Release from 17.11.2018
The four best-placed teams of Erste Bank Eishockey Liga have home advantage on Sunday with Servus Hockey Night showing the 323th Carinthian derby between EC-KAC and EC Panaceo VSV live.
3 facts before game day 20:
- Sunday will be opened with the game Graz against Salzburg and a family day in front of the arena
- There are derbies both in South Tirol and Carinthia with Servus Hockey Night showing the 323th meeting between EC-KAC and EC Panaceo VSV live
- With leader HC Bolzano (five wins, four this month) and HC Orli Znojmo only two teams have a clean sheet in November
Sun, 18.11.2018: Moser Medical Graz99ers vs. EC Red Bull Salzburg (16:00)
Referees: BALUSKA, KELLNER, Gatol, Soos.
- In their ninth home game this season Graz suffered the first defeat on Sunday and lost the top of the league to Bolzano
- Salzburg suffered two successive defeats and dropped to fifth place
- The Red Bulls won the season's first encounter 5:4 after overtime, it was their 4th consecutive win against the 99ers
- Graz has the best PP available, Salzburg ranks third in this statistics
- Salzburg's Daniel Jakubitzka will be out, the appearnaces of Dustin Gazley, Alexander Pallestrang and Alexander Cijan are doubtful
Doug Mason (Headcoach Moser Medical Graz99ers): „I expect a back-and-forth game. Both teams are offensively-minded, it will be an interesting game“.
Raphael Herburger (EC Red Bull Salzburg): „We want to play aggressively as we did in the last games. It's a very important game and we need to find an answer.“
Sun, 18.11.2018: HCB Südtirol Alperia vs. HC TWK Innsbruck „Die Haie“ (17:00)
Referees: BULOVEC, TRILAR, Pardatscher, Schauer.
- While Innsbruck suffered a defeat on Sunday, Bolzano went to the top of the table thanks to a road win in Graz
- The champions won the first season meeting and they also have a current winning-streak of five
- Bolzano's Brett Findlay (25 points) as well as Andrew Clark (30) and John Lammers (23) of Innsbruck lead the league's scoring charts
- After suffering eleven defeats in Bolzano, the sharks won their first road game last December
- Innsbruck's new goalie Luka Gracnar will make his debut
Florian Pedevilla (HC TWK Innsbruck): „A derby is always special. Bolzano has a great defense but we always generate good opportunities. We surely have to avoid mistakes.“
Kai Suikkanen (Coach HCB Südtirol Alperia): „Yesterday's game in Graz was like a playoff game. We took too many penalties, that's why we sometimes lose control of the game. We have to avoid it.“
Sun, 18.11.2018: spusu Vienna Capitals vs. Dornbirn Bulldogs (17:30)
Referees: STEFIK, ZRNIC, Bärnthaler, Zgonc.
- Third-placed Capitals lost six out of their last seven matches
- Dornbirn is on a roadtrip with opening the weekend in Hungary on Saturday before moving on to Vienna
- Vienna won the first season meeting 3:2 - this also was the result of the last three encounters (DEC won twice)
- In their last four games the winning side always bounced back from a 0:1 deficit
- Dornbirn's Scott Timmins earned at least one point in his last three games against Vienna, gaining three goals and one assist
Ali Wukovits (spusu Vienna Capitals): „We have to proof that we are rightly among the top three teams. Now we have another chance to get back on track.“
Olivier Magnan (Dornbirn Bulldogs): „Everyone goes through some bad results along a season and ist time to take advantage of it.“
Referees: STERNAT, STOLC, Kontschieder, Seewald.
- Before both teams meet on Sunday for the 323th Carinthian derby, Klagenfurt and Villach won their games on Friday
- Bottom-club VSV earned a 2:1 home win against Vienna and ended their nine-game losing streak
- Klagenfurt won six out of the last seven derbies against Villach but the blue shirts held the upper hand earlier this season
- Villach has not gained a single point out of eight road games this season
- Klagenfurt's Thomas Koch gained at least one point in the last four meetings with Villach, having three goals and assists each
- Villach will be without Christof Kromp
Thomas Koch (EC-KAC): „We have to settle an outstanding score and we will everything to win this prestigious match.“
Jamie Fraser (EC Panaceo VSV): „We got back self-confidence with the win against Vienna and have to play similar against Klagenfurt."
Sun, 18.11.2018: HC Orli Znojmo vs. EHC LIWEST Black Wings Linz (17:30)
Referees: GRUBER, KINCSES, Hribar, Nagy.
- Linz returned to the upper half of the table thanks to a home win against Salzburg on Friday
- Znojmo showed an upward trend lately, winning all three games in November
- The Black Wings came back from a 0:1 deficit to win the first season meeting 3:1
- Linz captain Brian Lebler gained at least one point in the last six games against Znojmo, having four goals and five assists
- Linz have the league's best PK available - Znojmo scored three PP goals in their last match, though
Marek Kalus (HC Orli Znojmo): „We don't have to change a lot but we have to be more focussed in our defensive zone as we are doing too many mistakes.“
Michael Davies (EHC Liwest Black Wings Linz): „I feel comfortable in Linz and really like the system we play. We have to continue and play our game.“