Part two in the semi-finals of the Austrian Ice Hockey League: HC Kufstein meets EHC Lustenau on Saturday in the Eisarena Kufstein. Vorarlberg leads 1-0 in the best-of-three series and can secure a place in the final away from home. If Kufstein equalizes in the series, the deciding game will take place on Tuesday, March 3rd. SC Hohenems fights against Kapfenberg in the Hohenems ice stadium. The Styrians could also book their ticket to the final with a win in the Ländle. If SC Hohenems equalizes the series, the all-important game will take place on Wednesday, March 4th.
Semifinal 1 – Game 2: HC Kufstein vs. EHC Lustenau
Sat., February 28, 2026, 5:30 p.m., ice arena
The HC Kufstein meets on Saturday in the semi-final home game in the Eisarena Kufstein EHC Lustenau. The Vorarlbergers lead 1-0 in the best-of-three series after the 4-1 win in the Rheinhalle and can secure a place in the final away in the fortress city. The Dragons can only extend their season with a home win and force the playoff on Tuesday in Lustenau.
In the first match, Kufstein held their own against the dominant Lions in the first third, goalie Thomas Pfarrmaier didn’t allow a goal. After a quick and straightforward counterattack by Clemens Paulweber, who initiated a counterattack and played the final pass, and Herbert Steiner, the Lower Inntal team were suddenly 1-0 ahead through Christian Pittl.
With a double strike to equalize and take the lead for the first time early in the second period from Chris D’Alvise and Adem Kandemir, the hosts set the course for a series lead within two minutes. Goalgetter D’Alvise in the second third and Riku Tiainen in the final period secured the ultimately confident home win for the Lustenauers, who won their fifth game of the season against the Dragons.
The Kufsteiners hope for the support of their loud home fans and have to act even more compactly and disciplined defensively against the offensive power of Vorarlberg in order to have a chance of equalizing the series. In the current season, EHC Kundl showed how to crack Lustenauer in their narrow 2-1 home win at the beginning of January and SC Hohenems in their 3-2 win in the derby at Herrenried at the end of January.
Kufstein’s chairman Roland Luchner is convinced that his team can reach game three in Lustenau: “The result from the first semi-final game is okay in terms of performance: Lustenau acted very calmly and cleverly. But the good thing about a playoff series is that after a lost game it is only 0-1 and you have the chance to equalize in the next match. It is important to take advantage of this chance: We are playing at home in front of a full house with the fans behind us, this semi-final should not be decided after two games – and our team has definitely the class to come back and not reach a decision until game three.”
Lustenau’s head coach Dániel Fekete expects highly motivated Kufsteiners who will fight against being eliminated from the semi-finals and know what it takes to make it to the final: “For Kufstein, this match is a final. They have to win in order not to say goodbye to the summer break early. For this reason, we expect a highly motivated Kufsteiner team that will challenge us until the last minute. With a similar performance to last Saturday, we can also win this game. Our goalkeeper Felix Beck and the defense showed a very good performance. In the storm We have to convert our opportunities into goals even more consistently!”
Semifinal 2 – Game 2: SC Hohenems vs. KSV Kangaroos
Sat., February 28, 2026, 6:30 p.m., Hohenems Ice Stadium
The SC Hohenems fight against them on Saturday in the Hohenems ice stadium KSV Kangaroos to stay in the best-of-three series. The Styrians won last weekend in Kapfenberg after being 0:3 and 1:4 behind with a spectacular comeback in the last minutes with 5:4 after a penalty shootout and have the chance to book their ticket to the final early with a win away in the Ländle. As for Kufstein in the other semi-final series, the simple starting position also applies to SC Hohenems in the home game: “Win or fly!”
The match in Böhlerstadt was not for the faint of heart. The Steinbocks caught the Kangaroos on the wrong foot in the first period and countered with goals from Patrick Spannring and Fabian Mandlburger to take a 2-0 lead. In the second third, the Styrians recognized the seriousness of the situation and turned up the attack. However, the third goal of the game came just after half-time at the other end; Hohenems even led 3-0 through Eric Ockert.
