Lustenau face Hohenems in Halloween derby – KSV seek revenge against ATSE Graz

EHC Lustenau vs. SC Samina Hohenems
Fri, 31 October 2025, 18:30, Rheinhalle Lustenau

The Ö Eishockey Liga will see its headline derby in Division West on Friday: leaders EHC Lustenau face SC Samina Hohenems in the Reinhalle, with the sides level on points. The Lions warmed up for their first meeting of the season with their local rivals from Hohenems by claiming a clear 9:2 derby win at the Dornbirn Bulldogs, and will defend top spot at home. The district derby is certain to be an ice hockey festival, followed by the legendary Halloween party in the VIP areas of the Reinhalle.

Dániel Fekete, head coach of EHC Lustenau, knows the derby will be an intense affair and is hoping for a superb crowd: "It will certainly be a very intense game, in which small details will decide victory or defeat. Hohenems have a very compact team. For this reason, we must take every care to avoid unnecessary penalties and convert the chances that come our way into goals. A difficult game awaits us, but we are looking forward to this challenge and go into the derby well prepared. Naturally, we hope for a great crowd at the Rheinhalle, so that this game becomes a fantastic ice hockey festival!"

SC Hohenems have operated in a parallel world to Lustenau over the first four rounds, recording four wins in regulation time from four games, just like their derby opponents. The Emser players have already shown that they can keep cool heads in close and fiercely contested games, winning 3:2 in Kufstein, 5:4 against Wattens and 5:3 against Kundl. It is completely open which team will give the other a scare on Halloween, but the fans can expect an electrifying and exciting encounter.

Matthias Fritz, sporting director at SC Hohenems, sees Lustenau as clear title favourites: "To conclude the first round, we travel to Lustenau. With four wins behind us, we are looking forward to our first encounter with the clear title favourites. We know about their qualities, but we are well positioned and have a strong team spirit. We will give everything and perhaps we can crash the party just in time for Halloween."

EHC Kundl vs. WSG Swarovski Wattens Penguins
Fri, 31 October 2025, 19:30, Eisarena Kundl

On Friday, EHC Kundl host the WSG Swarovski Wattens Penguins in the Lower Inn Valley derby in Division West. The hosts, who are entering the fourth of six consecutive home games, had to accept their first defeat on home ice in the 3:5 loss to Hohenems last time out, but pushed the Steinböcke all the way. All games on Kundl ice have been spectacular so far, with the 4:3 overtime win in the district derby against Kufstein and the 4:2 victory over Dornbirn also adding important points to their tally.

Kundl chairman Stefan Rainer is as eager as his team for the second Tyrol derby: "On Friday, we face our second Tyrol derby of the season! Wattens come to town with an extremely strong team that strengthened significantly over the summer. We will not be deceived by the league table either; the Penguins have clearly shown in their games so far that they perform at a very high level. After the narrow defeat against Hohenems, we are particularly motivated to pick up points again this time. The team is eager for this derby and will give everything to keep the three points in Kundl. We hope for a full arena and vocal support from our fans!"

The Wattens Penguins were forced to sit out last weekend because their away game against HC Kufstein had to be cancelled and postponed due to a technical fault at the Kufstein Arena. Wattens are currently the only team in the league yet to pick up a point. Most recently, the Crystal City side produced a strong performance away to their open-air counterparts in Hohenems in a 4:5 defeat and were in contention for at least a point for a long time.

Wattens head coach Fabian Hechenberger is looking to secure his team's first win: "Despite the cancelled game in Kufstein and limited ice time, we are not looking for excuses. We used the time intensively in the gym, analysed our opponents and worked on our finishing. Kundl have started very well and are fully in rhythm. It will be an intense, close and fast game in which the small details will decide between victory and defeat. Our focus is clearly on our own game. The recent games, which we sometimes narrowly lost by just one goal through bad luck or our own mistakes, have shown that we need a united, smart, efficient and disciplined team performance for the full 60 minutes. We finally want to reward ourselves with our first win of the season!"

