win2day ICE Hockey League: Block­buster clash between Red Bull Salzburg and KAC live on ORF 1 on the second matchday

The win2day ICE Hockey League begins its 26th season on Friday, 12 September, with 13 teams from four A-Pool nations. For the first time, two Hungarian teams, league newcomers FTC-Telekom Budapest and Hydro Fehérvár AV19, will take part in the championship.

The format remains unchanged: the regular season comprises two home-and-away rounds, totalling 48 games per team. This means that a total of 312 games are scheduled, with each team facing every other team four times. The teams ranked first to sixth qualify directly for the quarter-finals.

The teams placed seventh to tenth contest the pre-playoffs in a best-of-three format. The two winners complete the quarter-final field. The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will be played in the usual best-of-seven format.

Fixtures for the opening weekend confirmed

Six games are scheduled on 12 and 14 September respectively. One particular highlight is the repeat of the final between champions EC Red Bull Salzburg and EC-KAC on the second matchday – the game will be shown live on ORF 1 for the first time. Clubs can still request changes for the remaining regular-season rounds. The final Regular Season schedule will be published on Thursday, 24 July.

The first two rounds at a glance:

Round 1:

EC-KAC vs. Hydro Fehérvár AV19

Fri, 12 September 2025

Steinbach Black Wings Linz vs. Pioneers Vorarlberg

Fri, 12 September 2025

FTC-Telekom Budapest vs. EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV

Fri, 12 September 2025

HCB Südtirol Alperia vs. EC Red Bull Salzburg

Fri, 12 September 2025

HC TIWAG Innsbruck vs. HC Pustertal

Fri, 12 September 2025

Olimpija Ljubljana vs. Vienna Capitals

Fri, 12 September 2025

Round 2:

EC Red Bull Salzburg vs. EC-KAC (live on ORF 1)

Sun, 14 September 2025

Hydro Fehérvár AV19 vs. Steinbach Black Wings Linz

Sun, 14 September 2025

Vienna Capitals vs. FTC-Telekom Budapest

Sun, 14 September 2025

HC Pustertal vs. Moser Medical Graz99ers

Sun, 14 September 2025

Pioneers Vorarlberg vs. HC TIWAG Innsbruck

Sun, 14 September 2025

Olimpija Ljubljana vs. EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV

Sun, 14 September 2025

All games on Sportdeutschland.TV

From the 2025/26 season onwards, all games will be shown by the new streaming partner Sportdeutschland.TV. The established platform, with more than ten years of experience in live sports streaming, will take the ICE experience for fans to the next level. The partnership includes structured measures to support the clubs in streaming and signal production, as well as the production of all game highlights and additional editorial content, particularly content for social media.