Narrow home wins for Highlanders and Huskies in the win2day AWHL

In the win2day Austrian Women’s Hockey League, both matches of the day were only decided in overtime and in the shootout respectively. In the Placement Round, the KSV Highlanders celebrated an important 2:1 home win in overtime against league leaders Sabres St. Pölten, while in the Qualification Round, the Graz99ers Huskies prevailed 4:3 in a penalty shootout against the DEC Salzburg Eagles. The Styrians have therefore taken a major step towards the Final-4.

25 January 20252 min read

In the third meeting of the season between the KSV Highlanders and Sabres St. Pölten, the home side prevailed for the third time. The Highlanders trailed 0:1 until three and a half minutes before the end of regulation, when Sara Confidenti equalised on the power play. The Styrians were also successful on the power play in overtime.

Hilde Huisman scored the decisive goal after 92 seconds. Sabres remain top of the table on four points, while the Highlanders now have two points and remain in third place. Sabres are in action again tomorrow, Sunday. They welcome second-placed Lakers Kärnten in front of their home crowd.

In the Qualification Round, the Graz99ers Huskies claimed a narrow 4:3 victory in a penalty shootout against the DEC Salzburg Eagles. The Styrians also won their second match of the qualification round and lead the table comfortably on five points. The Eagles have one point and are in second place. In an evenly contested match, all six goals in regulation were scored in the first 39 minutes. The visitors from Salzburg initially took the lead, but the Graz99ers then pulled away to 3:1.

In the end, Simona Grascher converted the decisive penalty. The forward also excelled with the goals for 1:1 and 3:1, recording her second brace of the season. The two teams meet again tomorrow, Sunday, this time in Salzburg. With a win, the Huskies could secure top spot in the table early and thus seal qualification for the Final-4.

European Women’s Hockey League

The European Women’s Hockey League was also in action on Saturday. In the top match, league leaders HK PSRZ Bratislava won 4:3/SO at MAC Budapest. The visitors from Slovakia were already 3:1 ahead after 35 minutes, but the Hungarians fought their way back into the game. Fifth-placed MAC first reduced the deficit to 2:3 while short-handed in the 52nd minute, before equalising with 40 seconds remaining in regulation. Bratislava ultimately came out on top in the shootout and now hold a two-point lead over their nearest challengers, Sabres St. Pölten.