Cham­pions Wattens' home debut against leaders Kufstein – Group South gets fully under way

Champions Wattens Penguins have drawn the perfect opponents for their first home game of the season. League leaders HC Kufstein, who beat the Ö Eishockey Liga defending champions from Wattens 6:2 in the opening game, are the visitors at the Alpenstadion.

The team coached by head coach Ivo Novotny most recently had to accept a 1:6 defeat in Hohenems, but the Dragons coach is now expecting a fiery contest against the Penguins.

After two defeats at the start of the season, Wattens had found their rhythm increasingly well over the past two games, with Head Coach Jaro Betka’s team claiming a 5:2 win over the Crocodiles in Kundl in their most recent outing.

Jaroslav Betka, Head Coach WSG Swarovski Wattens Penguins: "We are delighted that we will finally be able to train on home ice in Wattens for the first time this week. We want to offer exciting ice hockey against league leaders Kufstein, with few penalty minutes. My boys are in good mental shape. Unfortunately, Martin Sturm has left us for personal reasons, but we can now play with Valentin Hammerle and Fabian Nussbaumer, who are returning from injury."

Ivo Novotny, Head Coach HC Kufstein: "We have put Saturday’s defeat against Hohenems behind us well. We drew our conclusions from it and tried to address certain things in training that had not gone as we wanted. We are certainly prepared for the clash against Wattens. I think it will be a fiery contest."

HCI II challenge SC Hohenems

The SC SAMINA Hohenems won the first meeting of the season on the opening matchday against HC TIWAG Innsbruck - Die Haie II by a clear 10:1 in the end, following early difficulties in the first period.

With their win in last Saturday’s head-to-head clash, the Steinböcke drew level with Group West leaders HC Kufstein and avenged their 2:4 defeat in the fortress town. Hohenems captain Pascal Kainz is not expecting an easy game against Innsbruck.

The Junghaie began the new campaign with five defeats, three of them by double-digit margins. Most recently, they suffered a 1:10 defeat against VEU Feldkirch. Nevertheless, the coaching staff are trying to remain positive and are determined to challenge the favourites from Vorarlberg in the home game.

Pascal Kainz, Captain SC SAMINA Hohenems: "I am not expecting an easy game against Innsbruck, but in general we do not focus too much on the opposition. Instead, we try to concentrate on our strengths. In Innsbruck too, our aim will be to play our best ice hockey from the very first minute."

Andreas Sarg, Assistant Coach HC TIWAG Innsbruck - Die Haie II: "Against Hohenems, we want to make amends for the 1:10 defeat in the first round. We know that the team from Hohenems brings plenty of experience and quality, but we will do everything we can to get on the scoresheet against the Steinböcke."

Anticipation ahead of VEU Feldkirch vs. Crocodiles Kundl

The VEU Feldkirch has quickly established itself in the Ö Eishockey Liga and welcomes EHC Crocodiles Kundl on Saturday. The match between the Montfortstadt side and the Crocodiles promises to be exciting given the situation: both teams have positioned themselves well early on in the battle for playoff places, and important points are at stake for both clubs in terms of how the season develops.

VEU general manager Heimo Lindner is once again demanding full commitment and passion from his young team. Kundl chairman Gerhard Maier is aware of Feldkirch's home strength, with their excellent fans behind them, but his side will do everything it can to get on the scoresheet at the Vorarlberghalle as well.

Heimo Lindner, General Manager VEU Feldkirch: "The second win in a row confirms the outstanding work of all the players and coaches. Everyone is fighting week after week for a place in the team. This creates positive competition and the players continue to develop from week to week. Of course, it is an unpleasant situation for one or two players when they are not in the squad for the game. That is why it is all about getting back to full intensity in training from Monday. Our young team faces its next tough test on Saturday. As always, the boys will leave everything on the ice and try to win the game."

Gerhard Maier, Chairman EHC Crocodiles Kundl: "Although we won our opening league match at home, we will certainly come up against a very strong home team. We are looking forward to seeing plenty of great VEU fans and will do everything we can to ensure that we do not return home empty-handed."

Group South: Althofen welcomes Steindorf

Group South in the Ö Eishockey Liga also gets fully underway on Saturday with three games.

For ESC SoccerZone Steindorf, which has signed two very high-profile players in Stefan Bacher and Philipp Kreuzer and is considered a title contender, the match against 1st EHC Althofen at the Stadthalle Althofen will be its first real test.

