Villach stopps leader Bolzano

VSV upsets ICE leader Bolzano
With a strong finish, EC GRAND Immo VSV rewarded themselves with two points against ICE leader HCB Südtirol Alperia. The tenth-placed Carinthians won 2-:1 on home ice against the "Foxes" after overtime, thus getting their first home win after four defeats in a row last time. Bolzano, which remains at the top, conceded its sixth defeat of the season. A deflection of Marco Insam (7.) gave the guests a tight lead until the final minute, as Jerry Pollastrone (60.) prevented the second shutout of Andreas Bernard in the second game for Bolzano. He scored with 43 seconds left to balance the game. In the overtime Villach pressed for the decision and they succeeded through Frederik Allard (63.), who left Bernard no chance alone in front of the goal.

KAC wins thanks to a strong final frame
In its 600th league home game, the EC-KAC celebrated a 5:3 victory over the spusu Vienna Capitals and after the last three defeats on home ice, it once again achieved a full success. The Vienna Capitals, who were shorthanded - they were missing eight regulars - suffered their fourth defeat in a row. In the standings, the "Rotjacken" were able to draw level with the "Caps", albeit with one game less. The tight 1:0 lead of the KAC after the first period, Vienna turned with a courageous performance in the middle section into a 3:2 lead - also because Sebastian Dahm fluffed a little on two goals against. In the final period, the KAC took command again: Nick Petersen (47.), Dennis Sticha (58.) and Manuel Ganahl (60./EN) fixed the 390th home victory of the "Rotjacken" since the league was found in summer 2000.



Fehérvár confirms second place
Hydro Fehérvár AV19 has confirmed its second place in the bet-at-home ICE Hockey League standings, drawing level on points with leader Bolzano. The Hungarians followed up Monday's dominant 7:0 win with another 4:2 victory over EC Red Bull Salzburg just 24 hours later, winning their seventh straight game. Salzburg finished the road trip against the second-placed team with zero points and a goal difference of 2:11. The lead of the guests, who looked more committed compared to the previous day, through Derek Joslin (7.) was acknowledged by Fehérvár posthaste with a double strike. The home team also had the right answer to the equalizer of the "Bullen" in the first period, when Toni Kahkonen (20.) thundered a one-timer from the half-left under the crossbar exactly 17 seconds left in the first. The Hungarians continued to control the game, Anze Kuralt (46.) added his second goal and decided the game.



Dornbirn grabs first shutout 20-21
The Dornbirn Bulldogs posted a shutout for the first time in the running bet-at-home ICE season. Thomas Höneckl successfully fended off all 32 shots on goal, picking up his first shutout in almost two years (December 28th, 2018, then still in Graz roster in a 9:0 win in Zagreb). The Vorarlberg team thus celebrated its third win in a row, grabbed points en-suite for the sixth time and climbed to sixth place in the table. The decision in this game was made by Henrik Nilsson (48.), who took a perfect pass from Kevin Macierzynski directly. Macierzynski then ensured the final score with an empty-netter - and the second defeat in a row for Graz without one goal scored.

Bratislava destorys Innsbruck’s winning streak
The iClinic Bratislava Capitals have put an end to the winning streak of HC TIWAG Innsbruck - Die Haie. With a 3:2 win after shootout, the Slovaks also won the third season meeting with the "Sharks", which moved up to fifth place in the standings thanks to the point gain. Bratislava remains in ninth place after its tenth ICE win, but is only five points behind Innsbruck. League top scorer Daniel Ciampini (9.) opened the scoring after a strong two-on-one - he scored for the fifth consecutive game. But the visitors turned the game around through Milos Bubela (30.) and Ryan Culkin (47.) before Braden Christoffer sent the "Sharks" into overtime. The game went scoreless and Bratislava won the extra point in the shootout.

Bet-at-home ICE Hockey League | Tuesday, December 22nd:
Tue, 22.12.2020, 6.45 pm: Dornbirn Bulldogs – Moser Medical Graz99ers 2:0 (0:0, 0:0, 2:0)
Referees: BERNEKER, RUETZ, Martin, Tschrepitsch.
Goals DEC: Nilsson (48.), Macierzynski (59./EN)

Tue, 22.12.2020, 7.15 pm: HC TIWAG Innsbruck – Die Haie – iClinic Bratislava Capitals 2:3 SO (1:0, 0:1, 1:1, 0:0)
Referees: SMETANA, VIRTA, Kontschieder, Pardatscher.
Goals HCI: Ciampini (9.), Christoffer (59.)
Goals BRC: Bubela (30.), Culkin (47.), Fortier (65./PS)

Tue, 22.12.2020, 7.15 pm: EC-KAC – spusu Vienna Capitals 5:3 (1:0, 1:3, 3:0)
Referees: PIRAGIC, ZRNIC, Hribar, Zgonc.
Goal KAC: Ticar (16., 28.), Petersen (47.), Sticha (58.), Ganahl (60./EN)
Goal VIC: Wukovits (22.), Bauer (30.), Richter (31./PP1)

Tue, 22.12.2020, 7.15 pm: EC GRAND Immo VSV – HCB Südtirol Alperia 2:1 OT (0:1, 0:0, 1:0, 1:0)
Referees: OFNER, STERNAT, Nothegger, Seewald.
Goals VSV: Pollastrone (60.), Allard (63.)
Goal HCB: Insam (7.)

Tue, 22.12.2020, 7.15 pm: Hydro Fehérvár AV19 – EC Red Bull Salzburg 4:2 (3:2, 0:0, 1:0)
Referees: NAGY, RENCZ, Muzsik, Vaczi.
Goals AVS: Caruso (8.), Kuralt (9., 46.), Kahkonen (20.)
Goals RBS: Joslin (7.), Schofield (16.)