HC Kufstein defeat VEU Feldkirch – Crocodiles Kundl win against Dornbirn
There were two games in the Ö Eishockey Liga Division West on Boxing Day: HC Kufstein defeated VEU Feldkirch 5:2. EHC Crocodiles Kundl struggled for a long time against a Dornbirner EC side that battled superbly, but ultimately won 4:1 to move into third place in the standings. On Friday, the eagerly anticipated Kufstein district derby between EHC Crocodiles Kundl and HC Kufstein takes place. The final game of the year will be contested by SC Hohenems and Dornbirner EC on the penultimate day of the year (Saturday).
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HC KufsteinHC Kufsteinmet VEU Feldkirch for the fourth and penultimate time in the Division West regular season. The Tyroleans had previously put together a flawless record against the side from Vorarlberg. Three games, three wins after 60 minutes was the Dragons’ record in this season.
In the fourth meeting, the team coached by head coach Ivo Novotny took an early 1:0 lead through Philipp Sappl (at 6). Just under five minutes later, Philipp Sappl once again finished off a combination with Manuel Eder, as he had for the 1:0, beating VEU netminder Kevin Wanger for 2:0 (at 11). Although the hosts had the upper hand, Feldkirch quickly battled their way back into the game, with Marcel Wohlmuth cutting the deficit to 1:2 (at 13).
After a scoreless middle period in which the Dragons remained dominant but VEU’s Kevin Wanger kept his net clean and his team in the game, the side from Vorarlberg caught Kufstein off guard in the final period: Yannick Wiedner levelled the score at 2:2 (at 44), suddenly leaving the game wide open again.
The second-placed side stepped up a gear and Jonas Repo put Kufstein 3:2 ahead nine minutes from time (at 52). Herbert Steiner made it 4:2 exactly five minutes before the final buzzer (at 56). The final decision came two and a half minutes later, when Philipp Sappl made it 5:2 with an empty-net goal, his third of the game (at 58). Following the 5:2 victory over Feldkirch, Kufstein now face an away derby against EHC Crocodiles Kundl on Friday.
EHC Kundl win against Dornbirn
With a home double-header, EHC Crocodiles Kundl are seeing out 2023. First, the side from the lower Inn Valley hosted Dornbirner EC on Boxing Day. The young Bulldogs, coached by head coach Pavel Takač, had travelled to Tyrol with only ten skaters – two lines of five – and matched the Crocodiles well in the first period, with the hosts taking a relaxed approach after the Christmas celebrations.
At the other end, netminder David Bernhard was solid and kept a clean sheet. Late in the first period, Dornbirn suddenly took a 1:0 lead when Sebastian Koberger fired from the blue line and scored (at 17). Exactly one second (!) before the period buzzer, Kundl forward Daniel Frischmann made it 1:1 from close range (at 20).
The Bulldogs also played with confidence in the opening minutes of the second period and even had good opportunities. The hosts continued to have the upper hand and André Flatscher made it 2:1 after a fine attacking move (at 26). Even after falling behind, the side from Vorarlberg fought tenaciously with their extremely short line-up, stood up to their opponents and kept the game open for a long time.
In the final period, the side from Vorarlberg even pressed repeatedly for an equaliser at times. Kundl had the upper hand, but the game was only virtually decided ten minutes from time when Sebastian Schild scored from the slot to make it 3:1 (at 51). 48 seconds later, Vladimir Dolnik made it 4:1 for the Crocodiles (at 51). That finally ended the superbly battling Bulldogs’ hopes of taking points.
With the 4:1 win, EHC Crocodiles Kundl took over third place in the standings from VEU Feldkirch. On Friday, the eagerly anticipated district derby against HC Kufstein takes place at Eisarena Kundl. The Dragons have won all previous local derbies.
Ö Eishockey Liga – Division West:
HC Kufstein vs. VEU Feldkirch 5:2 (2:1,0:0,3:1)
Tue, 26 December 2023, 17:30, Eisarena Kufstein
HC Kufstein scorers: Philipp Sappl (at 05:50, 10:14 and 57:33/EN), Jonas Repo (at 51:09), Herbert Steiner (at 55:00)
VEU Feldkirch goalscorers: Marcel Wohlmuth (at 12:05), Yannick Wiedner (at 43:43)
EHC Crocodiles Kundl vs. Dornbirner EC 4:1 (1:1,1:0,2:0)
Tue, 26 December 2023, 19:30, Eisarena Kundl
EHC Crocodiles Kundl goalscorers: Daniel Frischmann (at 19:59), André Flatscher (at 25:29), Sebastian Schild (at 50:04), Vladimir Dolnik (at 50:52)
Dornbirner EC goalscorer: Sebastian Koberger (at 16:18)
EHC Crocodiles Kundl vs. HC Kufstein
Fri, 29 December 2023, 19:30, Eisarena Kundl
SC Samina Hohenems vs. Dornbirner EC
Sat, 30 December 2023, 17:30, Eisstadion Hohenems
All standings, statistics and fixtures for the Ö Eishockey Liga in the Gamecenter