The team coached by head coach Gerald Ressmann, meanwhile, already has two games under its belt. The Rhinos recorded both a defeat and a win against Spittal, and Ressmann sees his team as underdogs against the side from Lake Ossiach, but wants to find a way to compete with Steindorf.

Gerald Ressmann, Head Coach 1st EHC Althofen: "Steindorf has strengthened considerably with Stefan Bacher and Philipp Kreuzer, among others, and they are certainly one of the title favourites. We have to find a way to beat them. We need discipline, must not take any silly penalties, but we also need game discipline. It will be important to keep it at 0:0 for as long as possible."

Velden begins away at Spittal

The EC LiWoDruck Spittal host the USC Pirates Velden on Saturday.

The Pirates from Wörthersee head into their match at the Eis-Sport-Arena Spittal with a significant training deficit against the Hornets, who are already fully up to speed after completing three games. Head Coach Herwig Gressel’s team will only be able to train on Veldener ice from 16 November. Gressel sees his team as underdogs against Spittal due to the lack of ice time, but is nevertheless optimistic heading into the opening game.

Spittal have so far recorded one win against Althofen, one defeat against VSV's Young Eagles and one defeat against the Rhinos. Head Coach Florian Orzetek expects an evenly matched game, and the Hornets will not underestimate Velden despite their training deficit.

Florian Orzetek, Head Coach EC LiWoDruck Spittal: "I think it will be an evenly matched game on Saturday. Velden have not yet played a league game and, due to the lack of ice training on their own rink, certainly have a slight disadvantage compared to my team. The goaltending position will certainly also be decisive against Velden. On the one hand, I hope that our goaltender Renè Zauchner can build on his performances from the past games. On the other, we need to create plenty of traffic in front of Velden's net, as one of the best keepers in the league will certainly be playing against us. It was also very difficult to score goals against Velden last year, as their goaltender delivered a very good performance and certainly played a major part in winning the championship title (Kärntner AHC Division I/editor's note). We will prepare well for the game over the rest of the week and go into Saturday's game with a positive mindset."

Herwig Gressel, Head Coach USC Pirates Velden:“The fact that we will only be able to train in Velden for the first time on 16 November means that our preparation so far has been rather mixed. We are a long way behind Spittal in terms of training, with the team having completed just five sessions so far (with two more to follow this week). However, we are trying to make the best of it. The team already showed some promising signs and gained the necessary confidence in Sunday’s 5:2 win in the friendly against Huben. Even though Spittal are the favourites, we naturally want to start the season with a win.”

EC iDM VSV host the Eisbären from Huben

The situation ahead of Saturday's clash in Steindorf is somewhat curious for the Young Eagles of EC iDM VSV against the UECR Eisbären Huben.

Having played just one game and won it against Spittal, Villach are sitting top of the table, despite the Hornets having played three games and Althofen two. Of course, the table is still of little significance, but Head Coach Günther Lanzinger's team showed in their opener against Spittal that they will play a strong role in the South Group with fast, technically sound ice hockey.

Like Velden, Huben are facing the issue of having no ice at home in East Tyrol yet for regular training. Nevertheless, new Head Coach Silvio Trojer is very satisfied with the preparation and attitude of his players and is eager for the opener against VSV.

Silvio Trojer, Head Coach UECR Eisbären Huben: "Preparing for the season has not been easy, as we do not yet have ice in Huben. However, through many off-ice sessions since August and ice training in Radenthein and Toblach, I believe we have still made the best of this situation. The players' incredible attitude in terms of their willingness to travel, overnight stays and all the associated expenses deserves special mention. We were always able to train with four lines. That shows the attitude within this team. If you analyse the training and pre-season matches more closely, you can see that we are heading in the right direction. In terms of our potential, we are currently at around 80%, so there is still room for improvement, but you can always improve. We have a balanced squad, which also includes several U20 players. The focus is on developing young players and the individual improvement of individual players. The excellent cooperation with assistant coach Stefan Unterweger should also be mentioned; his expertise is a great support to me. Regarding the match against VSV: naturally, it will be another benchmark for us. I expect VSV to be a fast, skilful team. It will also be crucial how well we cope with the pace. The international break in the ICE and ALPS must also be taken into account, which naturally plays somewhat into VSV's hands in terms of squad depth. However, if we can call upon our current potential, combined with the experience we have, we can certainly compete with VSV. Nevertheless, VSV are the favourites for me, simply because of their greater match practice and their training advantage, especially on the ice."

