Final show­down: Lustenau or Kapfen­berg – who will be crowned cham­pions of the Ö Eishockey Liga?

Championship showdown in the Ö Eishockey Liga, part III: EHC Lustenau will face the KSV Kängurus at the Rheinhalle on Saturday in the decisive third game of the best-of-three series. Last Saturday, the Styrians levelled the series in the second final game at the Stadthalle Kapfenberg, claiming a narrow 3:2 home win over the Lions in front of an impressive crowd of 3.140 fans.

The Vorarlberg side had won their first home game 4:2 in front of 1.871 fans, meaning that just over 5.000 fans have attended this final series so far. With the series tied at 1:1, the situation is clear: the winner of the third game will be crowned champions of the Ö Eishockey Liga – 2025/2026 season.

Kapfenberg handed Lustenau their first defeat of this year's play-offs – EHC had swept both their quarter-final series against ATSE Graz and their semi-final series against HC Kufstein (2:0). Overall, it was only the third defeat of the season for the Ländle side.

The Mürztal side surprisingly lost their opening home game of the quarter-finals against EHC Kundl 1:2 after a penalty shootout, but then prevailed in the series 2:1. In the semi-finals, Kapfenberg defeated SC Hohenems 2:0; the home game in particular was highly spectacular, with a comeback from 0:3 and 1:4 down in the closing minutes of the final period, followed by a 5:4 win after a penalty shootout. The Kängurus then suffered their second play-off defeat in Lustenau in the first final game. Both finalists therefore have five play-off wins so far.

126 games have been played in the current Ö Eishockey Liga season, and the 127th game on Saturday will decide the title. A little fun fact: had the final been played in the Champions Hockey League format, as it had been in the previous four seasons, EHC Lustenau would have been champions on aggregate with a score of 6:5. But that is in the past; the near future promises an ice hockey showdown of the highest calibre at the Rheinhalle in Lustenau from 17:30 on Saturday. High tension is guaranteed in this thriller trilogy even before the opening face-off!

Dániel Fekete, Head Coach of EHC Lustenau, knows what matters for his team now: "We have analysed the game in Kapfenberg. Our focus is now on the decisive third game, which we can play in front of our home crowd. We will give everything to ensure the trophy stays in Lustenau so that we can celebrate the title together. We face 60 or more intense minutes of hockey, during which Kapfenberg will demand everything from us – but the team is prepared for this big showdown. From a solid defensive base, we will try to put the opposition under pressure from the outset. An early goal would of course help our efforts. Nevertheless, we will not be reckless and play too offensively. Our team hopes for loud support from the stands so that the home-ice advantage at the Rheinhalle is there from the very first minute!"

Kapfenberg player-coach Kristof Reinthaler is relying on a strong defence and efficient finishing in the decisive away title clash: "We definitely have to replicate Saturday's performance. We have seen that we can play strongly in defence and create good chances in attack, even if there are not as many as we are used to. We have to take the few we get and be fully alert at the back!"

KSV forward Kevin Moderer is drawing on the energy from the series so far: "We have one game left now. We have to see how we approach it, keep our energy level high, and then we will see what happens!"

Ö Eishockey Liga 2025/2026 – Play-offs – Final

Game 3:

EHC Lustenau vs. KSV Kängurus
Sat., 21 March 2026, 17:30, Rheinhalle Lustenau – >> to the livestream

Best-of-three series score: 1:1

Game 2:

KSV Kängurus vs. EHC Lustenau 3:2 (2:1,0:1,1:0)
Sat., 14 March 2026, 18:30, Stadthalle Kapfenberg
KSV Kängurus goalscorers: Pierre Graf (01:27), Kevin Moderer (06:02), Michael Malle (40:30)
EHC Lustenau goalscorers: Robin Wüstner (04:45), Lucas Haberl (34:36/SH1)

Game 1:

EHC Lustenau vs. KSV Kängurus 4:2 (0:0,1:0,3:2)
Sat., 07 March 2026, 17:30, Rheinhalle Lustenau
EHC Lustenau goalscorers: Riku Tiainen (39:55, 47:06), Martin Grabher Meier (41:32), Jonas Kutzer (53:43/PP1)
KSV Kängurus goalscorers: Pierre Graf (45:23), Christoph Draschkowitz (54:23)

