Semi-final start: EHC Lustenau face HC Kufstein – Kapfen­berg battle SC Hohenems

Semi-final 1 – Game 1: EHC Lustenau vs. HC Kufstein
Sat., 21 February 2026, 17:30, Rheinhalle Lustenau

The EHC Lustenau open their best-of-three Ö Eishockey Liga semi-final series against HC Kufstein at the Rheinhalle Lustenau on Saturday. It is a clash between the winners of the West Division and the third-placed team in the West after the regular season.

The two semi-final opponents have already met four times this season, with the Lions leading the head-to-head record with 4:0 wins and therefore heading into the playoff series as slight favourites. The Vorarlberg side won the first two meetings at the Kufstein Arena, 5:3 in mid-October and 6:3 at the end of November, with both games close and fiercely contested.

In the first meeting at the Rheinhalle, Lustenau also celebrated a narrow 4:2 win before Christmas. In mid-January, EHC Lustenau beat the Dragons 6:4 at home. The Tyroleans led 2:1 and 3:2 in the most recent meeting before Lustenau eventually turned the game around.

The Lions overcame ATSE Graz in two games in the quarter-finals, claiming a 7:2 home win over the Graz side before Head Coach Dániel Fekete's team secured their place in the last four with a 4:1 away victory.

HC Kufstein overcame the Sharks Gmunden in two nerve-racking quarter-final games. The Tyroleans won 4:3 in an overtime thriller away in Gmunden, with forward Clemens Paulweber the match winner after scoring a shorthanded goal and later the decisive goal in overtime.

The home game in the fortress town then surpassed everything: this time, the game even went to a shootout, which was not decided until the 30th penalty. Once again, Clemens Paulweber was the hero of the game, converting the decisive attempt in the shootout. Kufstein thus gained revenge against the defending champions from Upper Austria for last year's quarter-final exit.

Dániel Fekete, Head Coach of EHC Lustenau, rates the Dragons highly after their quarter-final win against defending champions Gmunden, and after four meetings in the regular season the opponents hold no secrets for each other: "We know HC Kufstein's style of play from the first four encounters. They play physical ice hockey with plenty of attacking intent. We need to prepare well for this style of play in the semi-final series. With two wins against the reigning champions, Kufstein are a tough test for our team. But we will give everything to qualify for the final series. On Saturday, we want to lay the foundation for that with a home win. To achieve that victory, every player must be ready to give everything and start the game with great commitment and concentration!"

Kufstein chairman Roland Luchner wants his team to give the favourites from Vorarlberg a real challenge: "We are really looking forward to the clash with Lustenau. Even though the season record is not in our favour, I am convinced that it will be an evenly matched contest. We will make life as difficult as possible for Lustenau, then we will see what comes of it in the end!"

Semi-final 2 – Game 1: KSV Kängurus vs. SC Samina Hohenems
Sat., 21 February 2026, 19:30, Stadthalle Kapfenberg

The KSV Kängurus face SC Samina Hohenems. In the fifth ÖEL season, the two teams are meeting in a playoff series for the fifth time.

The playoff encounters played in the Champions Hockey League format to date are level at 2:2. In 2022, the Styrians defeated the Vorarlberg side 11:5 on aggregate after the first and second legs in the semi-final. In 2023, the two clubs met again in the semi-finals, with the Steinböcke prevailing 9:5 after two games.

In 2024, the Mürztal side and the skating club faced each other in the final. After a clear 4:1 away win, in which Kapfenberg led 3:0 after exactly two minutes and ten seconds, the return leg ended 4:4 in front of the ÖEL's record crowd to date of 3.200 fans at Stadthalle Kapfenberg. The Kängurus became champions of the Ö Eishockey Liga for the first time with an 8:5 aggregate score.

Last year, the two teams already faced each other in the quarter-finals. Following Kapfenberg's 3:1 away win, Hohenems levelled the aggregate score at 3:3 in regulation time in the return leg in the Böhlerstadt with a 2:0 result, before prevailing 4:3 on aggregate in overtime thanks to the goal for 3:0 on aggregate. Hohenems have reached the final three times in a row since 2023, but have so far always had to settle for runners-up honours.

