SC Hohenems head into the New Year top of the table – Velden edge Huben in over­time

In Group West, league leaders HC Kufstein were looking to continue their highly successful season with a positive result on the penultimate day of the year in the top clash against defending champions WSG Swarovski Wattens Penguins.

But the Penguins had no gifts left to give themselves and battled fiercely to keep their playoff hopes alive. Valentin Schennach made an early statement with the 1:0 just two minutes in. The ÖEL defending champions were fully alert in the opening stages, with Pavel Soukharev making it 2:0 on the power play in the ninth minute.

The Dragons tried to gain a foothold in the game, but René Huber kept a clean sheet. Wattens, by contrast, played a clinical game and, with the 2:0 lead behind them, waited for further opportunities. Lukas Schwitzer converted one of those opportunities on the power play in the second period to make it 3:0, with just under 25 minutes played at that point.

Tempers initially flared in the final period. Following a slash by Fabian Nußbaumer, he and Maximilian Camondo came to blows. HC Kufstein were gradually running out of time, while Wattens gave nothing away. Kufstein coach Ivo Novotny pulled netminder Thomas Hechenberger, and the Penguins sealed the game with an empty-netter from Daniel Frischmann just under four minutes from time.

Hohenems celebrate convincing win over HC Innsbruck II

The SC SAMINA Hohenems faced HC TIWAG Innsbruck - Die Haie II at the Herrenriedstadion in their final game of the year. The Vorarlberg side had recently been gathering momentum.

The Steinböcke carried that form straight into the game against Innsbruck's young Haie side. After just 39 seconds, Martin Grabher Meier gave them a 1:0 lead. Grabher Meier made it 2:0 for head coach Bernd Schmidle's team in the tenth minute.

Innsbruck found the perfect response on the power play: Sandro Wille made it 1:2 in the 15th minute. Just under two minutes later, Hohenems restored their two-goal lead through Julian Grafschafter – also on the power play.

Hohenems continued in composed fashion in the second period, waiting for their chances and taking them. An early goal from Christian Haidinger and a later strike by captain Pascal Kainz extended the Emser lead to 5:1, with the game effectively decided after 40 minutes.

In the final period, the Steinböcke saw out 2022 in relaxed fashion. Marcle Wolf, Martin Grabher Meier with his third goal, and Johannes Hehle completed a convincing 8:1 win for SC Hohenems. Following Kufstein's defeat against Wattens, the Emser head into the New Year top of the table.

Group South: Velden edge Eisbären Huben

In Group South, UECR Eisbären Huben hosted the USC Pirates Velden in the wonderful open-air arena below the road into the Defereggen Valley.

The East Tyroleans made a good start to the match and took a 1:0 lead through Raphael Bstieler after two minutes. As in the first meeting in Velden in November, which the Eisbären had won 1:0 one second before the end of overtime, neither team gave an inch and an exciting, closely contested match developed.

It took a long time for the Pirates to finally get on the scoresheet. Moritz Greier scored the 1:1 equaliser early in the final period, with 1:12 minutes played, setting up an exciting finish. Exactly ten minutes after the equaliser, Velden had turned the match around, with Sebastian Höffernig giving Head Coach Herwig Gressel's team a 2:1 lead. The game entered crunch time.

First, the East Tyroleans were unable to use a 5:3 power play to equalise with five minutes remaining. Two seconds before the end, Alexander Payr nevertheless sent the Eisbären into overtime. In three-on-three play, it took exactly 33 seconds for Christian Ban to score the 3:2 winner for the Pirates. Velden had therefore achieved the perfect revenge for their defeat in November.

The back-to-back game takes place the following Friday, once again in Huben.

Steindorf defeat EC iDM VSV's Jungadler

The first seasonal meeting between ESC SoccerZone Steindorf and the Jungadler of EC iDM VSV at the Ossiacher See Halle developed into a fast-paced affair and, as in all the other games, the first goal came early.

The hosts took the lead through Benjamin Petrik in the second minute. Franz Wilfan made it 2:0 for Head Coach Robert Moser's team in the 15th minute. Exactly a minute and a half later, Villach were also on the scoresheet, with Samuel Hobitsch scoring the 1:2 goal in the power play. However, Kristian Kravanja restored the two-goal lead before the end of the first period.

Anyone familiar with Head Coach Günther Lanzinger's young team knows that giving up is not an option. Fabian Koller pulled VSV back to 2:3 in the 28th minute of the second period, but Kevin Steiner made it 4:2 for Steindorf before the halfway point of the game. The final period began with a bang: Kristian Kravanja scored his second goal after exactly 33 seconds to make it 5:2 for the hosts.

Markus Pöck scored on the power play to make it 6:2 with four minutes remaining. With this victory, the Ossiacher See side are now within three points of 1st-placed EHC Althofen.

Matchday, West Group

SC SAMINA Hohenems vs. HC TIWAG Innsbruck - Die Haie II 8:1 (3:1,2:0,3:0)
Fri, 30 December 2022, 19:00, Herrenriedstadion
SC SAMINA Hohenems scorers: Martin Grabher Meier (00:39 min, 09:48 min, 52:09 min), Julian Grafschafter (16:56 min/PP1), Christian Haidinger (22:15 min), Pascal Kainz (38:19 min), Marcel Wolf (48:18 min), Johannes Hehle (58:24 min)
HC TIWAG Innsbruck II scorer: Sandro Wille (14:34 min/PP1)

HC Kufstein vs. WSG Swarovski Wattens Penguins 0:4 (0:2,0:1,0:1)
Fri, 30 December 2022, 19:45, Eisarena Kufstein
Scorers WSG Swarovski Wattens Penguins: Valentin Schennach (at 01:47), Pavel Soukharev (at 08:42/PP1), Lukas Schwitzer (at 24:51/PP1), Daniel Frischmann (at 56:15/EN)

EHC Crocodiles Kundl vs. VEU Feldkirch 
The match was cancelled; a new date will be announced.

Matchday, South Group

UECR Eisbären Huben vs. USC Pirates Velden 2:3 after overtime (1:0,0:0,1:2,0:1)
Fri., 30 December 2022, 19:30, Eisstadion Huben
Scorers UECR Eisbären Huben: Raphael Bstieler (at 02:02), Alexander Payr (at 59:58)
Scorers USC Pirates Velden: Moritz Greier (at 41:12), Sebastain Höffernig (at 51:15), Christian Ban (at 60:33)

ESC SoccerZone Steindorf vs. EC iDM VSV 6:2 (3:1,1:1,2:0)
Fri., 30 December 2022, 19:45, Ossiacher See Halle
Scorers ESC SoccerZone Steindorf: Benjamin Petrik (at 01:41), Franz Wilfan (at 14:03), Kristian Kravanja (at 18:47, 40:33), Kevin Steiner (at 29:21), Markus Pöck (at 56:01/PP1)
Scorers EC iDM VSV: Samuel Hobitsch (at 15:33/PP1), Fabian Koller (at 27:42)

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