SC Hohenems cele­brate derby rout against VEU Feld­kirch in front of 1.541 fans

The SC Samina Hohenems 1974 hosted VEU Feldkirch in the West Group on Saturday for the fourth Ländle derby of the regular season.

The league newcomers from the Montfortstadt had established themselves in third place in the table behind Hohenems and Kufstein with convincing performances. The young team coached by Head Coach Thomas Sticha had caused a stir in the previous derbies, recording two wins and one defeat.

But this time, Hohenems showed no mercy and demonstrated in front of a record crowd of 1.541 fans who rules the Herrenriedstadion. After ten minutes, the team coached by Head Coach Bernd Schmidle led 2:0 through goals from Martin Grabher Meier and Julian Grafschafter. 

Hohenems raised the tempo in the second period, with VEU Feldkirch forced to accept the hosts' superiority. Thomas Auer effectively settled the contest with two goals in just under two minutes. Lukas Fritz made it 5:0 for SC Hohenems exactly halfway through the game. The first real derby emotions emerged towards the end of the middle period, as Benjamin Kyllönen and Manuel Merk exchanged pleasantries.

The Steinböcke remained hugely hungry for goals in the final period, with Martin Grabher Meier making it 6:0 with his second goal. The 48th minute will go down in ÖEL history. Johannes Hehle made it 7:0 at 47:13, Thomas Auer completed his hat-trick to make it 8:0 after 47:32, and Fabian Mandlburger increased the lead to 9:0 exactly 47:52 later. The fans at the Herrenried witnessed three goals within 39 seconds.

But Hohenems were still not satisfied. Captain Pascal Kainz took the score into double figures in the 51st minute, before Johannes Hehle completed the scoring at 32 with the goal for 11:0. SC Samina Hohenems 1974 regained top spot from HC Kufstein, while VEU Feldkirch still have a real fight on their hands to reach the playoffs in their remaining four matches, including two direct encounters with Wattens Penguins.

South Group: Althofen defeat Eisbären Huben

League leaders 1. EHC Althofen made a lightning-fast start to their South Group match against their "favourite opponents" UECR Eisbären Huben by taking a 1:0 lead after one minute and ten seconds. Maximilian Isopp fired from the blue line and caught Huben goaltender Thomas Warscher by surprise. The East Tyroleans grew into the game with every passing minute, and Elias Mattersberger levelled at 1:1 in the twelfth minute with a powerful shot. In the 16th minute, Philipp Waldner drove in front of Warscher's goal and made it 2:1 for the team coached by Head Coach Gerald Ressmann.

Both teams played with an open approach in the second period, producing numerous good passages of play and chances at both ends. Johannes Fuetsch scored the 2:2 equaliser while shorthanded in the 35th minute. The Rhinos regained the lead on the same power play following a brilliant pass from Kevin Schettina to Lukas Telsnig. 35 seconds later, Jakob Schwarzer surprised Althofen netminder Sebastian Selinger with a shot from the blue line to make it 3:3. Kevin Schettina capped a spectacular second period with a solo effort, which the forward finished to make it 4:3 for Althofen. In the final period, Sandro Seifried made it 5:3 for the league leaders in the 45th minute after a fine combination. Althofen then pressed on, with Martin Zeloth increasing the lead to 6:3 in the 53rd minute to complete the scoring in an entertaining Ö Eishockey Liga game. The win extended Althofen's lead at the top of the table.

Spittal edge Steindorf in a penalty shootout

The ESC SoccerZone Steindorf had, ahead of the match against EC LiWoDruck Spittal suffered a 1:4 defeat in Monday's rescheduled game against USC Pirates Velden after a run of four wins. The Hornets arrived at the Ossiacher See Halle with a short line-up of eleven skaters and held their own throughout the first period.

They made an additional statement early in the second period in the 22nd minute: Lucas Wilblinger scored 1:0 for the visitors following a swift counter-attack. As the middle period progressed, Steindorf took control, but it was not until a power play in the 33rd minute that they equalised. Franz Wilfan swept the puck home from close range for 1:1.

A minute and a half before the end of the period, Head Coach Robert Moser's team had turned the game around: following a shot, Nico Toff was perfectly placed and converted the rebound for 2:1. The Hornets hit back: on a 5:3 power play, Florian Kucher made it 2:2 24 seconds before the siren.

