WEV reclaim top spot against Kapfen­berg – Hohenems win derby against Dorn­birn

In the second instalment of the big double-header Wiener Eislauf-Verein against defending champions Kapfenberger SV at the WEV Arena, the visitors from Styria following Saturday's 4:1 win, took to the ice in front of Vienna's Konzerthaus as the new table leaders. After an initial feeling-out period, the Kangaroos took the lead after exactly six minutes: Christoph Draschkowitz fired home to beat WEV netminder Moritz Merkader for 1:0 (at 7). 

Vienna hit back just under six minutes later: defenceman Richard Gruber finished off a quick move via Andre Paule from close range to make it 1:1 (at 12). Both teams played intense hockey, offering an early taste of the playoffs. Kapfenberg used their first power play to regain the lead: Stefan Trost deflected a Florian Hoppl shot to make it 2:1 (at 17). 

Towards the end of the first period, the home side applied energetic forechecking and it paid off: following a save by Kapfenberg netminder Michael Bischof, Daniel Aschauer pounced on the rebound 33 seconds before the first buzzer to make it 2:2 (at 20).

The two teams continued to battle for every inch of ice in the second period. The Upper Styrians soon took two penalties in succession but came through the four minutes relatively untroubled, as WEV lacked offensive urgency during this phase. As the middle period wore on, the Mürztal side, led by player-coach Kris Reinthaler, increasingly took control and also created good chances. 

The defending champions celebrated what appeared to be the opening goal through Stefan Trost, but the goal was disallowed by the refereeing team for a high stick. Following a save, KSV netminder Michael Bischof had to leave the ice injured, with first-choice goalie Oliver Zirngast replacing him in goal. The contest became increasingly frenetic and emotional – in keeping with the "play-off feeling" – which was also palpable in the final period. It was crunch time, but neither team could find the winner in regulation time. 

WEV took a penalty two seconds before the end and had to begin overtime shorthanded, but survived this delicate phase without conceding. The blockbuster went to the ultimate showdown, the shootout, in which all Vienna's shooters – Denis Simek, Theodor Fichtinger, Patrick Bolterle and Nils Granitz – scored. For Kapfenberg, Christoph Draschkowitz and Kevin Moderer scored, while Florian Hoppl and Pierre Graf failed to convert. WEV celebrated their first win of the season against the defending champions, 3:2 after a shootout, and reclaimed top spot from the Styrians.

Division West:

SC Samina Hohenems leave nothing to chance in derby at Dornbirner EC

For the third time this season, on Sunday Dornbirner EC in the final home game of the season in front of more than 650 fans at the Messestadion, the SC Samina Hohenems in the Vorarlberg derby in their final home game of the season, in front of more than __OEHV_NUM_S_A__ fans at the Messestadion. Both teams produced a lively game from the outset, with only the goals initially missing. 

The Bulldogs did not make the most of their first power play to take the lead, and the visitors proved more clinical in front of goal shortly afterwards: following a quick attack down the left, Felix Vonbun played a sharp cross-ice pass into the middle, and Johannes Hehle converted from close range to make it 1:0 for the Ibex (at 17).

The home side had another power play in the second period and pressed for the equaliser, but it did not come. On the contrary: Marcel Wolf won the puck with determination, raced in on DEC netminder Kilian Wempe and sent the puck over the line with a backhand for a classic shorthanded goal to make it 2:0 (at 25). Hohenems remained on top. Dornbirn kept pace well with the Division West runners-up, but posed too little threat in front of the Hohenems goal guarded by Pascal Prugger. 

Head coach Thomas Sticha's team were far more composed. Michael Novak entered the offensive zone down the left and scored with a precise shot from the left face-off circle to make it 3:0 (at 38). In the final period, the Grafenstädter controlled the game and added two goals within 63 seconds: Michael Novak scored the goal of the night on the power play, skating around the Bulldogs' net and sending the puck over the line with a one-handed backhand to make it 4:0 (at 52). Julian Payr then fired from the right face-off circle to increase the lead to 5:0 (at 53). 

With another quick-fire double – this time within twelve seconds – the visitors took the score to 7:0 in the final minute. First, Johannes Hehle got his stick on a pass from Stefan Spannring on the power play to make it 6:0 (60th minute). Christian Haidinger then scored from the slot with the next attack to seal the 7:0 final score (60th minute). HSC netminder Pascal Prugger recorded a shutout as SC Hohenems celebrated their second win in the third derby against Dornbirn and will host the Bulldogs next Sunday for their final meeting of the season.

Ö Eishockey Liga - Division East:

Wiener Eislauf-Verein vs. Kapfenberger SV Kängurus 3:2 after penalty shootout (2:2,0:0,0:0,0:0,1:0)
Sun., 19 January 2025, 15:15, WEV Arena, Lothringerstraße 22
Wiener Eislauf-Verein scorers: Richard Gruber (11:42 min.), Daniel Aschauer (19:27 min.), Patrick Bolterle (65:00 min./decisive penalty)
KSV Kängurus scorers: Christoph Draschkowitz (06:00 min.), Stefan Trost (16:21 min./PP1)

Ö Eishockey Liga - Division West:

Dornbirner EC vs. SC Samina Hohenems 0:7 (0:1,0:2,0:4)
Sun., 19 January 2025, 17:30, Messestadion Dornbirn
SC Hohenems scorers: Johannes Hehle (16:23 min., 59:25 min./PP1), Marcel Wolf (24:38 min.), Michael Novak (37:45 min., 51:22 min./PP1), Julian Payr (52:25 min.), Christian Haidinger (59:37 min.)

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

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