SC Hohenems win derby at VEU Feld­kirch - VSV Jungadler cele­brate victory in Huben

In the eagerly anticipated third Vorarlberg derby between VEU Feldkirch and SC SAMINA Hohenems - the first two derbies of the season had been narrowly won by the league newcomers from Feldkirch - the visitors made the better start.

After a few minutes of feeling each other out, Johannes Hehle and Christian Haidinger struck twice within 26 seconds to give the Steinböcke a 2:0 lead in the ninth minute. The match remained close and was fairly contested for a derby.

In the second period, Yannick Wiedner pulled one back for VEU Feldkirch to make it 1:2 in the 29th minute. 58 seconds before the end of the period, Matthias Fussenegger had the chance to make it 3:1 from a penalty shot, but missed. This set up a thrilling final period at the Vorarlberghalle in front of just under 800 fans.

In the final period, Johannes Hehle put Hohenems on course for victory with his second goal of the game in the 47th minute. Five minutes later, the Ländle derby was decided. Lukas Fritz beat VEU goaltender David Felder to make it 4:1 for the team coached by Head Coach Bernd Schmidle. With four and a half minutes remaining, VEU coach Thomas Sticha pulled goaltender Felder.

SC Hohenems put the finishing touch on the Christmas present with an empty-netter by Marcel Wolf in the 57th minute to make it 5:1, headed home to Hohenems with three points in the bag and took over top spot from HC Kufstein until at least Tuesday. HC Kufstein face EHC Crocodiles Kundl in the Kufstein district derby on Tuesday.

Wattens Penguins celebrate rout against HC Innsbruck II

Defending champions WSG Swarovski Wattens Penguins were away to HC TIWAG Innsbruck - Die Haie II at Innsbruck's TIWAG Arena in the second West Group match. The Penguins took a 1:0 lead through Valentin Hammerle after exactly 48 seconds. Innsbruck then had to kill four consecutive penalties, with Wattens pushing for 2:0, but Haie goaltender Markus Gratzer kept his team in the game for a long time.

Shortly before the end of the period, the hosts had a power play, but Wattens capitalised through a shorthanded goal by Lukas Schwitzer 52 seconds before the first siren to make it 2:0. The shot count stood at 26:7 in favour of the Penguins after the opening 20 minutes.

In the second period, the visitors took a decisive step towards victory with two goals in 54 seconds. Pavel Soukharev first scored on the power play in the 25th minute to make it 3:0, before Valentin Schennach extended Wattens' lead to 4:0 in the 26th minute. This finally broke the resistance of the young Haie side. Julian Jagersbacher in the 35th minute and Valentin Hammerle just under three minutes before the end of the period increased the score to 6:0.

The scoring spree continued for the reigning ÖEL champions in the final period. Daniel Frischmann made it 7:0 for the team coached by Head Coach Jaro Betka in the 47th minute. Just under a minute later, Mathias Kastner made it 8:0.

After Fabian Nußbaumer made it 9:0, Pavel Soukharev took the score into double figures with his second goal in the 51th minute. Valentin Schennach rounded off the scoring for the Wattens Penguins with his second goal to make it 11:0 in the 52th minute, as they came away as clear winners in their third meeting of the season after two narrow victories.

South Group: VSV beat Eisbären Huben

For the third time this season, UECR Eisbären Huben and the Young Eagles of EC iDM VSVcross sticks in Group South.

The first two meetings each produced narrow away wins. In November, the Eisbären won 5:4 in Steindorf, while VSV celebrated a 6:4 victory in Huben in mid-December.

On Boxing Day, the blue-and-whites from Villach made the better start against the blue-and-whites from Huben in the first period. The first power play lasted only seven seconds before Florian Lanzinger gave VSV a 1:0 lead in the fifth minute. Flavio Wibmer made it 2:0 in the eleventh minute, before Lanzinger scored his second goal four seconds before the end of the period to make it 3:0 for the visitors.

At the start of the second period, substitute netminder Manuel Bachmann replaced Thomas Warscher in goal for Huben and conceded a shorthanded goal to make it 0:4 in the 26th minute. Florian Lanzinger had made his mark for the third time that evening. The East Tyroleans finally got on the scoresheet in the 33rd minute, with Philipp Holzer scoring the 1:4 on the power play.

However, there was no prospect of an Eisbären comeback, as David Baloh made it 5:1 for Head Coach Günther Lanzinger's team just 75 seconds later.

36 seconds had been played in the final period when Robert Trojer breathed new life into the Eisbären with the 2:5. When Martin Steiner reduced the deficit to 3:5 on the power play in the 51st minute, the 500 fans at Huben Ice Stadium had even greater hopes of a successful comeback.

However, Villach held firm and sealed the result 17 seconds before the final siren through David Baloh's empty-net goal to make it 6:3.

Matchday Group West

HC TIWAG Innsbruck - Die Haie II vs. WSG Swarovski Wattens Penguins 0:11 (0:2,0:4,0:5)
Mon., 26 December 2022, 19:00, TIWAG Arena
Goalscorers WSG Swarovski Wattens Penguins: Valentin Hammerle (00:48, 37:13), Lukas Schwitzer (19:08/SH1), Pavel Soukharev (24:44/PP1, 50:47), Valentin Schennach (25:38, 51:37), Julian Jagersbacher (34:39), Daniel Frischmann (46:26), Mathias Kastner (47:41), Fabian Nußbaumer (49:20)

VEU Feldkirch vs. SC SAMINA Hohenems 1:5 (0:2,1:0,0:3)
Mon., 26 December 2022, 19:30, Vorarlberghalle
Goalscorer VEU Feldkirch: Yannick Wiedner (28:37)
Goalscorers SC SAMINA Hohenems: Johannes Hehle (08:19, 46:13), Christian Haidinger (08:45), Lukas Fritz (51:27), Marcel Wolf (56:07/EN)

EHC Crocodiles Kundl vs. HC Kufstein
Tue., 27 December 2022, 19:30, Eisarena Kundl

Matchday Group South

UECR Eisbären Huben vs. EC iDM VSV 3:6 (0:3,1:2, 2:1)
Mon, 26 December 2022, 18:00, Eisstadion Huben
UECR Eisbären Huben goalscorers: Philipp Holzer (32:35, PP1), Robert Trojer (40:36), Martin Steiner (50:59, PP1)
EC iDM VSV goalscorers: Florian Lanzinger (04:10, PP1, 19:56, 25:30, SH1), Flavio Wibmer (10:34), David Baloh (33:50, 59:43, EN)

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