EC VSV Austrian champions after derby victory in the ÖEHV U13 Championship

EC VSV's U13 team won the decisive third final in the Carinthian derby away at EC KAC's Heidi Horten Arena by a narrow 1:0 margin, securing a 2:1 victory in the best-of-three series and becoming the new Austrian champions in the ÖEHV U13 Championship.

19 March 20241 min read

Villach, who had won their semi-final series against Red Bull Salzburg 2:0, claimed the first final on Saturday by a narrow 4:3 margin after a penalty shoot-out and could have celebrated the title in their own ice rink on Sunday with home-ice advantage. However, the young KAC players, who had defeated the Graz 99ers in the semi-finals, had other ideas and won 5:1.

This made a deciding game in Klagenfurt necessary. The match was highly dramatic: EC VSV took a 1:0 lead through Timo Uschan with just under a minute remaining in the first period (19.).

The blue-and-whites were the dominant side, had more shots on goal and were solid defensively. In addition, VSV goaltender Rosalie Hohenwarter-Sodek did not concede a goal and recorded a shutout in the decisive final.

In the end, KAC took a risk and pulled goaltender Valentin Fradler. However, the young Red Jackets were unable to find an equaliser. EC VSV's U13 team, coached by head coach Philipp Pinter, won 1:0, took the series 2:1 and are Austrian champions of the ÖEHV U13 Championship 2023/2024.