VEU Feld­kirch win derby against SC Hohenems – Althofen edge USC Pirates Velden

SC SAMINA HohenemsSC SAMINA Hohenems and VEU Feldkirch opened the Vorarlberg derby in the West Group of the Ö Eishockey Liga at the Herrenriedstadion, in front of a superb crowd of 1.399 fans. The derby atmosphere was palpable from the outset, with the tension carrying over onto the ice. Neither team gave an inch as an open end-to-end contest developed.

Benjamin Kyllönen gave VEU Feldkirch a 1:0 lead in the tenth minute. The Ibex were now forced to adopt an even more attacking approach. The visitors stood firm and were solid defensively, while netminder Thomas Schubert also looked assured.

Little changed in the second period. Hohenems pushed forward, while the visitors continued to control their own defensive zone and look to create chances on the counter-attack. It was precisely such a counter-attack that produced VEU Feldkirch’s second goal. They quickly moved through the neutral zone and Alessandro Togni fired home for 2:0 in the 29th minute.

Head coach Bernd Schmidle’s team now faced an even greater challenge. In the final minute of the second period, Matthias Fussenegger converted a rebound for 1:2, one second after a power play had expired. Hohenems were on the scoreboard and the derby was heading for an exciting final period.

Hohenems pressed for an equaliser in the final period and got it: Christian Haidinger fired home for 2:2 in the 48th minute. The Ländle derby reached crunch time. In the 53rd minute, the hosts put together a fine move, with the puck reaching Thomas Auer, whose goal to make it 3:2 sent the Herrenriedstadion into raptures.

But VEU hit back shortly before the end: netminder Thomas Schubert left the ice, and Benjamin Kyllönen hammered the puck into the net for 3:3 in the 59th minute to send the visitors into overtime. There was no goal in the extra period, and the derby was decided in the ultimate showdown: a penalty shoot-out.

Philipp Maurer was the only player to convert his attempt, securing victory and the additional point for VEU. After the 4:3 result in their first meeting, the league newcomers also won the second Ländle derby.

South Group: Althofen defeat Pirates Velden

The South Group headline clash between USC Pirates Velden and 1. EHC Althofen at the Eishalle Velden was an intense duel from the outset, with both sides fighting for every inch of ice.

Late in the first period, Sebastian Höffernig put head coach Herwig Gressel’s team 1:0 ahead. The match remained a tight affair in the second period, with both netminders – Thomas Stroj for Velden and Fabian Horn for Althofen – showing why they rank among the South Group’s best goalkeepers.

The Rhinos struck on the power play, with Simon Hammerle equalising in the 26th minute. By the 35th minute, head coach Gerald Ressmann’s team had turned the game around. Kevin Schettina converted a cross-ice pass from Simon Hammerle while shorthanded to make it 2:1 for Althofen.

The match remained tense in the final period, but Althofen allowed no further goals and saw out their narrow victory. The Rhinos took three points away from Velden and regained top spot in the standings.

Eisbären Huben lose to Steindorf

The UECR Eisbären Huben hosted the ESC SoccerZone Steindorf for their first home game in front of 800 fans at the Eisstadion Huben, which exuded a wonderful Winter Classic atmosphere.

Huben assistant captain Alexander Riepler had predicted a fierce contest before the game, and he was proven right. The team from Lake Ossiach made the perfect start on the power play: Julian Maurer scored 1:0 for Steindorf. Both teams produced intense ice hockey, with the game taking on a playoff character early in the season.

Patrick Ropatsch made it 2:0 for ESC in the fifth minute. With five seconds remaining in the period, fists flew as emotions boiled over. It was fortunate that the first intermission followed immediately afterwards, allowing tempers to cool on both sides.

Both teams continued to serve up a gripping contest in the second period. Franz Wilfan extended the lead to 3:0 for the team coached by Robert Moser on the power play. In the 29th minute, Alexander Riepler scored the first home goal of the season to make it 1:3, giving the East Tyroleans hope once more. Almost two minutes later, Fabian Stichauner restored Steindorf's three-goal lead.

The team coached by Silvio Trojer battled their way back into the game once again, with Martin Unterlercher converting a power play to make it 2:4 for Eisbären in the 36th minute. 69 seconds later, Markus Pöck made it 5:2 for Steindorf, but Huben refused to give up and Johannes Warscher reduced the deficit to 3:5 58 seconds before the end of the period. 

In a match that remained emotionally charged in the final period, the home side pressed for a goal to reduce the deficit but were repeatedly denied by well-positioned Steindorf netminder René Baumann. Steindorf saw out the 5:3 result and returned to Lake Ossiach with three points.

North-East Group: Kapfenberg beat Sharks

Player-coach Kris Reinthaler had announced before his Kapfenberger SV side's clash against the UEHV RAUCH Technology Sharks Gmunden that the focus would be on improving their defence.

And that was exactly how the Kangaroos approached the Sharks from Lake Traunsee, without neglecting their attacking qualities. Dominik Wassermann scored 1:0 for Kapfenberg in the fourth minute, while Patrick Huppmann made it 2:0 for the Styrians in the 16th minute. Veteran goalie Rudi Hummel kept the Sharks from Gmunden in the game for a long time, and the second period ended goalless.

The league leaders played confidently in the final period and gave nothing away, with Stefan Derler making it 3:0 in the 44th minute to all but decide the game. Rupert Fichtinger put the finishing touch on the 4:0 home victory in the 51st minute.

Kapfenberg netminder Oliver Zirngast kept a clean sheet, stopping 35 shots to record a shutout. The Kangaroos therefore also won their sixth game of the season in regulation time.

