Release from 04.03.2026

Villach and Vienna celebrate home wins to open Pre-Playoffs

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The Vienna Capitals opened the Pre-Playoffs on Wednesday with a convincing home win, defeating Hydro Fehérvár AV19 5–1. EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV also got off to a successful start, edging the Steinbach Black Wings Linz 2–1 in overtime. Double goal scorer Kevin Hancock sealed the deal for Villach in the 75th minute, giving his team a 1–0 lead in the best-of-three series. Both Vienna and Villach now have the chance to advance to the quarterfinals on Friday.

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The first goal of this year’s Pre-Playoffs came at STEFFL Arena, where defenseman Duquette scored his first goal in a Caps jersey in just his fifth appearance. Vienna took the 1–0 lead into the first intermission in front of more than 4,440 fans—and then quickly took control. Just 20 seconds after the restart, Gregoire doubled the lead off a Vey setup. Moments later, Koschek made it 3–0 with a precise shot to the far corner. In the 38th minute, Mitch Hults finished off a quick counterattack—triggered by a broken stick from a Hungarian player—to make it 4–0. Kuralt got one back early in the third period, but Vey capped the 5–1 victory with his late goal. The Caps can now secure a quarterfinal berth in Hungary on Friday.

In Villach, the opening period was evenly matched. The VSV failed to capitalize on two power plays, and Teasdale missed a golden opportunity to take the lead. Linz grew stronger in the second frame—Romig had two good chances before defenseman Kragl opened the scoring on a rebound. But the home team responded in the third: after more than 160 goalless minutes, Hancock tied the game. The Black Wings pushed hard late but couldn’t find another, sending the contest to overtime tied 1–1. The Carinthians dominated the extra session, and once again Hancock delivered, firing the winner into the near top corner. Linz will now fight to keep their season alive on Friday in front of their home crowd.

Kragl’s opening goal for Linz was confirmed after video review—see the footage and explanation here:


VSV – BWL | Goal for 0–1
"Good goal on ice. Went to VGJ for review. Determined stick contact by BWL player on VSV goalkeeper was caused by VSV D’Man pushing BWL player. Good goal after review."

During the 2026 Playoffs, VGJ situations will be explained in detail on the league’s official channels.

win2day ICE Hockey League:
Tue, 04.03.2026:
Vienna Capitals – Hydro Fehérvár AV19 5:1 (1:0, 3:0, 1:1)
Referees: OFNER, PIRAGIC, Puff, Zgonc
Goals: 1:0 VIC Marc-Olivier Duquette (12:19 / Benjamin Lanzinger / Mitch Hults / EQ), 2:0 VIC Jeremy Gregoire (20:20 / Linden Vey / Mitch Hults / PP1), 3:0 VIC Felix Koschek (22:55 / Benjamin Lanzinger / Randy Gazzola / EQ), 4:0 VIC Mitch Hults (37:59 / Felix Koschek / EQ), 4:1 AVS Anze Kuralt (40:56 / Joel Messner / Darren Archibald / EQ), 5:1 VIC Linden Vey (52:55 / EQ)
Series standing (best-of-three): 1–0

EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV – Steinbach Black Wings Linz 2:1 (0:0, 0:1, 1:0)
Referees: HRONSKY, NIKOLIC M., Bedynek, Jedlicka
Goals: 0:1 BWL Gerd Kragl (35:47 / Luka Maver / Emilio Romig / EQ), 1:1 VSV Kevin Hancock (43:04 / Nikita Scherbak / EQ), 2:1 VSV Kevin Hancock (74:06 / Michael Kernberger / Nikita Scherbak / EQ)
Series standing (best-of-three): 1–0