Dornbirner EC Bulldogs vs. HC Kufstein
Sun., 02 November 2025, 17:30, Messestadion

On Sunday, the Dornbirner EC Bulldogs conclude the Division West matchday with a clash against HC Kufstein. After their opening home win against the Wattens Penguins, the team from Vorarlberg have suffered three consecutive defeats. Last Sunday, the Bulldogs were handed a clear 2:9 defeat at home in the regional derby against Lustenau. The game against the Dragons is an early six-pointer this season: ahead of the head-to-head clash, the team coached by Jörg Kopeinig are fourth with three points, ahead of Kufstein, who have collected one point so far.

Dornbirn chairman Christof Schwendinger wants to hold on to the team's league position at home: "With Kufstein, another strong opponent is coming to Dornbirn. Like all the other teams, Kufstein have also strengthened their squad. Nevertheless, we want to secure our position in the standings at home. We know what we need to work on this week to be able to compete with Kufstein. If we manage to minimise our own mistakes, it could be a very exciting game against Kufstein!"

The Fortress City side are still struggling to turn their performances on the ice into points in the new season. After three games, they have just one point to show from their overtime derby defeat against EHC Kundl, following exciting and closely fought encounters. Their home opener against Hohenems at the start of October was also an extremely close 2:3. The emotionally charged clash with league leaders Lustenau was difficult to take, as Kufstein had to accept a 3:5 defeat at the end despite a tremendous comeback. Most recently, the team coached by Andreas Luchner were forced into an involuntary break after a technical fault at the Kufstein Arena meant that the game against Wattens had to be postponed.

Kufstein chairman Roland Luchner is hoping for the team's first three-point win of the season: "A win in Dornbirn would do us good; the team deserve to finally get the full points. Dornbirn have played a few good games and must be rated as significantly stronger than last season. For that reason, we will not underestimate the Bulldogs. Particularly as we were forced to stop training due to the ammonia leak and the resulting ban on entering the Kufstein ice arena. Despite the adverse circumstances, the team are highly motivated and will do everything they can to take three points from the Ländle."

Division East:

UEHV CAM4DENT Sharks Gmunden vs. HDK Maribor
Sat., 01 November 2025, 18:30, muki Arena Gmunden

Defending champions UEHV CAM4DENT Sharks Gmunden face HDK Maribor at the muki Arena on Saturday in Division East. The Traunsee Sharks have performed in the new season as reigning champions should: three games have brought three wins, leaving the Upper Austrians top of the table after their flawless run of a 3:0 victory against Kapfenberg, a 4:2 win at ATSE Graz and, most recently, a narrow 2:1 victory at WEV.

Gregor Baumgartner, head coach of the Sharks Gmunden, is expecting an intense clash with the Slovenians: "We are delighted to be able to play in front of our home crowd again after some time. Maribor always play intense and aggressive ice hockey. The results already show that it will be a tough game!"

The Foxes from Maribor celebrated a narrow 2:1 victory in last Saturday’s Styrian derby against ATSE Graz. When the final siren sounded after the thrilling and nerve-racking game at Ledna dvorana Maribor, fists started flying. The final tally amounted to 191 penalty minutes. The win drew the team from the Slovenian city on the Drava level with WEV on points. The battle for the play-off places could prove extremely exciting in the closely contested Eastern Division.

Maribor head coach Jure Verlič is pleased with his team’s energy level, but also knows where there is still room for improvement: "We expect a difficult away game against Gmunden. Our goal is to play consistently and with the same energy and commitment as in the last three games. Our defence must remain sharp and disciplined. We need to become more dangerous offensively and show more presence in front of the goaltender if we want to score more goals at five-on-five!"