Murtal Lions beat ATSE Graz

The players of EV Zeltweg Murtal Lions went into the match against the away side with confidence after the sensational comeback against WEV, despite having only 13 outfield players.ATSE Graz confidently, having completed a sensational comeback against WEV and travelling with only __OEHV_NUM_AT_A__ skaters.

Robin Weihager gave the hosts a 1:0 lead in the twelfth minute after a pass from Michael Grüneis. In the 17th minute, the exact reverse happened at the Aichfeldhalle: Weihager set up Grüneis, who scored to make it 2:0 for the Lions.

After a scoreless middle period, Raphael Rieger put Zeltweg on course for victory with his goal to make it 3:0 in the 51st minute. 57 seconds later, Manuel Pekler gave ATSE Graz renewed hope with a power-play goal, but Robin Weihager sealed the 4:1 result with his second goal into the empty Graz net.

With this victory, the Murtal Lions have consolidated their position as the second force in the North-East Group behind league leaders Kapfenberg.

UHT Dukes Graz lose to WEV

The clash between UHT Dukes Graz and Wiener Eislauf-Verein was clear from the outset: the race for the play-off places in the North-East Group had already begun early. Every match is crucial for the teams in their bid to secure one of the coveted places behind the dominant leaders Kapfenberg.

The match got off to a sensational start: Luca Rodiga put the Dukes 1:0 ahead after exactly five seconds of play. However, the team coached by player-coach Mario Kubeczka was barely, if at all, rattled and quickly equalised: Cedric Ehrenreich scored the 1:1 on the power play. In the eleventh minute, the Nador-Stupak show began for WEV. First, Bogdan Stupak set up his teammate Stefan Nador, who netted to make it 2:1. 

There was no further scoring for a long time in the second period before Stefan Nador set up Bogdan Stupak in the 39th minute, and he converted to make it 3:1.

In the final period, Nador extended Vienna's lead to 4:1 in the 52nd minute. Exactly 50 seconds later, Graz pulled back to 2:4 through Benjamin Zankl. However, WEV did not let their advantage slip and scored the 5:2 in the final minute, with Bogdan Stupak capping his strong performance with an empty-netter.

Vienna have therefore moved up to third place in the table. As an added bonus, the capital's side can look forward to ice hockey celebrations at Wiener Eislaufverein at Heumarkt from their next home match onwards.

Matchday, West Group

SC SAMINA Hohenems vs. VEU Feldkirch 3:4 after penalties (0:1,1:1,2:1,0:0,0:1)
Sat, 19 November 2022, 17:30, Eisstadion Herrenried
SC SAMINA Hohenems scorers: Matthias Fussenegger (at 39:13), Christian Haidinger (at 47:51), Thomas Auer (at 53:15)
VEU Feldkirch scorers: Benjamin Kyllönen (at 09:05, at 58:12), Alessandro Togni (at 28:03), Philipp Maurer (at 65:00/decisive penalty)

Matchday, South Group

UECR Eisbären Huben vs. ESC SoccerZone Steindorf 3:5 (0:2,3:3,0:0)
Sat, 19 November 2022, 19:00, Eisstadion Huben
UECR Eisbären Huben scorers:Alexander Riepler (28:46 min.), Martin Unterlercher (35:16 min./PP1), Johannes Warscher (39:02 min.)
Goalscorers for ESC SoccerZone Steindorf:Julian Maurer (01:38 min./PP1), Patrick Ropatsch (04:43 min.), Franz Wilfan (23:08 min./PP1), Fabian Stichauner (30:24 min.), Markus Pöck (36:25 min.)

USC Pirates Velden vs. 1st EHC Althofen 1:2 (1:0,0:2,0:0)
Sat., 19 November 2022, 19:00, Velden Ice Rink
Goalscorer for USC Pirates Velden:Sebastian Höffernig (16:21 min.)
Goalscorers for 1st EHC Althofen:Simon Hammerle (25:22 min./PP1), Kevin Schettina (34:31 min./SH1)

North-East Group matchday

Kapfenberger SV vs. UEHV RAUCH Technology Sharks Gmunden 4:0 (2:0,0:0,2:0)
Sat., 19 November 2022, 19:00, Kapfenberg Town Hall
Goalscorers for Kapfenberger SV:Dominik Wassermann (03:49 min.), Patrick Huppmann (15:46 min.), Stefan Derler (43:45 min.), Rupert Fichtinger (50:32 min.)

EV Zeltweg Murtal Lions vs. ATSE Graz 4:1 (2:0,0:0,2:1)
Sat., 19 November 2022, 19:00, Aichfeldhalle Zeltweg
Goalscorers for EV Zeltweg Murtal Lions:Robin Weihager (11:23 min., 59:19 min./SH1/EN), Michael Grüneis (16:22 min.), Raphael Rieger (50:04 min.)
Goalscorer for ATSE Graz:Manuel Pekler (51:01 min./PP1)

UHT Dukes Graz vs. Wiener Eislauf-Verein 2:5 (1:2,0:1,1:2)
Sat., 19 November 2022, 19:15, Merkur Eisstadion Graz
Goalscorers for UHT Dukes Graz:Luca Rodiga (00:05 min.), Benjamin Zankl (51:53 min.)
Goalscorers Wiener Eislauf-Verein: Cedric Ehrenreich (05:36 min./PP1), Stefan Nador (10:55 min., 51:03 min.), Bogdan Stupak (38:45 min./SH1, 59:01 min./EN)

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