Ö Eishockey Liga 2025/2026 - Play-offs - Semi-finals

Game 2:

HC Kufstein vs. EHC Lustenau 0:8 (0:2,0:6,0:0)
Sat., 28 February 2026, 17:30, Eisarena Kufstein
EHC Lustenau goalscorers: Dominic Haberl (01:11), Christopher D’Alvise (08:30, 34:00, 36:14/PP1), Martin Grabher Meier (27:24, 29:19/PP1), Robin Wüstner (29:54), Lucas Haberl (37:37/PP1)

Final score in the best-of-three series: 0:2

SC Hohenems vs. KSV Kängurus 3:7 (0:4,2:2,1:1)
Sat., 28 February 2026, 18:30, Eisstadion Hohenems
SC Hohenems scorers: Eric Ockert (21:43 min), Patrick Spannring (35:43 min/PP1), Ricards Purins (49:13 min)
KSV Kängurus scorers: Neal Unterluggauer (03:18 min), Florian Hoppl (06:55 min), Kevin Moderer (07:43 min), Lukas Draschkowitz (19:28 min/PP2), Pierre Graf (32:00 min), Manuel Trost (32:25 min), Luca Fasching (58:58 min/EN)

Final score in the best-of-three series: 0:2

Game 1:

EHC Lustenau vs. HC Kufstein 4:1 (0:1,3:0,1:0)
Sat, 21 February 2026, 17:30, Rheinhalle Lustenau
EHC Lustenau scorers: Christopher D’Alvise (24:41 min, 33:10 min), Adem Kandemir (26:45 min), Riku Tiainen (49:57 min)
HC Kufstein scorer: Christian Pittl (15:16 min)

KSV Kängurus vs. SC Hohenems 5:4 n.P. (0:2,1:1,3:1,0:0,1:0)
Sat, 21 February 2026, 18:30, Stadthalle Kapfenberg
KSV Kängurus scorers: Manuel Trost (34:01 min), Lukas Draschkowitz (54:01 min/PP2), Pierre Graf (57:34 min), Neal Unterluggauer (58:34 min), Florian Hoppl (65:00 min/decisive penalty)
SC Hohenems scorers: Patrick Spannring (02:22 min), Fabian Mandlburger (12:21 min), Eric Ockert (30:21 min, 50:29 min)

Ö Eishockey Liga 2025/2026 - Play-offs - Quarter-finals

Game 3:

KSV Kängurus vs. EHC Kundl 5:2 (1:1,2:1,2:0)
Wed, 18 February 2026, 18:30, Stadthalle Kapfenberg
KSV Kängurus scorers: Pierre Graf (11:16/PP2, 23:23/PP1), Luca Fasching (37:08), Lukas Telsnig (53:58)
EHC Kundl scorers: Maximilian Mackner (08:12), Lukas Thaler (31:16/PP1)

Final score in the best-of-three series: 2:1

SC Samina Hohenems vs. Wiener Eislauf-Verein 6:1 (2:0,2:1,2:0)
Wed, 18 February 2026, 19:30, Rheinhalle Lustenau
SC Hohenems scorers: Ricards Purins (00:54, 10:29/PP1, 25:27/PP2, 36:40), Dominik Hron (48:32), Sandro Schadl (55:50/SH1/EN)
Wiener Eislauf-Verein scorer: Xaver Emslander (30:13)

Final score in the best-of-three series: 2:1

Game 2:

ATSE Graz vs. EHC Lustenau 1:4 (0:1,0:0,1:3)
Sat, 14 February 2026, 18:30, Graz Merkur Eisstadion (Hall A)
ATSE Graz scorer: Filip Matijević (43:49)
EHC Lustenau scorers: Lucas Haberl (02:14), Martin Grabher Meier (40:38) Robin Wüstner (47:51), Christopher D’Alvise (58:58/SH1/EN)