Kapfenberg won their quarter-final series against EHC Kundl 2:1. After a surprise 1:2 defeat to the Lower Inn Valley side on penalties in the first home game, the Styrians followed it up with a 6:0 win away in Kundl. On Wednesday, the team coached by player-coach Kris Reinthaler secured their place in the semi-finals with a 5:2 home win.

SC Hohenems also had to go the full best-of-three distance against WEV. After a 5:1 home win, the Vorarlberg side narrowly lost 2:3 in Vienna, before Head Coach Martin Mallinger's team defeated the Viennese side 6:1 at Rheinhalle Lustenau on Wednesday to book the final semi-final spot.

Kapfenberg player-coach Kristof Reinthaler was relieved after the hard-fought win against EHC Kundl and is hoping for revenge against the Vorarlberg side: "Of course, we are happy now that we eventually scored the goals and won the game. Now it goes straight on to the semi-finals. We have faced Hohenems in every season so far. We still remember last season's duel very well and I think there is still a score to settle!"

Hohenems sporting director Matthias Fritz knows that the time must now be used optimally for recovery in order to take on the challenge of Kapfenberg: "After a hard-fought game against a spirited Vienna side, there is hardly any time to recover, as the long away trip to Kapfenberg is already coming up on Saturday. We hope that one or two players who have been ill can return to the line-up. The East regular-season winners present an extremely difficult task, but one we will take on with full concentration and commitment!"

Ö Eishockey Liga 2025/2026 - Playoffs - Semi-finals

Game 1:

EHC Lustenau vs. HC Kufstein
Sat, 21 February 2026, 17:30, Rheinhalle Lustenau - >> to the livestream

KSV Kängurus vs. SC Hohenems
Sat, 21 February 2026, 19:30, Stadthalle Kapfenberg - >> to the livestream

Game 2:

HC Kufstein vs. EHC Lustenau
Sat, 28 February 2026, 17:30, Eisarena Kufstein

SC Hohenems vs. KSV Kängurus
Sat, 28 February 2026, 18:30, Eisstadion Hohenems

Game 3 (if necessary):

EHC Lustenau vs. HC Kufstein
Wed, 04 March 2026, Rheinhalle Lustenau

KSV Kängurus vs. SC Hohenems
Wed, 04 March 2026, Stadthalle Kapfenberg

Further article:

Kapfenberg reach the semi-finals after victory over EHC Kundl – Hohenems overcome WEV

Ö Eishockey Liga 2025/2026 – Play-offs – Quarter-finals

Game 3:

KSV Kängurus vs. EHC Kundl 5:2 (1:1,2:1,2:0)
Wed, 18 February 2026, 18:30, Stadthalle Kapfenberg
KSV Kängurus goalscorers: Pierre Graf (at 11:16/PP2, at 23:23/PP1), Luca Fasching (at 37:08), Lukas Telsnig (at 53:58)
EHC Kundl goalscorers: Maximilian Mackner (at 08:12), Lukas Thaler (at 31:16/PP1)

Final score in the best-of-three series: 2:1

SC Samina Hohenems vs. Wiener Eislauf-Verein 6:1 (2:0,2:1,2:0)
Wed, 18 February 2026, 19:30, Rheinhalle Lustenau
SC Hohenems goalscorers: Ricards Purins (at 00:54, at 10:29/PP1, at 25:27/PP2, at 36:40), Dominik Hron (at 48:32), Sandro Schadl (at 55:50/SH1/EN)
Wiener Eislauf-Verein goalscorer: Xaver Emslander (at 30:13)

Final score in the best-of-three series: 2:1

Game 2:

ATSE Graz vs. EHC Lustenau 1:4 (0:1,0:0,1:3)
Sat., 14 February 2026, 18:30, Graz Merkur Eisstadion (Hall A)
ATSE Graz scorer: Filip Matijević (43:49)
EHC Lustenau scorers: Lucas Haberl (02:14), Martin Grabher Meier (40:38) Robin Wüstner (47:51), Christopher D’Alvise (58:58/SH1/EN)

