Hohenems hand Lustenau their first derby defeat - Gmunden beat cham­pions Kapfen­berg

The Vorarlberg derby between SC Samina Hohenems and EHC Lustenau took place in the Western Division on Saturday. The Steinböcke had lost the first meeting between the local rivals and the Löwen 2:6 away from home on National Day and were eager for revenge at the atmospheric Herrenriedstadion. 

After just 30 seconds, the hosts led 1:0 following a combination between brothers: Stefan Spannring shot from the blue line and Patrick Spannring converted the rebound from close range (1. minute). The league leaders' response was not long in coming: Thomas Auer scored with a precise shot from the slot to make it 1:1 (4. minute). The home side regained the lead: on a 5:3 power play, Benjamin Kyllönen was in the right place after a save by Lustenau netminder Lukas Reihs and made it 2:1 (13. minute).

At the start of the second period, the team coached by head coach Thomas Sticha successfully killed two penalties in succession. Lustenau lacked conviction in this phase and found Hohenems netminder Karlo Škec in outstanding form. The visitors were then also dominant at five-on-five, pinning the Schlittschuhclub in their defensive zone and registering a host of shots on goal. 

The Steinböcke then went on the power play, but Lustenau won the puck in the attacking zone while shorthanded and leading scorer Martin Grabher Meier equalised from close range for 2:2 (33. minute). Hohenems were more efficient in front of goal: with two seconds remaining on that power play, they regained the lead as Marcel Wolf pounced to make it 3:2 (35. minute). 

The derby remained highly exciting in the final period. Hohenems were unable to use two further power plays to seal the game. Lustenau even had to kill a third penalty late on and valuable time elapsed in their bid to find an equaliser. In the end, the visitors pulled netminder Reihs, but SC Hohenems held on to their slender 3:2 lead until the final siren and handed the dominant league leaders their first defeat of the season, of all games in the derby.

Wattens Penguins beat Crocodiles Kundl

On Friday, WSG Swarovski Wattens Penguins hosted EHC Crocodiles Kundl at the Alpenstadion. The Lower Inn Valley derby was the first meeting between the two clubs this season and developed into a lively affair in the opening period, with chances at both ends. Both netminders – Wotan Knecht for Wattens and Jakub Kostelny for Kundl – kept clean sheets for the first 20 minutes.

The hosts took an early lead in the second period: with a delayed penalty being called, Ricards Purins caught Kundl netminder Kostelny by surprise and swept the puck over the line from close range to make it 1:0 (23. minute). Having killed a penalty, the Crocodiles now had to play more offensively. Wattens were solid defensively and held their slender lead until the second intermission. 

Wattens extended their lead in the final period as snowfall at the Alpenstadion grew increasingly heavy: on a power play, Pavel Sukharev converted a cross-ice pass from Ricards Purins to make it 2:0 (46. minute). The visitors were unable to capitalise on a power play five minutes from time. Kundl head coach Jaroslav Betka pulled his netminder at the end, and Kundl also had another power play, but the Crocodiles were unable to score again. Wattens netminder Wotan Knecht recorded a shutout and helped his team to a second consecutive home win.

Kufstein edge Dornbirner EC

To conclude the round, HC Kufstein won away to Dornbirner ECa narrow 5:4 victory and moved up to third place in the standings. The Bulldogs led 2:0 through goals from Lukas Göggel (3.) and Mathias Hofer (7.) before the Dragons turned the game around to 3:2 with three unanswered goals from Florian Eder (16.) and Fabian Nußbaumer (21./29./PP1).

Fabio Haas equalised at 3:3 in the second period (37.), but the Tyroleans pulled away to 5:3 in the final period through Sandro Haller (51.) and Clemens Paulweber (56./PP1). Tobias Metzler-Wagner made the game exciting again on the power play (57.). In the end, Kufstein held on for the narrow victory.

Division Ost:

Second win of the season for Sharks Gmunden against champions Kapfenberg

The big clash in the Division Ost of the Ö Eishockey Liga on Saturday was KSV Kängurus against UEHV CAM4DENT Sharks Gmunden. The defending champions from the Mürztal had a score to settle with the Sharks, after the Upper Austrians narrowly won the first meeting of the season 5:4 at the Haifischbecken on Lake Traunsee in mid-October. 

The league leaders also made the better start away from home: following a quick attack down the left, Johannes Mackner caught Kapfenberg netminder Oliver Zirngast by surprise and made it 1:0 (3.). The Sharks then had two further gilt-edged chances on a swift counter-attack, but Moritz Neurauter and Johannes Mackner were both denied by Zirngast within seconds. 

The champions then increasingly took control and created good chances. However, it was the visitors who scored: after a well-worked attack, Moritz Neurauter fired home from the right to make it 2:0 for the league leaders (17.).

In the second period, Kapfenberg pressed for a goal to cut the deficit, but it took a long time to arrive. Stefan Trost beat Luka Gračnar from the left to make it 1:2 (33.). The confident Upper Austrians had an immediate response after winning possession in the offensive zone: following a one-two, Mario Pichler tapped into the empty net from close range to make it 3:1 (35.). And the Sharks added another: Patrick Gaffal fired from the blue line and extended the lead to 4:1 (40.). 

