two defeats in a row. The Hungarians have not dropped a point in seven games at home. Their last defeat in front of a home crowd, however, was a painful 1:7 against Klagenfurt - the Devils' heaviest defeat of the season so far. The EC-KAC is also responsible for Fehérvár's second-highest defeat: The KAC won 7:3 in September.

Sat, 30.12.2023, 17:30: HC TIWAG Innsbruck - BEMER Pioneers Vorarlberg
Referees: NIKOLIC K., NIKOLIC M., Nothegger, Seewald | >> live.ice.hockey <<

In the last round of the year, HC TIWAG Innsbruck and the BEMER Pioneers Vorarlberg will face off in a western derby. The team from the Ländle in particular has shown renewed strength of late. The team led by win2day ICE Hockey League top scorer Steve Owre has won four of its last five games and captured points in all of them. Only on Thursday did the Pioneers manage a clear 7:3 victory against the former second-placed team in the table, Steinbach Black Wings Linz. Luka Maver and Yannik Lebeda scored a brace. The Sharks also recently recorded a hugely important success in the battle for the top six, beating the Upper Austrians 3:1 on Boxing Day. While the Tyroleans are only two points behind the direct play-off places, the Vorarlberg team are still eight points behind despite their strong performance in recent weeks. The Sharks are expected to bring in Zach Magwood to replace Brady Shaw in the battle for the top six. The 25-year-old Canadian, who already scored for the HCI in the 2021/22 season, is expected to arrive in Innsbruck on Saturday and should then start for them as soon as possible.

Sat, 30.12.2023, 18:00: Steinbach Black Wings Linz - Moser Medical Graz99ers
Referees: HUBER, SIEGEL, Bärnthaler, Wimmler | >> live.ice.hockey <<

The Steinbach Black Wings Linz have recently entered a small phase of weakness. The Upper Austrians have lost three of their last four games, dropping from second to fourth place in the table. Alarm bells could already be ringing for the Upper Austrians, as the slump also began around the turn of the year last season. After the last game of the 2022 calendar year, the Black Wings were in fifth place in the table with 55 points - they then missed out on direct qualification for the playoffs. Phil Lukas' team currently has "only" one point more, but has already played one more gammore than at this time last year. After their upswing at the end of November, the Moser Medical Graz99ers suffered another setback in December. The Styrians were only able to win one of their last six games. On Thursday, they suffered a bitter 2:3 OT defeat against the spusu Vienna Capitals. The gap between the bottom team from Graz and the pre-playoff places is now eleven points. The first two duels of the season between these two teams were clear-cut affairs for the Black Wings: the goal difference from the two games is 11:0 in favor of the Upper Austrians.

Sat, 30.12.2023, 18:00: HK SZ Olimpija Ljubljana - Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey
Referees: KAINBERGER, TRILAR, Beynek, Miklic | >> live.ice.hockey <<

The clash between HK SZ Olimpija Ljubljana and Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey is a duel between two contenders for the pre-playoff spots. While the Slovenians are currently just above the "red line", the northern Italians are already seven points behind after three consecutive defeats. If Asiago want to get involved in the battle for the top eight once again, a win in Ljubljana at the end of the season would be hugely important. The Slovenians have picked up points in their last two games. However, after a 7-6 shootout win over the KAC, the Dragons let a 2-0 lead against EC Red Bull Salzburg slip away on Thursday and were ultimately beaten in overtime. The first two duels of the season were both clear-cut affairs for Ljubljana: they won 5-0 and 5-1 respectively.

Sat, 30.12.2023, 19:15: EC Red Bull Salzburg - HCB Südtirol Alperia
Referees: BERNEKER, GROZNIK, Hribar, Snoj | >> live.ice.hockey <<

For the third time this season, there will be a rematch of last year's final. After EC Red Bull Salzburg confirmed their title win with a victory in the first season duel, the Foxes managed to get revenge with a shutout victory in the second meeting of the current season. However, it is not just the last win in the head-to-head clash, but also the current form that clearly favors the South Tyroleans. With five wins in a row without losing a point, the "Foxes" are currently the hottest team in the win2day ICE Hockey League. With another win at the end of the season, Bolzano could even leave the reigning champions, who have only won two of their last six games and failed to pick up maximum points in any of them, behind them in the table. The third-placed Salzburg side currently have a one-point lead.

Sat, 30.12.2023, 19:45: HC Pustertal - EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV
Referees: OFNER, STERNAT, Mantovani, Pardatscher | >> live.ice.hockey <<

The last game of the year between HC Pustertal and EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV is about nothing less than which team gets to spend the turn of the year "above the red line". The Villach Eagles currently have a two-point lead over the Wolves from Bruneck, who have recently suffered two defeats in a row. Between Christmas and New Year's Eve, the South Tyroleans suffered a 2-0 defeat against the EC-KAC after a 6-3 loss against the BEMER Pioneers Vorarlberg. Villach have only been beaten by the hottest team in the league - Bolzano - in their last three encounters. Most recently, the Eagles even managed a 2-1 OT win over league leaders Fehérvár, with Robert Sabolic scoring the decisive goal. The first two duels of the season between these two teams were hotly contested. After a 5:4 shootout win for Villach in October, Pustertal returned the favor with a 4:3 victory in November.

Photo: ©Soós Attila