ICEHL preview: The league leaders welcome the champions!

The EC-KAC said goodbye to the Champions Hockey League on Wednesday with a 1:3 defeat in Kuopio. Just two days later, the runner-up will be visiting the Vienna Capitals – a prestigious duel that will once again take place in front of a great backdrop. The federal capital team had to admit defeat in each of the last three games, but still managed to get a point against Pustertal and Salzburg. With 13 points they are currently in eighth place in the table, directly behind the KAC, which is in seventh place with 14 points from two fewer games. In the league, the Red Jackets have won all of their last three games. Last season, the KAC won all four duels with the Capitals. Both teams met once before in preparation for the season – with the Capitals coming out on top (3:2).

Salzburg challenged after CHL promotion to league leaders
On Wednesday, EC Red Bull Salzburg was the only team in the win2day ICE Hockey League to secure a place in the round of 16 of the Champions Hockey League. The Red Bulls won impressively 4-1 against the German champions Eisbären Berlin. ERC Ingolstadt is now waiting in the round of 16. The defending champions are currently in sixth place in the league, but are only three points behind leaders Olimpija Ljubljana. With a win in a direct duel, the Mozartstadt team could draw level on points on Friday. In the last league game, both teams suffered a defeat – Ljubljana with 6:7/OT against Innsbruck and Salzburg with 2:3 in Fehérvár. Overall, both teams have only won two of their last five league games. In a direct comparison last season, Salzburg prevailed in three out of four matches.

Graz plays host to the form-strong second-placed team VSV
With twelve out of a possible 15 points from the last five games, EC iDM Heat Pumps VSV is currently the strongest team in the league. With 19 points, the Adler are second in the table, only one point behind Ljubljana, but also only two ahead of the Moser Medical Graz99ers, who are currently in fifth place. The Styrians were only able to win two of their last five games, but only once remained without a point – against VSV of all teams. In the “breakfast home game” on September 28th, the Adler narrowly retained the upper hand 4:3. Alexander Rauchwald scored the game winner in a close game.

Linz wants to get back on the road to success in Budapest
Last year’s semi-finalists Steinbach Black Wings Linz are currently at the bottom of the table with five points. The Upper Austrians have only been able to celebrate victories against Pioneers Vorarlberg and champions Salzburg. On Friday they will face league newcomer FTC-Telekom for the first time. The Hungarians are in good form: They have won their last two games and are in tenth place with twelve points. In front of their home crowd, Budapest has won two of its four games so far, while Linz is the only team in the league still without a point away from home.

Pustertal is a guest at the Pioneers
HC Falkensteiner Pustertal is currently in strong shape. Last week, the South Tyroleans celebrated a 5:3 derby win against Bolzano before narrowly losing 2:3 after overtime in Klagenfurt. In the table they are in fourth place with 18 points, while the Pioneers Vorarlberg are in twelfth place with seven points. Last weekend, the Pioneers initially surprised with a 4-1 win in Fehérvár before losing 6-0 in Budapest. Overall, Vorarlberg has won two games this season so far – one of them at home (4:2 against Vienna). Pustertal, on the other hand, scored points in all five away games and won four of them. Only recently there was a narrow defeat against the KAC. Last season the Wolves had a difficult time against the Pioneers: two wins versus two defeats.

Fehérvár with the first of two games within 24 hours
On Friday, HC TIWAG Innsbruck will also face Hydro Fehérvár AV19 at home. For the Hungarians it is the first of two games within 24 hours – on Saturday they play at HCB Südtirol Alperia. Fehérvár was able to win two of the last five games, most recently surprisingly 3-2 against Salzburg after losing 1-4 to the Pioneers the day before. Eleventh-placed Innsbruck also celebrated two wins from the last five games and has recently shown significant improvement – with a 7:6/OT away win against league leaders Ljubljana and previously a 3:2/SO home win against Graz. Friday’s duel is the second meeting between the two teams this season. On September 20th, Fehérvár narrowly won 5-4 at home – it was their fifth win in a row against the Tyroleans.

Bolzano and Fehérvár open the 12th round on Saturday
In the only Saturday game, HCB Südtirol Alperia meets Hydro Fehérvár AV19. It is the first game of the 12th round, the remaining five matches follow on Sunday. Bolzano has no games on Friday and is in third place with 18 points before the Friday games. On Tuesday, the South Tyroleans were in action in the Champions Hockey League against Luleå, where they narrowly lost 2:3 after overtime and thus missed out on a place in the playoffs. Across all competitions, the Foxes were unable to win any of their last four games. There were two recent defeats in the league – against Pustertal (3:5) and Villach (3:6). Bolzano celebrated its last win on October 5th at home against Ljubljana (4:2). Last season’s semi-finalists prevailed against Fehérvár in three of four duels last season.

win2day ICE Hockey League:
Fri, October 17, 2025:
6:30 p.m.: FTC Telekom – Steinbach Black Wings Linz
Referees: HRONSKY, SIEGEL, Vaczi, Weiss

7:15 p.m.: Vienna Capitals – EC-KAC
Referees: GROZNIK, NIKOLIC M., Bedynek, Zgonc

7:15 p.m.: EC iDM heat pumps VSV – Moser Medical Graz99ers
Referees: PIRAGIC, ZRNIC, Muzsik, Riecken

7:15 p.m.: HC TIWAG Innsbruck – Hydro Fehérvár AV19
Referees: NIKOLIC K., SCHAUER, Fleischmann, Rigoni

7:15 p.m.: Olimpija Ljubljana – EC Red Bull Salzburg
Referees: REZEK, SOOS, Hribar, Seewald J.

7:30 p.m.: Pioneers Vorarlberg – HC Falkensteiner Pustertal
Referees: OFNER, STERNAT, Pardatscher, Sparer

Sat, October 18, 2025:
7:45 p.m.: HCB Südtirol Alperia – Hydro Fehérvár AV19
Referees: OFNER, STERNAT, Mantovani, Rigoni

All games can be seen live on www.sporteurope.tv.

Quiz of the week
Seven current questions about the win2day ICE Hockey League. Take part now, put your knowledge to the test and get the chance to win an official puck for the 2025/26 season -> To the quiz

ice.hockey , Image: GEPA pictures/ Matic Klansek