Final score in the best-of-three series: 0:2

EHC Kundl vs. KSV Kängurus 0:6 (0:3,0:3,0:0)
Sat., 14 February 2026, 17:30, Eisarena Kundl
KSV Kängurus scorers: Kevin Moderer (09:19), Pierre Graf (10:24/PP1), Christoph Draschkowitz (13:26, 28:30), Stefan Trost (33:10), Phileas Lyssy (38:18/PP1)

HC Kufstein vs. UEHV CAM4DENT Sharks Gmunden 4:3 n.P. (2:2,0:0,1:1,0:0,1:0)
Sat., 14 February 2026, 17:30, Eisarena Kufstein
HC Kufstein scorers: Stefan Reiter (12:30, 41:22), Aleksi Airaksinen (19:31), Clemens Paulweber (65:00/decisive penalty)
Sharks Gmunden scorers: Moritz Neurauter (02:24), 09:53 Hubert Berger (09:53), Jonas Kail (52:57/PP1)

Final score in the best-of-three series: 2:0

Wiener Eislauf-Verein vs. SC Samina Hohenems 3:2 (1:1,1:0,1:1)
Sat., 14 February 2026, 18:00, WEV Arena Heumarkt
Wiener Eislauf-Verein scorers: Patrick Bolterle (17:05), Rupert Fichtinger (29:11/PP1), Richard Gruber (45:21)
SC Hohenems scorers:Christian Haidinger (02:55), Marcel Wolf (57:51/PP1)

Game 1:

EHC Lustenau vs. ATSE Graz 7:2 (2:0,2:0,3:2)
Sat., 07 February 2026, 17:30, Rheinhalle Lustenau
EHC Lustenau scorers: Christopher D‘Alvise (12:22, 32:25, 50:14), David Slivnik (12:53), Daniel Stefan (33:42), Manuel Metzler (52:50/PP1), Ricardo Bell (59:14)
ATSE Graz scorers: Cody Wickstrom (43:42), Mathias Werkl (47:46)

KSV Kängurus vs. EHC Kundl 1:2 after penalties (1:0,0:0,0:1,0:0,0:1)
Sat., 07 February 2026, 19:30, Stadthalle Kapfenberg
KSV Kängurus scorer: Lukas Telsnig (17:58/PP1)
EHC Kundl scorers:Sebastian Schild (51:48), Michal Kluka (65:00/decisive penalty shot)

UEHV CAM4DENT Sharks Gmunden vs. HC Kufstein 3:4 AET (2:1,0:1,1:1,0:1)
Sat., 07 February 2026, 18:30, muki Arena
Sharks Gmunden scorers:Lukas Stöttner (03:40), Fabian Richter (19:36), Paul Pirklbauer (50:51/PP1)
HC Kufstein scorers: Markus Prock (06:24/PP1, 44:00/PP1), Clemens Paulweber (35:01/SH1, 60:50)

SC Samina Hohenems vs. Wiener Eislauf-Verein 5:1 (1:0,2:1,2:0)
Sat, 07 February 2026, 17:30, Eisstadion Hohenems
SC Hohenems scorers: Marcel Wolf (at 03:52), Patrick Spannring (at 20:23, at 57:36/EN), Christian Haidinger (at 34:57), Benjamin Kyllönen (at 52:15)
Wiener Eislauf-Verein scorer: Lukas Kaider (at 23:02)

Playoff format and further dates

The playoff match-ups, from the quarter-finals through the semi-finals to the final, are each decided in a Best-of-Three series (H/A/H). The teams that record two wins first advance to the semi-finals. If the score is level after regulation time, a five-minute three-on-three overtime period will be played, as in the regular season. Should overtime also fail to produce a winner, a penalty shootout will follow. In the semi-finals, the highest-ranked quarter-final winner after Phase 1 will play the lowest-ranked quarter-final winner after Phase 1. The semi-final winners will face each other in the final.

Final series
Sat, 07 March 2026 | Sat, 14 March 2026 | Sat, 21 March 2026 (if necessary)

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

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