With Hydro Fehervar AV19, the last team has secured its ticket to the quarterfinals. The round of the best eight starts next Tuesday – with the following duels.
Basic round winner Moser Medical Graz99ers chose the EC iDM heat pump VSV. The EC-KAC hosts Hydro Fehervar AV19 on Tuesday, the EC Red Bull Salzburg faces HC Falkensteiner Pustertal and HCB Südtirol Alperia duels with Olimpija Ljubljana.
Quarterfinal 1: Moser Medical Graz99ers (1) – EC iDM Heat Pumps VSV (7)
Basic round winner Moser Medical Graz99ers had first picking rights and chose the EC iDM heat pump VSV. Villach qualified for the quarter-finals with a 2-0 series win in the pre-playoffs against Linz. For VSV, it is the seventh quarter-final appearance in a row, while Graz won the regular round for the third time in league history. The two teams will meet for the first time in the postseason. In the regular season, the 99ers won three of the four duels. In total, the two teams have faced each other 140 times so far – 78 games went to VSV and 62 to the 99ers.
Statement from Head Coach Dan Lacroix (G99): “Every team that is now in the playoffs has a chance – it all starts from scratch. We have to win four games and our focus is on implementing our own game well and being well prepared. I think it will be a really good series against a strong opponent who plays very structured, has a lot of quality and performed really well in the two games against Linz. We are happy to accept the challenge and concentrate on ourselves. For game one our focus is on getting back into the rhythm.”
Statement from Head Coach Pierre Allard (VSV): coming soon
Quarterfinal 2: EC-KAC (2) – Hydro Fehérvár AV19 (8)
The EC-KAC slipped back to second place on the last matchday of the regular season and was therefore only the second team to choose its quarter-final opponent. The Red Jackets chose Fehérvár. The Hungarians were the last team to qualify for the quarter-finals with a win in Vienna on Sunday, making it to the quarter-finals for the sixth time in a row. This season, the Red Jackets have won all four duels of the season so far, once in overtime and once in a penalty shootout. There have been a total of 92 duels between the two teams so far – with 53 wins for the KAC and 39 for Fehérvár. Now there will be a confrontation in the playoffs for the first time ever.
Statement from Head Coach Kirk Furey (KAC) will follow shortly
Statement from Head Coach Ted Dent (AVS) will follow shortly
Quarterfinal 3: EC Red Bull Salzburg (3) – HC Falkensteiner Pustertal (5)
As third place in the basic round, defending champions EC Red Bull Salzburg chose the fifth-place team from Bruneck. Both teams will meet for the first time in the playoffs. Salzburg have been crowned champions in each of the past four seasons and only missed the playoffs in their debut season in 2004/05. Pustertal made it into the playoffs three times in four league seasons – even reaching the semi-finals once. Salzburg has won twelve of the 20 duels so far, but the South Tyroleans have improved their record over the course of the season so far: they have won three times, but Salzburg won the last meeting in extra time.
Statement from Head Coach Manny Viveiros (RBS): “There is no bad team in this league. During the season our goal was to get better and better and now we think we have a good form for the playoffs. There is no one reason why we chose Pustertal. We have great respect for Pustertal, but also have great confidence in our game. This will be an exciting series.”
Sstatement from Head Coach Jason Jaspers (HCP): “Salzburg have become champions four times in a row, that speaks for itself. They always perform at the highest level. We are very happy that the playoffs are starting, but we know what strong opponents we face in the Red Bulls. It certainly gives us all an extra boost of motivation that we were picked. I’m expecting a great series in which the details and discipline will be crucial.”
Quarterfinal 4: HCB Südtirol Alperia (4) – Olimpija Ljubljana (6)
HCB Südtirol Alperia was unable to choose an opponent when it came fourth in the regular season and was therefore drawn with sixth place Ljubljana. The two teams will meet for the first time in the playoffs. This is the tenth quarter-final qualification for the two-time champion Bolzano – they only had to admit defeat in the pre-playoffs in 2022. Ljubljana made it to the quarter-finals for the first time since 2022. In a direct season comparison the score is 2:2, both teams have won their home games so far. Of the 18 meetings so far, Bolzano has been victorious ten times.
Statement from Head Coach Doug Shedden (HCB): “I think at this time of year everyone’s anticipation increases again. The long regular season is over, and it feels a bit like a new beginning when the playoffs start. Every team looks forward to this every year – it’s simply the best time of the season. It’s always a little difficult to concentrate exclusively on the opponent. For us, the main focus is on bringing our own game onto the ice and playing to our strengths. That’s what we’ve been preparing for this week and we’ve worked hard on it. Ljubljana have recently brought in some really strong players. They also have the best attack in the league, so they have a lot of quality in attack. In addition, you can expect a very offensive series in the end. If the series starts with a home game, you will of course have to start well If you miss it, you might already be 2-0 down. That’s why good preparation and the right mental attitude are particularly important for this first game.”
Statement from Head Coach Ben Cooper (OLL): “We are really looking forward to the challenge of playing a playoff series against Bolzano. They are a very strong team with many experienced playoff players, offensive quality and strong goalkeepers. In the regular season we had four very even and competitive duels, so we are now expecting a good and close series. We are aware that a higher level of intensity is required in the playoffs and we are prepared for that. Our goal is to play our game from the first face-off in Game 1 Ultimately, the series will probably depend on which team plays more disciplined, tires the opponent better and of course remains stable defensively.
Quarterfinal match dates
March 10, 2026
March 12, 2026
March 14, 2026
March 17, 2026
March 19, 2026 (if necessary)
March 21, 2026 (if necessary)
March 25, 2026 (if necessary)
ORF starts the playoffs with a live game from Graz
At the start of the quarter-finals on Tuesday, March 10th, the league TV partner ORF will broadcast the game between Graz and Villach live on ORF Sport+. On the second quarter-final matchday on Thursday, March 12th, the duel between Pustertal and Salzburg will also follow live on ORF Sport+. The game starts at 7:15 p.m. The further broadcast dates in the quarter-finals will be announced soon.
All playoff games can be seen live on Sporteurope.tv. All games played by Austrian clubs in non-German-speaking countries are also offered with German commentary.
ice.hockey , Image: VSV/STEFAN
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