Crocodiles Kundl unable to stop league leaders Lustenau in Friday blockbuster

League leaders EHC Lustenau won the Division West top-of-the-table clash away to EHC Crocodiles Kundl 5:3, celebrating their seventh win in seven games. On Saturday, HC Kufstein host SC Hohenems, while the Wattens Penguins welcome the Dornbirner Bulldogs to the Alpenstadion for their home opener. In Division East, pursuers HDK Maribor host leaders Sharks Gmunden. WEV had to cancel their open-air debut in front of the Wiener Konzerthaus against champions Kapfenberg due to a technical fault; a new date will follow.

15 November 20246 min read

The Division West top-of-the-table clash between challengers EHC Crocodiles Kundl and league leaders EHC Lustenau ushered in the next round of the Ö Eishockey Liga on Friday. Following their first meeting in mid-October, the Crocodiles still had a score to settle: before Friday's clash, that 4:6 had been Kundl's only defeat to date.

The leaders from Vorarlberg showed no mercy in the opening period at the Eisarena am Inn, taking a 1:0 lead through Philipp Koczera after exactly one minute. The Lions played with great confidence and added another: Jonas Kutzer made it 2:0 early on (9.).

The Crocodiles made the better start to the second period and struck back for the first time with a goal to reduce the deficit: Josef Flick made it 1:2 for the Tyroleans and made the game exciting (24.). Head coach Daniel Fekete's team responded quickly, with Mattias Adam restoring the two-goal lead exactly a minute and a half later (26.).

This cat-and-mouse game was repeated towards the end of the period: Felix Koschek gave the Kundl fans renewed hope by making it 2:3 (37.). But just 43 seconds later, Thomas Auer scored to make it 4:2 for Lustenau (38.).

As in the second period, the hosts made the better start to the final period: Daniel Frischmann pulled it back to 3:4 after just 35 seconds, with Kundl reducing the deficit for the third time (41.).

The blockbuster remained exciting, but head coach Jaro Betka's team could not find an equaliser on home ice. On the contrary: Adem Kandemir made it 5:3 for the league leaders (50.). A few minutes later, emotions boiled over. The Crocodiles could not mount another push, not least because they were shorthanded at the end. Lustenau won 5:3 to celebrate their seventh victory in seven games.

HC Kufstein vs. SC Samina Hohenems

Sat., 16 November 2024, 17:35, Eisarena Kufstein

The HC Kufstein host SC Samina Hohenems on Saturday. In the direct clash with the Steinböcke, the Dragons will be looking to avoid losing touch with the top three of Lustenau, Kundl and Hohenems. The Vorarlberg side are level on points with the Crocodiles ahead of the weekend, but trail the previously dominant league leaders and local rivals Lustenau by eight points.

Kufstein chairman Roland Luchner is counting on his team being more clinical: "Despite the clear defeat against Lustenau, we saw that we are not far off. We have to get our scoring sorted out, then we will be in contention. It will be difficult again against Hohenems. But I think that, with the fans behind us, anything is possible."

In their first meeting at the start of the season, the Kufstein side were able to keep the game close only until shortly after the halfway point, after which Hohenems pulled away to 6:1 with five unanswered goals.

The match ended in a 6:2 victory for the team coached by Head Coach Thomas Sticha, who is expecting a tough away battle: "After two consecutive defeats, we got back on track last week and will try to carry that momentum into the game against Kufstein. We will try to force the opposition into mistakes and then capitalise on them. We expect an intense, physical game and will put in the necessary effort to take points back home over the Arlberg!"

WSG Swarovski Wattens Penguins vs. Dornbirner EC

Sat, 16 November 2024, 19:30, Alpenstadion Wattens

The WSG Swarovski Wattens Penguins will celebrate their eagerly awaited home comeback in the Ö Eishockey Liga against Dornbirner EC on Saturday. With several adaptations and new features, the Alpenstadion is ready for the Penguins' season opener on familiar ice against the Bulldogs. After five consecutive away games in Vorarlberg, the Tyroleans welcome the team against whom they recorded their only win of the current season so far, Dornbirn.

Wattens coach Manfred Burgstaller is heading into the first home game with his team in a positive frame of mind: "After five extremely difficult away games, we are naturally all delighted to finally be training on our own ice and to have our first home game this weekend. We will head into this weekend positively and with plenty of enthusiasm. We certainly will not underestimate Dornbirn, as we also found it difficult in Dornbirn, but we are very confident that we can put points on the board this weekend!"

Although the young Bulldogs have lost all of their games so far, they picked up their first point against Kufstein at the start of November. Most recently, they suffered a heavy defeat against Crocodiles Kundl. They can take hope from the memory of the first meeting, in which the Dornbirn side pushed the Penguins all the way and lost only 1:3.

Dornbirn chairman Christof Schwendinger knows how important this game is: "Saturday's game in Wattens is a six-pointer. Under no circumstances do we want to lose touch in the table. We were caught by surprise in the first game against Wattens. That will not happen to us again; we will be ready from the very first second!"

Division East:

HDK Maribor vs. UEHV CAM4DENT Sharks Gmunden

Sat, 16 November 2024, 18:30, Ledena dvorana Maribor

The big showdown in Division East takes place on Saturday at the Ledena dvorana Maribor: current second-placed HDK Maribor welcomes league leaders UEHV CAM4DENT Sharks Gmunden for a hotly contested battle for top spot. Neither team has any previous experience of this direct matchup, with the game marking the first meeting between the foxes from the Drava and the sharks from Lake Traun. The Slovenians recently secured revenge for their away defeat with the 4:1 win over ATSE Graz – their second win in regulation time.

Maribor head coach Jure Verlič knows how his team must approach the game against the Sharks: "We have to be consistent for 60 minutes and play every shift with discipline. From the games we have played so far, we can see that the league is close. You therefore have to give 100% in every aspect of the game to achieve a good result. It will be the same against Gmunden. We are playing in front of our fans, so we have to play with plenty of energy, play quickly and stay out of the penalty box to achieve a positive result."

After three consecutive wins, the Upper Austrians suffered their first defeat of the season last weekend, losing 3:4 to WEV after a penalty shoot-out thriller.

Wiener Eislauf-Verein vs. KSV Kängurus cancelled – new date to follow

The long-awaited home debut of Wiener Eislauf-Verein against Kapfenberger SV had to be cancelled due to a technical fault, according to WEV. A new date will be announced.

ATSE Graz have a bye – the Styrians return to action against Wiener Eislauf-Verein on 23 November.

Ö Eishockey Liga – Division West:

EHC Crocodiles Kundl vs. EHC Lustenau 3:5 (0:2,2:2,1:1)
Fri, 15 November 2024, 19:30, Eisarena Kundl
EHC Crocodiles Kundl goalscorers: Josef Flick (23:06), Felix Koschek (36:49), Daniel Frischmann (40:35)
EHC Lustenau goalscorers: Philipp Koczera (01:00), Jonas Kutzer (08:50), Mattias Adam (25:36), Thomas Auer (37:32), Adem Kandemir (49:47)

HC Kufstein vs. SC Samina Hohenems

Sat, 16 November 2024, 17:35, Eisarena Kufstein

WSG Swarovski Wattens Penguins vs. Dornbirner EC

Sat, 16 November 2024, 19:30, Alpenstadion Wattens