On Friday and Saturday, important double games await the EC iDM Heat Pumps VSV and the Vienna Capitals in the race for the top 10 within 24 hours. The Moser Medical Graz99ers, who are in the middle of the fight for a place in the Champions Hockey League, are also twice as challenged, albeit in a different table region. The top 6 teams EC-KAC, HCB Südtirol Alperia and HC Falkensteiner Pustertal also have home games on Friday.
Home double for VSV against Salzburg and Fehérvár
The EC iDM Heat Pumps VSV is facing a groundbreaking home double in the win2day ICE Hockey League next weekend. After the 5:4 overtime win away at HC Bozen, Villach will host EC Red Bull Salzburg on Friday (7:15 p.m.), before Hydro Fehérvár AV19 plays in the town hall on Saturday (7:15 p.m.).
The Eagles are in eleventh place after 35 games this season and are therefore just outside the pre-playoff places. The gap to the top 10 is only two points, which makes the two home games even more important. Salzburg travels to Carinthia in third place and continues to have the strongest defensive team in the league. The previous duels between VSV and Salzburg were only decided in extra time – both times in favor of the Mozartstadt team. After a series of twelve wins in a row, Salzburg recently suffered a defeat for the first time, but is still in third place in the table.
At the home game on Saturday against Fehérvár, VSV will be fighting for the top 10 against a direct competitor. The Hungarians, who are still in action at the EC-KAC on Friday, were recently narrowly defeated by Bolzano. The two previous season duels between VSV and AVS were won by the away team.
Vienna Capitals face an important away double in the west
The Vienna Capitals face two landmark away games next weekend in the fight for the pre-playoff places. On Friday the Viennese host the Pioneers Vorarlberg (7.30 p.m.), followed on Saturday by the duel against bottom team HC TIWAG Innsbruck (5.30 p.m.). Before the last quarter of the regular season, the Capitals are in tenth place with 46 points. The race for the pre-playoff places remains tight, with the gap to seventh place being six points with one game less. Last week, Vienna got four points from three games and ended a long points phase with a clear away defeat in Graz.
Although the Pioneers are second to last in the table, they have recently performed particularly well on home ice and celebrated several victories against direct competitors. The duels against Vienna so far have been evenly matched, but the Capitals have not been able to win in the Vorarlberghalle for over two years.
On Saturday the Viennese will face Innsbruck, which is at the bottom of the table and has recently suffered a long series of defeats. The most recent direct duels speak clearly for the Capitals, who won the last six matches against the Tyroleans.
Away double for the Moser Medical Graz99ers
The Moser Medical Graz99ers are facing an intense double away weekend in the west of the win2day ICE Hockey League. On Friday the Styrians will play at HC TIWAG Innsbruck (7.15 p.m.), and a day later they will face the Pioneers Vorarlberg away (7.30 p.m.).
For the Graz99ers these are the last two games of a particularly busy phase: ten games within 23 days characterized the so-called “Winter Edition” around Christmas and the turn of the year. The finale is a road trip of around 1,400 kilometers with two games within 24 hours.
The Styrians have recently been in strong sporting form. In the eight games so far in this phase, they celebrated seven wins and only suffered one defeat. With 19 out of 24 possible points, Graz is still within striking distance of the top of the table and in the race for the coveted Champions Hockey League places.
League leaders KAC host Fehérvár AV19
The EC-KAC goes into the home game against Hydro Fehérvár AV19 as table leaders in the win2day ICE Hockey League. The Klagenfurt team scored points in 14 of their last 15 league games and lead the table in both absolute and average points per game.
Before the week-long break, the Red Jackets celebrated a 3-2 away win in the Carinthian derby in Villach. Klagenfurt has also been extremely consistent on home ice this season: in 17 home games they only went without winning a point twice. In addition to the strongest even-strength offense in the league, defensive stability is one of the key success factors. Recently, the KAC conceded significantly fewer goals than would have been statistically expected.
Fehérvár travels to Carinthia in seventh place in the table and is still on course towards the pre-playoffs. After a strong start to the year with three wins in a row, the Hungarians recently suffered two home defeats. Fehérvár has had a difficult time away from home so far this season, but was able to celebrate a clear derby win in Budapest at the beginning of January.
Pustertal welcomes Linz with a tailwind
HC Falkensteiner Pustertal goes into the home game against Steinbach Black Wings Linz with increased self-confidence. The recent away win against Red Bull Salzburg gave the Wolves new momentum, which they now want to use in the Intercable Arena to further consolidate their position in the direct playoff ranks. The Black Wings repeatedly had to endure periods of fluctuating results over the course of the season. In the past few weeks, the Upper Austrians have appeared more stable again, collecting important points against direct competitors and gradually working their way into a good starting position in the race for the pre-playoffs.
The previous season duels between Pustertal and Linz were close and underlined the importance of the home advantage. After a 4-1 home win for the South Tyroleans in October, two narrow successes for the respective hosts followed.
Linz continues to be one of the more productive teams in the league offensively, but was vulnerable defensively. With the signing of Yohann Auvitu, the Stahlstadters recently strengthened their defense.
Bolzano receives FTC-Telekom
With the latest points against Fehérvár, Bozen moved level with Salzburg in the table. Both teams have 69 points, although Salzburg have played one more game. The South Tyroleans still have several games on the program before the Olympic break with a view to direct playoff qualification.
Ferencváros travels to South Tyrol in ninth place in the table and is in the middle of the fight for the pre-playoff places. After a negative series around the turn of the year, the Hungarians were recently able to collect points again, but suffered a setback in the direct duel against Linz. In the three duels of the season so far, Bolzano has prevailed, but in some cases only with narrow results. Brady Shaw is primarily responsible offensively for Ferencváros, while the Hungarians are vulnerable defensively and in the special teams.
win2day ICE Hockey League, Friday, January 16, 2026:
19:15 EC-KAC – Hydro Fehérvár AV19
Referees: NIKOLIC M., UNTERWEGER, Hribar, Weiss
7:15 p.m. EC iDM heat pumps VSV – EC Red Bull Salzburg
Referees: KAINBERGER, PIRAGIC, Dummermuth-Haas, Puff
7:15 p.m. HC TIWAG Innsbruck – Moser Medical Graz99ers
Referees: NIKOLIC K., STERNAT, Martin, Strimitzer
7:30 p.m. Pioneers Vorarlberg – Vienna Capitals
Referees: SCHAUER, SMETANA, Pardatscher, Sparer
7:45 p.m. HC Falkensteiner Pustertal – Steinbach Black Wings Linz
Referees: GROZNIK, REZEK, Jeram, Zgonc
7:45 p.m. HCB Südtirol Alperia – FTC Telekom
Referees: HUBER A., WINKLER, Fleischmann, Rigoni
win2day ICE Hockey League, Saturday, January 17th, 2026:
17:30 HC TIWAG Innsbruck – The Haie – Vienna Capitals
Referees: SEEWALD E., SMETANA, Nothegger, Zacherl
7:15 p.m. EC iDM heat pumps VSV – Hydro Fehérvár AV19
Referees: OFNER, PIRAGIC, Durmis, Konc
7:30 p.m. Pioneers Vorarlberg – Moser Medical Graz99ers
Referees: SCHAUER, SMETANA, Pardatscher, Sparer
ALL GAMES LIVE ON SPORTEUROPE.TV
www.ice.hockey, image: EC Red Bull Salzburg
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