ÖEL: West Group begins new season on 14 October

Having been eliminated by Kapfenberger SV - Eishockeyclub in last season's semi-finals, SC Hohenems enter their second year in the Ö Eishockey Liga as one of the title favourites. On 14 October, the Vorarlberg side open the West Group regular season at home against HC TIWAG Innsbruck - Die Haie II. A day later, defending champions WSG Swarovski Wattens - Penguins enter the fray away to HC Kufstein. VEU Feldkirch join the West Group as its sixth team. ÖEL games will be shown on the Austrian Ice Hockey Federation's new livestreaming platform at live.eishockey.at.

20 September 20222 min read

Defending champions, title contenders and a league newcomer. The ÖEL West Group is ready and once again promises top-level ice hockey.

With WSG Swarovski Wattens - Penguins, the reigning champions come from the West Group, while SC Hohenems are another team with title ambitions.

The Vorarlberg side dominated the West Group last season, finishing in 1st place by a considerable margin with 19 wins and no defeats. Behind them, the Penguins, EC Crocodiles Kundl and HC Kufstein were involved in a genuine three-way battle for the remaining two play-off places.

It will be interesting to see how VEU Feldkirch perform as they enter the ÖEL for the first time this year and play their opening match away in Kundl on 15 October.

The West Group will play a double home-and-away round robin during the regular season, which runs until 4 February 2023.

The top 3 advance to the quarter-finals, which, like the subsequent semi-finals and final, will be played over two legs.

The first 3 rounds of the ÖEL West Group regular season

Matchday 1, 14 October 2022
SC Hohenems vs. HC TIWAG Innsbruck Die Haie II
Matchday 1, 15 October 2022
HC Kufstein vs. WSG Swarovski Wattens - Penguins
EC Crocodiles Kundl vs. VEU Feldkirch

Matchday 2, 21 October 2022
EC Crocodiles Kundl vs. HC TIWAG Innsbruck Die Haie II
Matchday 2, 22 October 2022
VEU Feldkirch vs. HC Kufstein
SC Hohenems vs. WSG Swarovski Wattens - Penguins

Matchday 3, 26 October 2022
HC TIWAG Innsbruck Die Haie II vs. WSG Swarovski Wattens - Penguins
EC Crocodiles Kundl vs. HC Kufstein
VEU Feldkirch vs. SC Hohenems

The full schedule will shortly be available in the Gamecentre on the ÖEHV website at https://www.eishockey.at/gamecenter/oesterr-eishockey-liga available.

Ö Eishockey Liga format

Regular season
Group West will play a double home-and-away round robin, while Group North-East and Group South will play a one-and-a-half home-and-away round robin. At the end of the regular season, the top three teams from Group West, the top three teams from Group North-East and the top two teams from Group South will make up the play-off pairings.

Quarter-finals
One home leg and one away leg each. The team with the better aggregate score advances.

Semi-finals
One home leg and one away leg each. The team with the better aggregate score advances.

Final
One home leg and one away leg each. The team with the better aggregate score is crowned ÖEL champion.

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