Quarter-final block­busters confirmed – Dorn­birner EC cele­brate their first win in the final game

Dornbirner ECDornbirner EChosted HC Kufstein in the final game of the Ö Eishockey Liga regular season at the Messestadion on Sunday and took the lead in a fast-paced contest after exactly ten minutes, with Tobias Metzler-Wagner scoring on the power play for __OEHV_NUM_G_A__ (__OEHV_NUM_G_B__th minute). The Dragons equalised __OEHV_NUM_G_C__ seconds before the end of the period, with Maximilian Camondo making it __OEHV_NUM_G_D__ (__OEHV_NUM_G_E__th minute).HC Kufsteinand took the lead in a fast-paced contest after exactly ten minutes, with Tobias Metzler-Wagner scoring on the power play for 1:0 (11th minute). The Dragons equalised 44 seconds before the end of the period, with Maximilian Camondo making it 1:1 (20th minute).

The Vorarlberg side also made the better start to the second period: Ricardo Bell scored 2:1 for Dornbirn after a solo effort (23rd minute). This time, it took only a short while before Severin Atzl equalised for the Tyroleans at 2:2 (25th minute).

The young Bulldogs, who had still been without a point before this match, continued to battle fiercely: two minutes after the halfway mark, Josef Kutzer made it 3:2 for Dornbirn on the power play (33rd minute), the third time Head Coach Pavel Takac's team had taken the lead that evening.

The game remained a hard-fought affair in the final period, with emotions also running high. Dornbirn pressed on and extended their lead: Tobias Metzler-Wagner fired home on the power play to beat Kufstein netminder Patrick Fuchs and make it 4:2 (48th minute). 

Jonas Kutzer scored to make it 5:2 in a 5:3 power play (52nd minute). Just 35 seconds later, Dornbirn led 6:2, with Jannik Fitz scoring the final goal on the power play (52nd minute). Dornbirner EC finally celebrated their first win in the Ö Eishockey Liga in their final game of the season, while HC Kufstein lost their second match within 24 hours after the derby against Kundl.

Playoffs: quarter-final match-ups confirmed

The playoff pick followed the final game of the regular season, the first in the still young history of the Ö Eishockey Liga. Following the Pick Round, the eagerly awaited inter-regional quarter-final match-ups have been confirmed.

Kapfenberger SVKapfenberger SVselected VEU Feldkirch for the first playoff roundVEU Feldkirch. This resulted in the quarter-final clash between EV Zeltweg Murtal LionsEV Zeltweg Murtal Lionsand EHC Crocodiles KundlEHC Crocodiles Kundl. West winners SC Samina HohenemsSC Samina Hohenemsselected in the pick Wiener Eislauf-Verein. The other quarter-final is therefore HC Kufstein against ATSE Graz.

The first legs will take place on Saturday, 10 February 2024, with the return legs scheduled for Saturday, 17 February 2024. The team that finished higher in the regular season will start away from home.

Ö Eishockey Liga - Division West:

Dornbirner EC vs. HC Kufstein 6:2 (1:1,2:1,3:0)
Sun, 04 February 2024, 17:30, Messestadion
Goalscorers for Dornbirner EC: Tobias Metzler-Wagner (PP1 at 10:00, PP1 at 47:14), Ricardo Bell (22:43), Josef Kutzer (PP1 at 32:02), Jonas Kutzer (PP2 at 51:02), Jannik Fitz (PP1 at 51:37)
Goalscorers for HC Kufstein: Maximilian Camondo (19:16), Severin Atzl (24:08)

Play-off quarter-final match-ups:

Kapfenberger SV vs. VEU Feldkirch

EV Zeltweg Murtal Lions vs. EHC Crocodiles Kundl

SC Samina Hohenems vs. Wiener Eislauf-Verein

HC Kufstein vs. ATSE Graz

First legs: Saturday, 10 February 2024

Return legs: Saturday, 17 February 2024

Play-off format:

From the quarter-finals onwards, ties will be decided over a home-and-away two-leg format in the Champions Hockey League (CHL) format. The team that finished higher in the regular season will start away from home. The aggregate result (aggregate score) from the two matches played will be used. The team leading on aggregate after the first and second legs will advance to the semi-finals.

Should the aggregate score be level at the final buzzer after 120 minutes, the tie will be decided by a ten-minute three-on-three overtime period and, if necessary, a penalty shoot-out with five shooters per team. This means there is no overtime in the first leg. Each first leg ends after 60 minutes either in a draw or with a win in regulation time.

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

Follow the Ö Eishockey Liga on Instagram and Facebook!