Final score in the best-of-three series: 0:2

EHC Kundl vs. KSV Kängurus 0:6 (0:3,0:3,0:0)
Sat, 14 February 2026, 17:30, Eisarena Kundl
Goalscorers KSV Kängurus: Kevin Moderer (09:19 Min.), Pierre Graf (10:24 Min./PP1), Christoph Draschkowitz (13:26 Min., 28:30 Min.), Stefan Trost (33:10 Min.), Phileas Lyssy (38:18 Min./PP1)

HC Kufstein vs. UEHV CAM4DENT Sharks Gmunden 4:3 n.P. (2:2,0:0,1:1,0:0,1:0)
Sat., 14 February 2026, 17:30, Eisarena Kufstein
Goalscorers HC Kufstein: Stefan Reiter (12:30 Min., 41:22 Min.), Aleksi Airaksinen (19:31 Min.), Clemens Paulweber (65:00 Min./decisive penalty)
Goalscorers Sharks Gmunden: Moritz Neurauter (02:24 Min.), 09:53 Hubert Berger (09:53 Min.), Jonas Kail (52:57 Min./PP1)

Final score in the best-of-three series: 2:0

Wiener Eislauf-Verein vs. SC Samina Hohenems 3:2 (1:1,1:0,1:1)
Sat., 14 February 2026, 18:00, WEV Arena Heumarkt
Goalscorers Wiener Eislauf-Verein: Patrick Bolterle (17:05 Min.), Rupert Fichtinger (29:11 Min./PP1), Richard Gruber (45:21 Min.)
Goalscorers SC Hohenems: Christian Haidinger (02:55 Min.), Marcel Wolf (57:51 Min./PP1)

Game 1:

EHC Lustenau vs. ATSE Graz 7:2 (2:0,2:0,3:2)
Sat., 07 February 2026, 17:30, Rheinhalle Lustenau
Goalscorers EHC Lustenau: Christopher D‘Alvise (12:22 Min., 32:25 Min., 50:14 Min.), David Slivnik (12:53 Min.), Daniel Stefan (33:42 Min.), Manuel Metzler (52:50 Min./PP1), Ricardo Bell (59:14 Min.)
Goalscorers ATSE Graz: Cody Wickstrom (43:42 Min.), Mathias Werkl (47:46 Min.)

KSV Kängurus vs. EHC Kundl 1:2 n.P. (1:0,0:0,0:1,0:0,0:1)
Sat., 07 February 2026, 19:30, Stadthalle Kapfenberg
KSV Kängurus scorer: Lukas Telsnig (17:58/PP1)
EHC Kundl scorers: Sebastian Schild (51:48), Michal Kluka (65:00/decisive penalty)

UEHV CAM4DENT Sharks Gmunden vs. HC Kufstein 3:4 after overtime (2:1,0:1,1:1,0:1)
Sat., 07 February 2026, 18:30, muki Arena
Sharks Gmunden scorers: Lukas Stöttner (03:40), Fabian Richter (19:36), Paul Pirklbauer (50:51/PP1)
HC Kufstein scorers: Markus Prock (06:24/PP1, 44:00/PP1), Clemens Paulweber (35:01/SH1, 60:50)

SC Samina Hohenems vs. Wiener Eislauf-Verein 5:1 (1:0,2:1,2:0)
Sat., 07 February 2026, 17:30, Eisstadion Hohenems
SC Hohenems scorers: Marcel Wolf (03:52), Patrick Spannring (20:23, 57:36/EN), Christian Haidinger (34:57), Benjamin Kyllönen (52:15)
Wiener Eislauf-Verein scorer: Lukas Kaider (23:02)

Play-off format

The play-off match-ups, from the quarter-finals through the semi-finals to the final, are each decided in a best-of-three series (H/A/H). The teams that are first to record two wins advance to the semi-finals. If the score is level after regulation time, as in the regular season, a five-minute three-on-three overtime period is played. Should overtime also fail to produce a winner, a penalty shootout follows. In the semi-finals, the highest-ranked quarter-final winner after Phase 1 plays the lowest-ranked quarter-final winner after Phase 1. The semi-final winners meet in the final.

All standings, statistics and fixtures for the Ö Eishockey Liga in the Gamecenter

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