Final! Sharks Gmunden or SC Hohenems – who is on course for the title?

Championship showdown in the Ö Eishockey Liga, part I: Sharks Gmunden host SC Hohenems in the first leg of the final at the Muki Eisarena Gmunden on Saturday. Both teams are battling for a strong position ahead of the second and decisive match, which takes place a week later on 15 March. As in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, the aggregate score over the two legs counts, with the winner crowned Austrian champion of the Ö Eishockey Liga – season 2024/2025.

07 March 20254 min read

Final – first leg: UEHV CAM4DENT Sharks Gmunden vs. SC Samina Hohenems

Sat., 08 March 2025, 18:30, Muki Eisarena Gmunden

The UEHV CAM4DENT Sharks Gmunden host SC Samina Hohenems at the Muki Eisarena Gmunden on Saturday in the first leg of the final for the Austrian championship in the Ö Eishockey Liga. It is a somewhat surprising first instalment of the big showdown, with the Sharks and the Steinböcke, who both finished third in their respective divisions after the regular season, facing each other.

Sharks Gmunden defeated HC Kufstein 6:5 on aggregate in the quarter-finals. After the Sharks lost the home game 0:4, they won the away game 6:1. In the semi-finals, the team, superbly prepared by head coach Gregor Baumgartner, followed up a 2:2 draw in the first leg against EHC Lustenau, who had been considered title favourites until then, with a sensational 4:1 away win in the return leg. This resulted in an aggregate score of 6:3 and saw the Sharks reach the Ö Eishockey Liga final for the first time.

SC Hohenems know the final situation from the past two seasons, with the Vorarlberg side narrowly falling short of the title on both occasions. In 2023, ESC SoccerZone Steindorf were crowned champions, while Kapfenberger SV won the title in 2024. The Steinböcke gained revenge for their previous season’s final defeat to the Mürztal side in the quarter-finals. Following a 1:3 home defeat, head coach Thomas Sticha’s team came back away from home, with the Hohenems side ultimately prevailing in overtime and 4:3 on aggregate.

In the semi-finals, the skating club secured a strong position with a 3:0 home win against WEV, and Patrick Spannring and co. then made sure of the result in the return leg. A 1:0 win and an aggregate score of 4:0 sealed their third consecutive appearance in the final. There has already been one Sharks-versus-Steinböcke clash in the Ö Eishockey Liga play-offs: in the inaugural 2021/2022 season, SC Hohenems prevailed 6:2 away at the Traunsee in the quarter-finals, then 7:4 in the return leg and 13:6 on aggregate.

Both teams can rely on their goaltenders. HSC netminder Karlo Škec has been in outstanding form in the play-offs so far. The Croatian recorded shutouts in three of four games, with the goaltender only having to pick the puck out of his net three times in the opening home game of the quarter-finals against Kapfenberger SV. He did not concede another goal before reaching the final. His save percentage is an excellent 97,7%.

His opposite number Luka Gračnar has had to retrieve the puck from the net eight times in the play-offs so far, but it was particularly his performances in the away return legs of the quarter-finals against Kufstein and the semi-finals against EHC Lustenau that laid the foundations for the Sharks’ place in the final. Gračnar’s play-off save percentage stands at a strong 94,5%.

Both teams have performed well on the power play in the play-offs so far. Gmunden scored four goals on 14 power plays in four games, equating to 28,57%. SC Hohenems had eleven power plays and scored three goals, equating to 27,27%.

On the penalty kill, the Vorarlberg side have been a force so far, conceding no goals in nine shorthanded situations for a penalty-killing percentage of 100%. The Upper Austrians conceded two goals in 13 shorthanded situations, while they even scored a shorthanded goal in the 2:2 semi-final home game against Lustenau. Their penalty-killing percentage heading into the final is therefore 84,62%.

Gregor Baumgartner, head coach of Sharks Gmunden, still sees his team as underdogs, but promises that his players will leave everything on the ice: “We are delighted to have reached the final, but we want to continue believing in something very big. Of course, we are clear underdogs in the final against last year’s finalists as well, but we will once again give everything at home in front of our fans to put ourselves in a good position for the showdown in Hohenems!”

Hohenems head coach Thomas Sticha and his team will not underestimate the Sharks after their play-off performances so far: "Anyone who comes back into the series after a 0:4 defeat against Kufstein and then goes on to beat Lustenau will certainly not be underestimated. Nevertheless, our focus is on our own game. We are a compact team with many strengths in important areas. We now need to make use of these again. We will try to take our chances and allow the opposition as little as possible. And we will show the necessary patience that is important in the play-offs."

The return leg of the final takes place on Saturday, 15 March 2025 from 18:30 at the Eisstadion Hohenems.