Spec­tac­ular first final: ESC Stein­dorf take the lead against SC Hohenems!

To the stirring sound of the Austrian national anthem, ESC SoccerZone Steindorf and SC Samina Hohenems 1974 began the final for the Ö Eishockey Liga title at the Ossiacher See Halle.

Having won the Kärntner AHC Division I title, the Carinthians went into the first of two ÖEL finals brimming with confidence. Head coach Robert Moser's team won the "Best-of-Five" series on Thursday with a 4:3 overtime victory in Althofen, taking the series 3:1. By reaching the ÖEL final, Steindorf have the chance to complete the double in their 50th anniversary year.

The home side made a lightning start to the game and immediately established themselves in the offensive zone. Martin Oraže fired home after 34 seconds to make it 1:0. Steindorf pressed on and took an early 2:0 lead. Following a forceful attack by Markus Pöck, Hohenems goalie Karlo Skec was initially able to make the save, but Kristian Kravanja passed to Franz Wilfan, who scored from close range in the fifth minute.

The Steinböcke net was breached again in the ninth minute: Christof Martinz sent Benjamin Petrik clear, and he raced into the offensive zone before making it 3:0 with a long-range shot. Shortly afterwards, Benjamin Petrik and Franz Wilfan combined for a one-two, with Hohenems keeper Skec making an excellent save from Petrik's effort to prevent 0:4 and galvanise his teammates. 

The fans saw three goals in the final two minutes of the first period. First, head coach Bernd Schmidle's team opened their account in the final series on the power play. In the 19th minute, Stefan Spannring sent the puck towards goal from the blue line and Christian Haidinger beat Steindorf's 16-year-old goalie, Paul Steiner, from close range.

The goal resulted in another penalty for Steindorf, which had already been signalled beforehand. It was a major opportunity for the visitors to pull another goal back. However, Steindorf's Andreas Wiedergut stole the puck and tested Karlo Skec, before Christof Martinz converted the rebound shorthanded to make it 4:1, just 32 seconds after Hohenems' first goal.

With 30 seconds remaining in the period, SC Hohenems reduced the deficit to 2:4. Johannes Hehle was perfectly positioned following a power-play shot by Lukas Fritz and converted after goalie Steiner had only partially cleared.

Early in the second period, Hohenems' leading scorer Christian Haidinger had a double chance but was denied by Steindorf keeper Paul Steiner. The Vorarlberg side now adopted more aggressive forechecking. After Steindorf lost the puck in their own zone, Marcel Wolf played a superb pass to Thomas Auer, who scored the goal to make it 3:4 in the 24th minute.

Steindorf strike twice in the second period

The game became more spectacular and faster by the minute. Steindorf were largely unfazed and restored their two-goal lead with a quick double. First, Stefan Bacher unleashed a rocket to make it 5:3 in the 27th minute. Just 16 seconds later, Julian Maurer passed to Christof Martinz, who tapped in from close range.

Hohenems head coach Bernd Schmidle changed goalies, bringing Matthias Fritz in for Karlo Skec. But even this move could not stop Steindorf's attacking power. In the 30th minute, Benjamin Petrik fired the puck irresistibly into the net to make it 7:3 during a 5:3 power play. Just under five minutes later, with Steindorf again on the power play, Markus Pöck made it 8:3.

The tempo was no longer quite as high in the final period. Hohenems tried to improve the result further for the return leg with the aggregate score in mind. The Carinthians managed the game. After exactly 51 minutes, Johannes Hehle followed up to score and make it 4:8, after Christian Haidinger had driven forcefully towards the opposition goal.

Young Steindorf netminder Paul Steiner prevented any further goals for the Vorarlberg side, as the Ossiacher See outfit won the first leg 8:4 and will take a four-goal lead into the return leg next Saturday at the Herrenriedstadion in Hohenems.

Play-off format

The final will also be decided over two legs under the Champions Hockey League (CHL) format. The club that finished higher after the regular season starts with the away game. The aggregate score from both completed matches will be used. The team leading on aggregate after the first and second legs will be crowned Ö Eishockey Liga champions.

Should the aggregate score be level at the final buzzer after 120 minutes, the outcome will be decided by a ten-minute three-on-three overtime and, if necessary, a penalty shootout with five shooters per team. This means there is no overtime in the first leg. The first leg ends after 60 minutes either in a draw or with a win in regulation time.

Ö Eishockey Liga play-off final

First leg:

ESC SoccerZone Steindorf vs. SC Samina Hohenems 1974 8:4 (4:2,4:1,0:1)
Sat, 11 March 2023, 17:30, Ossiacher See Halle
Goal scorers for ESC SoccerZone Steindorf: Martin Oraže (00:34), Franz Wilfan (04:19), Benjamin Petrik (09:33, 29:36/PP2), Christof Martinz (18:37/SH1, 26:41), Stefan Bacher (26:25), Markus Pöck (34:51/PP1)
Goal scorers for SC Samina Hohenems 1974: Christian Haidinger (18:05/PP1), Johannes Hehle (19:30/PP1, 51:00), Thomas Auer (23:02)

Second leg:

SC Samina Hohenems 1974 vs. ESC SoccerZone Steindorf
Sat, 18 March 2023, 18:30, Herrenriedstadion

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