Spittal, who also lost Tim Thaler during the game, battled on with ten men and even took a 3:2 lead in the final period following a shot by Daniel Nageler in the 44th minute. Exactly two minutes later, Luca Komar made it 4:2 for head coach Florian Orzetek’s team on the power play, with the help of Steindorf goaltender René Baumann. Steindorf hit back: Nico Toff scored to pull one back on the power play in the 49th minute, while Andreas Wiedergut levelled the game, also with the man advantage, in the 54th minute.

The game went to overtime and eventually a penalty shootout, in which Spittal prevailed with three successful attempts by Daniel Kronig, Marco Zorec and Luca Komar, taking the extra point back to Goldeck.

VSV win away against Pirates Velden

Following Steindorf's dropped point against Spittal, USC Pirates Velden had the opportunity to move closer to EC iDM VSV in the standings.

The Pirates, who had created fresh excitement in the Group South playoff race with their 4:1 win over Steindorf on Monday, took to the ice for their home game against the Jungadler with a short line-up of eleven skaters and took a 1:0 lead in the fifth minute through a power-play goal from Patrick Matschigg.

Just 13 seconds later, Lukas Titze increased the lead to 2:0 for Head Coach Herwig Gressel's team. But Villach's blue-and-whites responded quickly in a turbulent opening phase: just 50 seconds later, Lukas Floriantschitz scored to make it 1:2.

Flavio Wibmer equalised early in the second period on the power play in the 23rd minute. Benjamin Rassl made it 3:2 for the Pirates in the 26th minute. In the 28th minute, it was Wibmer again who scored the equaliser for VSV. When Samuel Hobitsch gave Villach the lead for the first time a minute and a half later on the power play, making it 4:3, the game swung in favour of the Draustädter. Fabian Koller extended the lead to 5:3 in the 32nd minute, but Velden once again found their remaining reserves of energy and closed the gap to 4:5 through Patrick Edlinger in the 35th minute. 

Early in the final period, Patrick Bruckner set VSV on course for victory, and the Pirates had no response to 6:4. On the contrary: Head Coach Günther Lanzinger's team secured a 7:4 win through his son Florian, who scored an empty-net goal while shorthanded just under a minute and a half before the end. Velden therefore missed the opportunity to make the playoff battle with Steindorf exciting once more.

Murtal Lions take a major step towards the playoffs

Both EV Zeltweg Murtal Lions and UEHV RAUCH Technology Sharks Gmunden had a lengthy break in the North-East Group, with both teams having played their last game on 17 December 2022.

The Lions wanted to establish clear control early at the Aichfeldhalle and take another major step towards playoff qualification. It took until the twelfth minute for Marco Quinz to score the relieving 1:0. Mario Sulzer extended the hosts' lead to 2:0 in the 15th minute, before Robin Weihager made it 3:0 two minutes before the siren in the first period.

When Florian Dinhopel made it 4:0 early in the second period in the 24th minute, the game appeared to be decided early on. But the Sharks from Gmunden showed their bite and played their way back into the game with two goals: first, Alessandro Mühhlechner reduced the deficit to 1:4 with a power-play goal in the 28th minute, before Elias Haas made the game exciting again at 2:4 in the 32nd minute. 

In the final period, the Murtal Lions settled matters with two goals in 46 seconds. Daniel Forcher scored 5:2 in the 45th minute, while Mario Sulzer found the net for the second time that evening in the 46th minute. With the 6:2 victory, EV Zeltweg Murtal Lions took a major step towards the playoffs in the Ö Eishockey Liga.

League leaders Kapfenberg beat Dukes Graz

The Kapfenberger SV came into the away match against the as the newly crowned Styrian Cup winners after an 8:0 victory over ATSE Graz in the finalUHT Dukes Graz as newly crowned Styrian Cup winners after an __OEHV_NUM_AZ_A__ victory over ATSE Graz in the final.

Christoph Draschkowitz gave the favourites a 1:0 lead in the sixth minute, setting the tone for an extremely turbulent and entertaining first period. Luca Rodiga turned the game around for the Dukes with two goals within 79 seconds, making it 2:1. Exactly 18 seconds separated Adrian Stühlinger's 2:2 equaliser in minute 18 and Lukas Pirker restoring Graz's lead. Pierre Graf levelled at 3:3 for the Kangaroos 18 seconds before the first siren.