When Manuel Trost quickly shortened the score to 1:3 with a wrist shot, the fans began to have hope for the first time, which Eric Ockert apparently finally destroyed with a wonderful goal to make it 4:1 nine and a half minutes before the end. With a 5:3 majority, Lukas Draschkowitz shortened the score to 2:4, followed by the most dramatic final minutes in recent Kapfenberg ice hockey history. With two goals within a minute by Pierre Graf to make it 3:4 and Neal Unterluggauer to make it 4:4, the Kangaroos saved themselves into overtime, survived a 3:4 deficit and won the penalty shootout with a goal from Florian Hoppl 5:4.
Hohenems sports director Matthias Fritz knows that now only victories count for a place in the final: “It was a game of equals for a long time, although Kapfenberg was able to increase the pressure as the game progressed. After a few unfortunate referee decisions, we came under increasing pressure when we lost 3:5 and 4:5 respectively. With a bit of luck, we could have made it 5:1 beforehand, which would probably have given the game a different direction. In the end, the decision had to be made in a penalty shootout, where we lost despite three shots at the post We narrowly lost. Now it’s time to put the game behind us quickly, get back up and focus on the future – because from now on only victories count!”
Kapfenberg’s player-coach Kristof Reinthaler looks back on the nerve-wracking home game before his team’s possible decider in Hohenems and wants to see consistent ice hockey over 60 minutes: “That was a very nerve-racking game for us. We made it very difficult for ourselves in the first third, we completely overslept the first third, that was catastrophic from our point of view. Every single one then took one step more and worked harder. After all, it’s now the playoffs, we’re in the semi-finals, we had a well-attended stadium and If you don’t step on the gas, then when? We were happy that we were able to go into extra time after the 4-4 draw. We lost the opening game of the playoffs in the penalty shootout, we learned our lessons from it, it’s a matter of luck in the penalty shootout and we had to play well in the away game for 60 minutes Minutes, there would definitely have been more in it. We have to take it upon ourselves and see that we can do it better next time!”
Ö Ice Hockey League 2025/2026 – Playoff – Semifinals
Game 2:
HC Kufstein vs. EHC Lustenau
Sat., February 28, 2026, 5:30 p.m., Eisarena Kufstein – >> to the live stream
SC Hohenems vs. KSV Kangaroos
Sat., February 28, 2026, 6:30 p.m., Hohenems Ice Stadium – >> to the live stream
Game 3 (If necessary):
EHC Lustenau vs. HC Kufstein
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026, 7:30 p.m., Rheinhalle Lustenau
KSV Kangaroos vs. SC Hohenems
Wed., March 4, 2026, 6:30 p.m., Kapfenberg town hall
Game 1:
EHC Lustenau vs. HC Kufstein 4:1 (0:1.3:0.1:0)
Sat., February 21, 2026, 5:30 p.m., Rheinhalle Lustenau
Goal scorers EHC Lustenau: Christopher D’Alvise (24:41 mins, 33:10 mins), Adem Kandemir (26:45 mins), Riku Tiainen (49:57 mins)
Goalscorer HC Kufstein: Christian Pittl (15:16 mins)
KSV Kangaroos vs. SC Hohenems 5:4 nP (0:2.1:1.3:1.0:0.1:0)
Sat., February 21, 2026, 6:30 p.m., Kapfenberg town hall
Goal scorers KSV Kangaroos: Manuel Trost (34:01 mins), Lukas Draschkowitz (54:01 mins/PP2), Pierre Graf (57:34 mins), Neal Unterluggauer (58:34 mins), Florian Hoppl (65:00 mins/decisive penalty)
Goal scorers SC Hohenems: Patrick Spannring (02:22 mins), Fabian Mandlburger (12:21 mins), Eric Ockert (30:21 mins, 50:29 mins)
www.eishockey.at, Pic: KSV/Randeu
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