Just moments into the final period, the game was wide open again: Florian Hoppl scored from the left face-off circle with a superb shot into the far corner to make it 2:4 for the Kängurus (42.). Shortly afterwards, Iacopo Granza sent Pierre Graf clear, and the goalscorer needed no second invitation to pull one back for 3:4 (45.). Suddenly, the clash was highly exciting again, but only for 13 seconds: KSV netminder Zirngast presented Bastian Szieber with the puck, and he scored 5:3 from close range (45.). 

The team coached by player-coach Kris Reinthaler then threw everything forward and also had a 5:3 power play. The apparent goal to cut the deficit was disallowed for a high stick. Following a face-off, Mathias Haiböck made it 6:3 for Gmunden (57.), sealing the result in a genuine ice hockey thriller. 

However, the Sharks had not yet satisfied their appetite for goals: with 56 seconds remaining, Mathias Haiböck was once again on hand to score 7:3 for the league leaders from close range (60.). The Sharks won their second meeting of the season with the champions as well and extended their lead at the top of the standings.

Wiener Eislauf-Verein leave no doubt at ATSE Graz

The ATSE Graz met Wiener Eislauf-Verein in the Division Ost on Saturday in a timeless classic. The meeting of two storied and illustrious names in Austrian ice hockey was an early-season key game in the battle for play-off places and a so-called six-pointer between direct neighbours in the standings. 

Both teams played offensively from the outset, with play moving quickly from end to end in the first period. After a determined surge forward, Theodor Fichtinger entered the offensive zone and scored with a fine shot to make it 1:0 for WEV (16.).

The Viennese made a flying start to the second period: following an attack down the right, ATSE netminder Paul Mocher saved the puck, but defenceman Richard Gruber sent a precise shot from the slot into the net to make it 2:0 (22.). Little changed in the nature of the game thereafter, and Graz also created chances. 

However, Philipp Ullrich's team were more efficient in front of goal: following a textbook counter-attack, Stefan Nador made it 3:0 for WEV just after the halfway point of the game (31.). The Viennese then sought to keep the game under control. In addition, netminder Moritz Merkader did not concede before the second siren. 

Early in the final period, WEV added another: Tobias Schönauer scored after 30 seconds to make it 4:0, effectively deciding the game in favour of the visitors (41). ATSE were unable to turn the match around, quite the opposite: Rene Pospisil deflected a shot to make it 5:0 (52). The Viennese side then comfortably saw out the win, with goaltender Moritz Merkader recording a shutout. WEV are now second in the table behind the Sharks from Gmunden.

HDK Maribor had a bye – the Füchse are back in action at WEV on 30 November.

Ö Eishockey Liga - Division West:

SC Samina Hohenems vs. EHC Lustenau 3:2 (2:1,1:1,0:0)

Sat, 23 November 2024, 17:30, Eisstadion Hohenems

SC Hohenems scorers: Patrick Spannring (00:30), Benjamin Kyllönen (12:35/PP2), Marcel Wolf (34:31/PP1)

EHC Lustenau scorers: Thomas Auer (03:36), Martin Grabher Meier (32:57/SH1)

WSG Swarovski Wattens Penguins vs. EHC Crocodiles Kundl 2:0 (0:0,1:0,1:0)
Fri, 22 November 2024, 19:30, Alpenstadion
Wattens Penguins scorers: Ricards Purins (22:42), Pavel Sukharev (45:55/PP1)

Dornbirner EC vs. HC Kufstein 4:5 (2:1,1:2,1:2)
Sun, 24 November 2024, 17:30, Messestadion Dornbirn
Dornbirner EC scorers: Lukas Göggel (02:46), Mathias Hofer (06:30), Fabio Haas (36:10), Tobias Metzler-Wagner (56:37/PP1)
HC Kufstein scorers: Florian Eder (15:02), Fabian Nußbaumer (20:30, 28:25/PP1), Sandro Haller (50:53), Clemens Paulweber (55:13/PP1)

Ö Eishockey Liga - Division East:

ATSE Graz vs. Wiener Eislauf-Verein 0:5 (0:1,0:2,0:2)
Sat, 23 November 2024, 19:30, Merkur Eisstadion
Wiener Eislauf-Verein scorers: Theodor Fichtinger (15:56), Richard Gruber (21:02), Stefan Nador (30:23), Tobias Schönauer (40:30), Rene Pospisil (51:04)

KSV Kängurus vs. UEHV CAM4DENT Sharks Gmunden 3:7 (0:2,1:2,2:3)
Sat., 23 November 2024, 19:30, Stadthalle Kapfenberg
KSV Kängurus goalscorers: Stefan Trost (32:23), Florian Hoppl (41:04), Pierre Graf (44:21)
Sharks Gmunden goalscorers: Johannes Mackner (02:23), Moritz Neurauter (16:36), Mario Pichler (34:34), Patrick Gaffal (39:04), Bastian Szieber (44:34), Mathias Haiböck (56:51, 59:04)

HDK Maribor had a bye.

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

Follow the Ö Eishockey Liga on Instagram and Facebook!