KSV Kängurus vs. ATSE Graz
Sun., 02 November 2025, 18:00, Stadthalle Kapfenberg

The KSV Kängurus face ATSE Graz in the Eastern Division derby on Sunday. The two teams have already met this season, with Graz claiming a surprise 2:1 overtime victory in Kapfenberg in the rescheduled opening game at the end of September. The Kängurus, who lost to reigning champions Gmunden after their defeat against ATSE, subsequently returned to winning ways against WEV and Maribor and are now eager for revenge against the players from the Styrian capital.

KSV player-coach Kristof Reinthaler knows that his team still needs to improve: "We can now draw conclusions from the first round of games, where we fell well short of our own expectations at five-on-five, with just two goals. I think that will also be the focus: we have to make sure we simply score more goals at five-on-five and act more clinically, while at the same time not neglecting our defence and our special teams. It is about continuous improvement; as long as that happens from game to game, we are satisfied. We have our next opportunity on Sunday and we want to give everything. Our division is very evenly matched, with most games decided by one or two goals, and both games this weekend also finished 2:1. The first game against ATSE was also close and was decided in overtime. We have to be prepared for the small details to make the difference and play focused hockey from the first minute to the last."

ATSE Graz provide proof of Kapfenberg player-coach Kris Reinthaler’s assertion that the Eastern Division has become more evenly matched and the teams have moved closer together. Their opening win against Kapfenberg was followed by a 2:4 defeat against reigning champions Gmunden, then a 3:1 win against WEV and most recently a narrow 1:2 loss to HDK Maribor. Apart from Gmunden, no team has yet put together a longer winning streak, with every game fiercely contested. Graz travel to face their neighbours in the standings; the Eggenberg side, currently third, are only two points behind second-placed Mürztal.

ATSE head coach Markus Losch expects an attack-minded Kapfenberg side: "After the defeat in Maribor, we have to get back to our game. I think the KSV Kängurus will be out for revenge, as they lost the first game in overtime. We have therefore been warned that it will certainly be another tough battle, and we have to stick to our plan and remain compact defensively. Then there could be another surprise in Kapfenberg!"

Ö Eishockey Liga – Western Division:

EHC Lustenau vs. SC Samina Hohenems
Fri., 31 October 2025, 18:30, Rheinhalle Lustenau - >> to the livestream

EHC Kundl vs. WSG Swarovski Wattens Penguins
Fri., 31 October 2025, 19:30, Eisarena Kundl - >> to the livestream

Dornbirner EC Bulldogs vs. HC Kufstein
Sun., 02 November 2025, 17:30. Messestadion - >> to the livestream

Ö Eishockey Liga - Eastern Division:

UEHV CAM4DENT Sharks Gmunden vs. HDK Maribor
Sat, 01 November 2025, 18:30, muki Arena Gmunden - >> to the livestream

KSV Kängurus vs. ATSE Graz
Sun, 02 November 2025, 18:00, Stadthalle Kapfenberg - >> to the livestream

Wiener Eislauf-Verein have a bye.

Ö Eishockey Liga format 2025/2026

The Ö Eishockey Liga gets the new season under way with its first matchday on 4 October 2025. In its fifth year, the format will see a change in phase 1 across the two divisions: West, with six teams, and East, with five teams. In the Eastern Division, the coming season will feature a two-and-a-half-round home-and-away schedule, resulting in 20 games per team. In the Western Division, as in the previous season, two home-and-away rounds will be played, also resulting in 20 games per team.

After phase 1, an interregional play-off will once again take place, beginning with the quarter-finals on 07 February 2026. In the coming season, a play-off pick after the regular season will again provide additional excitement. The highest-placed team in each of the Western and Eastern Divisions may choose its quarter-final opponent from the third- or fourth-placed team in the other division. From the quarter-finals through the semi-finals to the final, the play-off match-ups will each be decided in a best-of-three series (H/A/H) from the coming season onwards.

All Ö Eishockey Liga standings, statistics and schedules in the Gamecenter

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