Top duo ends 2020 with defeats

Vienna Capitals end Fehérvár's winning streak
The spusu Vienna Capitals ended the nine-game winning streak of Hydro Fehérvár AV19. The Capitals won with 4:1 in Hungary and celebrated the second victory in a row. In the standings Fehérvár missed to take the lead, as also leader HCB Südtirol Alperia lost its match. Both teams thus remain on 54 points. Vienna is third in the standings with 47 points. The Capitals started the game with more pressure. In the 13th minute of the game Ty Loney scored the 1:0 lead for the guests. The American also recorded an assist for the 4:1 final score. It was the second multiple-point game in a row for the 28-year-old. In the third duel of the season between the two teams, VIC celebrated its second victory over AVS. Calvin Pickard played his last game for the Capitals. The 28-year-old Canadian played six games and had a save percentage of 91.9%. The NHL loanee of the Detroit Red Wings will return to North America after one month.


Successful debut for Graz head coach Jens Gustaffson
For the new head coach of the Moser Medical Graz99ers, Jens Gustaffson celebrated a successful debut. The Styrians celebrated a 2:1 victory after overtime at the EC-KAC. For the 99ers it was only the second win from the past 13 games. The KAC lost for the first time after previously winning two games in a row. After a scoreless first 20 minutes of play, Kevin Moderer scored in the 32nd minute of play to give the visitors a 1:0 lead. This lead lasted until the middle of the third period before Johannes Bischofberger equalized for the KAC. With the score of 1:1 the regular playing time ended. In the overtime Johan Porsberger scored the game-winning goal for the 99ers.

Dornbirn ends Bolzano´s series
For the first time after ten games in a row, league leader HCB Südtirol Alperia failed to score points. The South Tyroleans suffered a 2:1 away defeat at the Dornbirn Bulldogs. For the team from Vorarlberg it was the fifth win out of the last six games. The visitors from Bolzano had the better start and took the 1:0 lead in the seventh minute of the game with a goal from Ivan Deluca. Just before the end of the first period, Dornbirn equalized in the power play through Emil Romig. Also in overtime Nikita Jevpalovs increased the lead to 2:1 in the middle of the second period. Although Bolzano clearly set the tone - 16:3 shots on goal in the third period alone - they could not score a goal. DEC-goalkeeper Oskar Östlund saved 33 of 34 shots on his goal (97.1%). For Dornbirn it was the 21st win in the 37th game against the HCB.

Villach turns around two-goal deficit
The EC GRAND Immo VSV turned a 2:0 deficit into a 4:3 home win against the Steinbach Black Wings 1992. For Black Wings-Neo Head Coach Dan Ceman the return to his old workplace was thus not successful. The Canadian had been with the VSV until December 5th, when he was sacked and shortly afterwards presented as head coach of the Black Wings. The guests from Linz started better into the game and led after 15 minutes already with 2:0. In the consequence the hosts were the better team. At the beginning of the middle period, the Carinthians scored for the first time. Before the end of the second period, the tenth-placed team turned the game in their favor. Both teams scored once more in the final period. For Linz it was already the eighth defeat from the last nine games.


No chance for Innsbruck at Salzburg
The EC Red Bull Salzburg clearly won with 5:1 against the HC TIWAG Innsbruck - Die Haie in the Sky Sport Austria live match. While the Tyroleans conceded their fourth defeat in a row, the Red Bulls celebrated their second win en suite. It took until the 16th minute of play before Florian Baltram scored for Salzburg to make it 1:0. Rick Schofield was the only player to score twice. These were the tenth and eleventh goals of the season for the 33-year-old Canadian. In the standings, the „Mozartstädter“ are in sixth place with 39 points from 22 games. HCI is eighth in the standings with 34 points from 26 games.


BET-AT-HOME ICE HOCKEY LEAGUE:
EC GRAND IMMO VSV – STEINBACH BLACK WINGS 1992 4:3 (0:2, 3:0, 1:1)
REFEREES: TRILAR, VIRTA, MIKLIC, PARDATSCHER.
Goals VSV: 1:2 Kosmachuk S. (21.), 2:2 Collins C. (32./PP1), 3:2 Caron J. (39.), 4:2 Wachter D. (42.)
Goals BWI: 0:1 Kozek A. (9.), 0:2 Lebler B. (15.), 4:3 Kozek A. (58.)

HYDRO FEHÉRVÁR AV19 – SPUSU VIENNA CAPITALS 1:4 (0:1, 1:1, 0:2)
REFEREES: KINCSES, NAGY, KIS-KIRALY, VACZI.
Goals AVS: 1:2 Erdely C. (28.)
Goals VIC: 0:1 Loney T. (13.), 0:2 Großlercher J. (26.), 1:3 Vause T. (59.), 1:4 Fischer M. (59./EN)

DORNBIRN BULLDOGS – HCB SÜDTIROL ALPERIA 2:1 (1:1, 1:0, 0:0)
REFEREES: BERNEKER, ZRNIC, HRIBAR, ZGONC.
Goals DEC: 1:1 Romig E. (19./PP1), 2:1 Jevpalovs N. (30./PP1)
Goals HCB: 0:1 Deluca I. (7.)

EC RED BULL SALZBURG – HC TIWAG INNSBRUCK – DIE HAIE 5:1 (1:0, 4:1, 0:0)
REFEREES: NIKOLIC M., SCHAUER, SEEWALD, TSCHREPITSCH.
Goals RBS: 1:0 Baltram F. (16.), 2:0 Schütz J. (26.), 3:1 Schofield R. (34.), 4:1 Schofield R. (38.), 5:1 Raffl T. (38.)
Goals HCI: 2:1 Ciampini D. (28.)

EC-KAC – MOSER MEDICAL GRAZ99ERS 1:2 OT (0:0, 0:1, 1:0, 0:1)
REFEREES: OFNER, STERNAT, BEDYNEK, BÄRNTHALER.
Goals KAC: 1:1 Bischofberger J. (51.)
Goals G99: 0:1 Moderer K. (31.), 1:2 Porsberger J. (62./OT/PP1)