Two power-play goals in the second period put the visitors on the road to victory. Florian Hoppl made it 4:3 in minute 27, before Stefan Trost extended the lead to 5:3 in minute 35.

The Dukes had no response in the final period as the league leaders comfortably saw the game out and added two further goals. Thomas Koller made it 6:3 in minute 42, before Pierre Graf added the 7:3 in minute 49.

Matchday, West Group

SC Samina Hohenems 1974 vs. VEU Feldkirch 11:0 (2:0,3:0,6:0)
Sat., 14 January 2023, 17:30, Herrenriedstadion Hohenems
SC Samina Hohenems 1974 scorers: Martin Grabher Meier (03:58 min, 43:51 min), Julian Grafschafter (10:01 min), Thomas Auer (24:25 min, 26:39 min, 47:32 min), Lukas Fritz (30:01 min), Johannes Hehle (47:13 min, 51:53 min), Fabian Mandlburger (47:52 min), Pascal Kainz (50:38 min)

Matchday, North-East Group

EV Zeltweg Murtal Lions vs. UEHV RAUCH Technology Sharks Gmunden 6:2 (3:0,1:2,2:0)
Sat., 14 January 2023, 19:00, Aichfeldhalle Zeltweg
EV Zeltweg Murtal Lions scorers: Marco Quinz (11:22 min), Mario Sulzer (14:40 min, 45:23 min), Robin Weihager (18:03 min), Florian Dinhopel (23:59 min), Daniel Forcher (44:37 min)
UEHV RAUCH Technology Sharks Gmunden scorers: Alessandro Mühllechner (27:43 min/PP1), Elias Haas (31:25 min)

UHT Dukes Graz vs. Kapfenberger SV 3:7 (3:3,0:2,0:2)
Sat., 14 January 2023, 19:15, Merkur Eisstadion
UHT Dukes Graz scorers: Luca Rodiga (14:10, 15:29), Lukas Pirker (17:19)
Kapfenberger SV goalscorers: Christoph Draschkowitz (05:25), Adrian Stühlinger (17:01), Pierre Graf (19:42, 48:48), Florian Hoppl (26:41/PP1), Stefan Trost (34:14/PP1), Thomas Koller (41:27)

South Group matchday

ESC SoccerZone Steindorf vs. EC LiWoDruck Spittal 4:5 after penalties (0:0,2:2,2:2,0:0,0:1)
Sat, 14 January 2023, 16:00, Ossiacher See Halle Steindorf
ESC SoccerZone Steindorf goalscorers: Franz Wilfan (32:42/PP1), Nico Toff (38:35, 48:49/PP1), Andreas Wiedergut (53:10/PP1)
EC LiWoDruck Spittal goalscorers: Lucas Wilblinger (21:55), Florian Kucher (39:34/PP2), Daniel Nageler (43:56), Luca Komar (45:56/PP1), Daniel Kronig (65:00/winning penalty)

1st EHC Althofen vs. UECR Eisbären Huben 6:3 (2:1,2:2,2:0)
Sat, 14 January 2023, 17:00. Stadthalle Althofen
1st EHC Althofen goalscorers: Maximilian Isopp (01:10), Philipp Waldner (15:55). Lukas Telsnig (35:19/PP1), Kevin Schettina (39:46), Sandro Seifried (44:08), Martin Zeloth (52:53)
UECR Eisbären Huben goalscorers: Elias Mattersberger (11:51), Johannes Fuetsch (34:14/SH1), Jakob Schwarzer (35:54)

USC Pirates Velden vs. EC iDM VSV 4:7 (2:1,2:4,0:2)
Sat, 14 January 2023, 18:30, Eishalle Velden
USC Pirates Velden goalscorers: Patrick Matschigg (04:30/PP1), Lukas Titze (04:43), Benjamin Rassl (25:24), Patrick Edlinger (34:30)
EC iDM VSV goalscorers: Lukas Floriantschitz (05:33), Flavio Wibmer (22:56/PP1, 27:07), Samuel Hobitsch (28:47/PP1), Fabian Koller (31:19), Patrick Bruckner (41:22), Florian Lanzinger (58:38/EN/SH1)

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