Four games are scheduled for Sunday in the win2day ICE Hockey League. The duel between the Moser Medical Graz99ers and the Vienna Capitals will be broadcast live on ORF Sport+. Meanwhile, EC Red Bull Salzburg is on the hunt for its 13th win in a row in Bruneck and thus a new club record. The currently eleventh-placed EC iDM Heat Pumps VSV wants to get back to winning ways away from home in Bozen in order to take a pre-playoff place again. The Steinbach Black Wings Linz, who will be playing in Ljubljana on Sunday, want to consolidate their top 10 place.
HCB Südtirol Alperia – EC iDM heat pumps VSV
On Sunday afternoon there will be the fourth and final duel of the regular season in the Sparkasse Arena between HCB Südtirol Alperia and EC iDM Heat Pumps VSV. The game starts at 4:00 p.m. The South Tyroleans welcome the Carinthians as currently fourth in the table and therefore go into the encounter in a strong starting position. After two recent defeats against top teams, the people of Bolzano had previously celebrated a series of five wins in a row. The VSV, on the other hand, is traveling with the aim of picking up important points in the fight for the pre-playoff places. After 34 games, the Eagles are in eleventh place, two points behind the top ten. In the last 14 games, Villach has only managed two wins.
Two of the three previous meetings have gone to VSV, including a 6-3 away win in Bolzano and a 4-1 win in Villach. However, the South Tyroleans won their last duel away from home 4-1. While Bolzano has particularly impressed with its stable special teams this season, Villach now wants to write again after good performances but narrow results.
Olimpija Ljubljana – Steinbach Black Wings Linz
After the overtime success in Vienna, the next away game is already on the agenda for the Steinbach Black Wings. The journey takes the Linzers from Vienna to Ljubljana. The Upper Austrians were recently able to score their first goal away from home for the first time since November. Although the Capitals forced extra time, Graham Knott secured the crucial two points for Linz. There isn’t much time to breathe deeply, as the next tough test follows immediately with the away game in Slovenia.
The hosts from Ljubljana are currently in fifth place in the table with 62 points and have shown varied performances this season with recurring ups and downs. In the previous direct duels with Linz, the home team prevailed. Since their last meeting at the end of November, the Slovenians have celebrated eight wins from 16 games, but have recently suffered several defeats, including a clear 5-1 away defeat against Salzburg.
The green dragons are considered difficult to defeat, especially in their own hall; so far they have only been beaten there six times. Their special teams are also one of their strengths: in the power play they lead the league rankings with a success rate of 26.56 percent, and they are also at the top in penalty killing with 82.26 percent.
Moser Medical Graz99ers – Vienna Capitals
The next top game of the win2day ICE Hockey League will take place on Sunday at the Merkur Ice Stadium. The Moser Medical Graz99ers welcome the Vienna Capitals, the game starts at 5:30 p.m. The match will be broadcast on ORF Sport+, and live streams are also available on ORF ON and sporteurope.tv.
The people of Graz are going into the duel with a tailwind. On Friday, the Styrians beat HCB Südtirol Alperia 3-2 after overtime and thus consolidated their second place in the table. Seven wins from the last ten games and a series of five home wins in a row underline the 99ers’ current form. In terms of personnel, however, the situation remains tense as several players were injured after the most recent game and it will only be decided on the day of the game who is fit to play.
The Vienna Capitals are about to start a series of three away games within a week. After the 2:3 defeat after overtime against Linz, the Viennese are currently in ninth place, which entitles them to take part in the pre-playoffs. Despite numerous failures, the Capitals recently presented themselves as competitive and were able to compensate for a two-goal deficit against Linz before only having to admit defeat in extra time.
HC Falkensteiner Pustertal – EC Red Bull Salzburg
On Sunday evening, EC Red Bull Salzburg starts the last quarter of the regular season of the win2day ICE Hockey League with an away game at HC Falkensteiner Pustertal. The game in Brunico starts at 6:00 p.m.
The Salzburgers are traveling to South Tyrol with an impressive series. With the 5-1 home win against Ljubljana, the Red Bulls celebrated their twelfth success in a row and could set a new club record with another win. However, Salzburg had to admit defeat in the two previous season duels with the HCP and are still without a win in Bruneck this season.
HC Pustertal is in a challenging phase after four defeats in the last four rounds. The most recent defeat came last Monday with 2:3 in Klagenfurt. Despite this setback, the South Tyroleans are currently in sixth place and are fighting to defend this direct playoff place. The lead over pursuer Székesfehérvár is six points.
Salzburg remains in third place in the table after 36 games played and is only three points behind the second-placed Graz99ers. In addition to having the strongest defense in the league, the Red Bulls have also recently made significant improvements offensively and, with 120 goals scored, are now one of the most dangerous teams in the league. The Pustertalers also have offensive quality and have so far scored 118 goals – with two fewer games played.
win2day ICE Hockey League, Sunday, January 11th:
4:00 p.m. HCB Südtirol Alperia – EC iDM heat pumps VSV
Referees: HUBER, KAINBERGER, Martin, Rigoni | >> LIVE on Sporteurope.TV
4:00 p.m. Olimpija Ljubljana – Steinbach Black Wings Linz
Referees: NAGY, SOOS, Nothegger, Puff | >> LIVE on Sporteurope.TV
5:30 p.m. Moser Medical Graz99ers – Vienna Capitals
Referees: FICHTNER, OFNER, Muzsik, Riecken | >> LIVE on ORF Sport+
6:00 p.m. HC Falkensteiner Pustertal – EC Red Bull Salzburg
Referees: HOLZER, NIKOLIC, Pardatscher, Wimmler | >> LIVE on Sporteurope.TV
www.ice.hockey, Image: VSV/STEFAN
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