North-East Group: WEV take on Murtal Lions

The Wiener Eislauf-Verein will host on Saturday the EV Zeltweg Murtal Lions at the Leithana ice rink in Bruck an der Leitha. For the Viennese, this match is their last home game in Lower Austria for the time being; from 26 November onwards, they will have four home games in the atmospheric setting of the Wiener Eislauf-Verein at Vienna's Heumarkt.

Most recently, the team coached by player-coach Mario Kubeczka celebrated a narrow 3:2 win against the Sharks from Gmunden. In the first meeting of the season against the Murtal Lions, WEV won 6:5 in overtime in Zeltweg.

The Styrians recently lost the derby against Kapfenberg but, according to chairman Christian Mayerl, gained the realisation that they are on equal terms with the Kangaroos at five-on-five. The Lions from the Murtal are now eager for revenge against the Viennese, with the game set to be pivotal in the battle for the playoff places.

Mario Kubeczka, player-coach, Wiener Eislauf-Verein: "The first game against Zeltweg was an open end-to-end battle. We can expect another game like that in front of our home fans on Saturday. Zeltweg have a good squad and outstanding experienced players in their ranks. We need to keep their key players under control, then we will see what the outcome is. We certainly will not hide. With passion and fighting spirit, we will give everything to win this game."

Christian Mayerl, chairman, EV Zeltweg Murtal Lions: "Unfortunately, we lost the first derby against Kapfenberg. We gave away too much and made too little of what was offered to us. But we saw that we can keep up with Kapfenberg and are on equal terms at five-on-five. That is exactly what we want to take into the game against WEV and improve our efficiency in Bruck an der Leitha. It will certainly be a very difficult game on the smaller ice surface, an advantage for the Viennese, who showed last season that they can handle it. The Lions will put up a full fight and take revenge for the first round to stay in touch in the battle for second place!"

Sharks Gmunden take on Dukes Graz

The UEHV RAUCH Technology Sharks Gmunden face the UHT Dukes Graz on Saturday in the North-East Group of the Ö Eishockey Liga.

The Sharks from Lake Traun have yet to get off the mark this season, suffering five defeats in five games. In the narrow 2:3 defeat against WEV last weekend, the return of goaltender Rudi Hummel provided stability in defence. The Upper Austrians are also playing well going forward, but chairman Thomas Schatzl laments their lack of clinical finishing.

Graz last played on 29 October, and their win at WEV has given the Dukes from the Styrian capital a good starting position in the battle to qualify for the playoffs. Following the clash with the Sharks, the first eagerly anticipated Graz city derby against ATSE awaits next Wednesday.

Thomas Schatzl, chairman, UEHV RAUCH Technology Sharks Gmunden: "The Dukes are the next opponents to come to our rink on Saturday, and three points are certainly possible against them. Unfortunately, our weakness in front of goal is still following us this season. We play quickly and create good chances, but that is usually where it ends. Seven goals in five games are simply not enough. In any case, we will try everything to finally win at home on Saturday."

Jurica Bednjanec, Head Coach, UHT Dukes Graz: "We know that something completely different awaits us in Gmunden, as we are no longer an unknown quantity. We will give our best against Gmunden and try to get points!"

West Group matchday

HC TIWAG Innsbruck - Die Haie II vs. SC SAMINA Hohenems
Fri, 11 November 2022, 19:00, TIWAG Arena

WSG Swarovski Wattens Penguins vs. HC Kufstein
Fri, 11 November 2022, 19:30, Alpenstadion

VEU Feldkirch vs. EHC Crocodiles Kundl
Sat, 12 November 2022, 19:30, Vorarlberghalle

Group North-East matchday

Wiener Eislauf-Verein vs. EV Zeltweg Murtal Lions
Sat, 12 November 2022, 15:15, Eishalle Leithana Bruck an der Leitha

UEHV RAUCH Technology Sharks Gmunden vs. UHT Dukes Graz
Sat, 12 November 2022, 18:15, Eishalle Gmunden

Group South matchday

1. EHC Althofen vs. ESC SoccerZone Steindorf
Sat, 12 November 2022, 15:15, Stadthalle Althofen

EC iDM VSV vs. UECR Eisbären Huben
Sat, 12 November 2022, 18:00, Ossiacher See Halle Steindorf

EC LiWoDruck Spittal vs. USC Pirates Velden
Sat, 12 November 2022, 18:15, Eis-Sport-Arena Spittal

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