Sharks Gmunden take on cham­pions Kapfen­berg – Croc­o­diles Kundl host EHC Lustenau

UEHV CAM4DENT Sharks Gmunden vs. KSV Kängurus

Sat., 19 October 2024, 18:30, Eishalle Gmunden

The big clash in the East Division on Saturday is UEHV CAM4DENT Sharks Gmunden against Kapfenberger SV. The champions and title holders from the Mürztal had to accept a narrow but surprising 5:6 defeat against league newcomers Maribor in their opener. The Sharks from Lake Traun immediately put three points on the board in their opener against ATSE in Graz and head into their first home game with great excitement and anticipation. 

Gmunden head coach Gregor Baumgartner knows that the champions from the Mürztal will be looking to respond this weekend following their opening defeat in Slovenia: "For our home opener on Saturday, we expect a very focused and tenacious Kapfenberg side after things did not go as they had hoped in Maribor. We will try to continue improving our game and are looking forward to showing our home fans an exciting and hard-fought game!" 

Kapfenberg player-coach Kris Reinthaler explains where he and his team need to improve after the 5:6 result in Maribor: "We were far too slow in the first game of the season in Maribor and lost almost every battle. But we must not bury our heads in the sand after the defeat. We are working on our mistakes, know that we are capable of more and will have to show that in Gmunden next weekend."

HDK Maribor vs. Wiener Eislauf-Verein

Sat., 19 October 2024, 18:30, Ledna dvorana Maribor

What a debut it was for HDK Maribor in the Ö Eishockey Liga. Following their sensational win over champions Kapfenberg, the Slovenians welcome another traditional Austrian club, Wiener Eislauf-Verein to the Ledna dvorana Maribor for a hotly contested encounter on Saturday. 

Above all, the winning goal by Füchse centre Danilo Tomašević, who sent the puck into the top corner with a "Michigan Move" 58 seconds before the end, will be remembered for a long time in Maribor and across the Ö Eishockey Liga. Vienna, who had a bye last weekend, are already raring to go and begin the new season with the exciting away game in Maribor. 

Maribor head coach Jure Verlič remains self-critical despite the opening success against the ÖEL title holders: "In the first game, we saw that the opponent punished every one of our mistakes, so we need to reduce our mistakes and be more compact defensively against Vienna. We have to do a better job in defence and not give the opponent too much time and space. We need to be the best version of ourselves to achieve another good result." 

At the WEV have Philipp Ullrich, whose anticipation is palpable after the preparations, as their new head coach behind the bench: "We are delighted that it is finally getting under way for us as well. We have trained very well over the past few weeks and I hope we play our game from the outset. Maribor have gained a lot of confidence following their opening win. This match will be a good first test for us straight away!"

The ATSE Graz have a weekend off – the Graz side will play their next match on National Day against HDK Maribor.

Division West: 

EHC Crocodiles Kundl vs. EHC Lustenau

Fri, 18 October 2024, 19:30, Eisarena Kundl

The home opener for EHC Crocodiles Kundl on Friday in Division West against EHC Lustenau is immediately a clash between two opening-game winners. The Tyroleans claimed a hard-fought 4:1 victory over the Dornbirner Bulldogs on Sunday, with the Bulldogs keeping the match close for a long time. The Lions from Vorarlberg showed in their ÖEL debut, and in their 6:2 win over Wattens, that they intend to have a major say in the title race.

Kundl chairman Gerhard Maier is confident ahead of the first home game against another Vorarlberg club following the away win in Dornbirn: "The first three points are in the bank, so our start has been successful. It is clear that the pressure will be on last year's Alps Hockey League club next Friday. However, we will go into this match full of confidence and put in a great performance in front of our home crowd!" 

Daniel Fekete, head coach of Lustenau, wants to build on the performance against Wattens in the first away match: "We are new to this league and certainly cannot underestimate any team. Kundl reached the playoffs last season and have made a good start to the new campaign. Our aim is to build on the lessons learned from the game against Wattens and improve step by step."

SC Samina Hohenems vs. WSG Swarovski Wattens Penguins

Sat, 19 October 2024, 19:00, Eisstadion Hohenems

After the ultimately convincing away win over HC Kufstein, SC Samina Hohenems welcome WSG Swarovski Wattens Penguins on Saturday for their home opener at Herrenried. The Tyroleans, who are making their comeback in the Ö Eishockey Liga this year, suffered a defeat against Lustenau in their first match. The Penguins, who will play their first home game at the Alpenstadion in mid-November, have four more road trips to Vorarlberg on their schedule before then.

Hohenems head coach Thomas Sticha has respect for the Penguins ahead of the game and urges his team to focus on its own strengths: "Wattens will play a slightly different style to Kufstein last week. They have many young players who will certainly try to play at pace. But we certainly will not underestimate our opponents, because that is something you should not do against any team in this league. We will continue to play as we did in Kufstein and force our opponents into mistakes with our strengths." 

Wattens coach Manfred Burgstaller admits that, despite good preparation, there is still a slight training deficit, but also promises a fight against the Steinböcke: "Not much will certainly change for us over the next four away games in Vorarlberg. We saw at the weekend in Kufstein just how strong Hohenems are, so this match will be similar in terms of level and quality to the one against EHC Lustenau. We will try to make it as difficult as possible for our opponents again this weekend and hope to make up the training deficit soon!"

Dornbirner EC vs. HC Kufstein

Sun, 20 October 2024, 17:30, Messestadion Dornbirn

Second consecutive home game for Dornbirner EC: following the defeat to Kundl, the Bulldogs welcome the next club from the Tyrolean district of the same name, HC Kufstein to the Messestadion on Sunday in the final game of the second matchday. The Dragons also began the new season with a defeat in their home opener against Hohenems last Saturday. That means one of the two teams will definitely claim its first win of the season on Sunday.

Dornbirn chairman and youth director Christof Schwendinger had already seen some promising signs from his team in the match against Kundl: "As last year, we are again playing with a young squad, with the focus on training. We are trying to play a fast game and manage to do so at times. We kept the game open for a long time against the experienced Crocodiles and were very much in the game until the 55th minute. We still need to improve on the power play and in converting our chances. On the other hand, we were better positioned in our own zone and our penalty killing was good. Against Kufstein, we will again face an opponent travelling to Dornbirn with plenty of experience. We will train hard again this week and try to improve in the next game!"

Ö Eishockey Liga – Division East:

UEHV CAM4DENT Sharks Gmunden vs. KSV Kängurus

Sat, 19 October 2024, 18:30, Eishalle Gmunden

HDK Maribor vs. Wiener Eislauf-Verein

Sat, 19 October 2024, 18:30, Ledna dvorana Maribor

ATSE Graz have a bye

Ö Eishockey Liga – Division West:

EHC Crocodiles Kundl vs. EHC Lustenau

Fri, 18 October 2024, 19:30, Eisarena Kundl

SC Samina Hohenems vs. WSG Swarovski Wattens Penguins

Sat, 19 October 2024, 19:00, Eisstadion Hohenems

Dornbirner EC vs. HC Kufstein

Sun, 20 October 2024, 17:30, Messestadion Dornbirn

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

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