After two recent away defeats, the Adler finally want to write again this evening (Steffl Arena, start: 5:30 p.m., live on Radio Kärnten Eishockey-Magazin and on sporteurope.tv) in the capital and gain important points in the fight for direct playoff qualification.
The initial situation
The EC iDM Heat Pumps VSV is currently in seventh place in the win2day ICE Hockey League and has 22 points after 14 games. The Eagles have so far recorded 6 wins, 5 losses, 1 win in overtime and 2 losses in overtime. With 47 goals scored and 46 goals conceded, there is a slightly positive goal difference of +1. The Vienna Capitals are two places behind the Carinthians in 9th place. After also playing 14 games, the Viennese have a record of 4 wins, 6 defeats, 2 wins after extra time and 2 defeats after extra time. With 42 goals and 50 goals conceded, the goal difference is −8, which gives them 18 points. In their current form, both teams are showing mixed results. After a strong start to the season, the VSV is in a slight dip in performance, as it has only won two of the last five games and lost the most recent two matches in Pustertal and Innsbruck.
The Capitals are also struggling with inconsistent form: in the last seven matches they only managed two wins, namely against Pioneers Vorarlberg and Hydro Fehérvár AV19. Most recently, the Viennese suffered a 1:4 away defeat in Linz. The direct duel between the two teams still promises excitement. In the last ten meetings, six games went to VSV and four to the Capitals. Particularly noteworthy: The Eagles won all of the last three matches – 4:0 in Vienna, 6:3 in Villach and 4:3 again in Vienna. It is also interesting to look at the home and away tables. While VSV is much stronger away from home and has 14 points (more from two away games than at home), it is only enough for 11th place in the home table with eight points. The Capitals, on the other hand, are solidly in 6th place in their own stadium, while they only occupy 9th place away.
The opponent
The Vienna Capitals are one of the most traditional clubs in Austrian ice hockey. Founded in 2001, the Viennese team took part in the then Erste Bank Ice Hockey League for the first time in the 2001/02 season and reached the playoffs in their debut season. In total, the Capitals have been able to celebrate two championship titles so far, in 2005 and 2007. The period from 2004/05 to the early 1900s was particularly successful: in these years the team reached the semi-finals several times and celebrated the championship title in 2005. The Viennese team were also able to make an impact internationally: they made it into the Champions Hockey League six times, and in the 2016/17 season the Capitals celebrated their second championship title. The goalkeeper at the time was JP Lamoureux, and Jamie Fraser stood out in defense.
After a rather weak last season, the team made massive changes and reinforcements in almost all positions in the current season. Evan Cowley and Sebastian Wraneschitz are now in goal. The defense was strengthened with four new Legionnaires: Cole Hults, Nelson Nogier, Simon Bourque and Randy Gazzola. The Capitals also brought in experienced players up front, including league star Mitch Hults. The new additions from Austria are particularly interesting: Benjamin Lanzinger, trained in Villach and active there for many years, has now moved to Vienna, as has Marco Richter, a native of Vienna who spent the last few years in Carinthia. Goalkeeper coach Bernhard Starkbaum also brings valuable experience with him: The Carinthian played six seasons for VSV and achieved an extremely respectable catch rate of 93.6% in one season. With striker Christof Kromp, another offspring of a VSV legend is in the service of the Viennese.
Opponents and Stats to Watch
When looking at the Vienna Capitals, the focus is currently primarily on Lyndon Vey. After 13 games, the striker has 5 goals and 11 assists, i.e. 16 points, making him a clear top performer. Mitch Hults follows closely behind with 4 goals and 11 assists from 14 games. The best defender in points is Simon Bourque, who has 3 goals and 6 assists, i.e. 9 points, from 14 games. Leon Wallner leads the statistics among Austrian players: in 9 games he scored 4 goals and 2 assists, i.e. 6 points. Also of note are ex-Adlers Sam Antonitsch, who scored 4 goals in 14 games, as well as Benjamin Lanzinger with 1 goal and 1 assist in 9 games and Marco Richter with 1 goal and 1 assist in 13 games. A clear picture emerges in goal: So far only Sebastian Wraneschitz has been convincing, with a catch rate of 92.6%, a goals conceded average of 2.55 and 1.4 goals parried more than statistically expected in 8 games.
On the other hand, there is Evan Cowley, who has not performed satisfactorily in Asiago after strong performances in the previous season. In 8 games he has a goals against average of 4.36, a catch rate of 87.0% and 3.9 fewer goals saved than statistically expected. The Vienna Capitals are currently presenting themselves as a very strong special teams team. In the power play, 11 of 42 opportunities were used, which corresponds to a rate of 26.19%. When outnumbered, they only conceded 8 goals in 54 situations, giving them a success rate of 85.19%. The Capitals are also efficient in the area of scoring efficiency with 11.8%. What is noticeable, however, is that the Viennese only take the second fewest shots on goal compared to other teams in the league – a total of 356. At the faceoff points, they are slightly above average with 50.8% of faceoffs won.
Blue and white stats & facts
Nikita Scherbak continues to lead the scorers list for the Eagles. The Russian has 14 points, including 6 goals and 8 assists, and also has the most successful zone entries and created big chances in the team. Directly behind him are captain Alexander Rauchwald, with 3 goals and 9 assists, and Kevin Hancock, with 6 goals and 6 assists. Dylan MacPherson stands out on the defensive end. The defender has collected 9 points so far, all of them assists, and has a strong plus-minus record of +10. New signing Arturs Kulda was also convincing, playing a dry game in both away games and currently has 4 hits, two blocks and a plus-minus balance of +2. The Eagles’ special teams trend has shown a slight upward trend in the recent past, but there is still room for improvement. In the power play they have so far been able to use 9 of 51 opportunities (17.65%), while in the penalty kill they rank last in the league in comparison, as they had to accept 16 goals in 48 outnumbered situations and can only point to a success rate of 66.66%.
Sunday, November 2, 2025 | 5:30 p.m
Vienna Capitals – EC iDM heat pumps VSV
Steffl Arena (Vienna, Austria)
www.ecvsv.at, Image: Leo Vymlatil
