The two pairings for the pre-playoff in the win2day ICE Hockey League, which will be held for the fifth time, have been determined since Sunday evening: the Vienna Capitals (#7) chose Hydro Fehérvár AV19 (#10), the EC iDM Heat Pumps VSV (#8) will play against the Steinbach Black Wings Linz (#9). From Wednesday, these four teams will fight in “best-of-3” mode for the last two remaining places in the quarter-finals.
On the exciting final day of the regular season, Hydro Fehérvár AV19 secured a place in the pre-playoffs with a derby win against FTC-Telekom. The Vienna Capitals defended seventh place and were able to choose their opponents for the pre-playoffs. The Viennese chose Fehérvár – Villach and Linz will meet in the second duel.
The pre-playoffs begin on Wednesday, March 4th. Game two is scheduled for Friday, March 6th, with a possible playoff game following on Sunday, March 8th.
The pre-playoffs in detail:
Vienna Capitals (7) – Hydro Fehérvár AV19 (10)
Season duels: 3:1 for Vienna
Statement Head Coach Kevin Constantine (VIC): “I still know one or two players there from my time at Hydro Fehérvár AV19. The team has a lot of quality. In the pre-playoff the cards are reshuffled, sometimes it reflects the regular season, but often the circumstances are completely different. It will be exciting to see how this series will go.”
Statement Head Coach Ted Dent (AVS): “It’s exciting that we’ve done it. We can continue playing, and that was our goal. We played against Vienna two days ago, and it helps that we’ve already gotten to know their game and their environment. We’re looking forward to the challenge. We have great respect for them – they’re well coached and play with a lot of commitment. We have to be wide awake and ready to return their intensity.”
Game dates:
03/04/2026 | Vienna Capitals – Hydro Fehervar AV19
Mar 6, 2026 | Hydro Fehérvár AV19 – Vienna Capitals
01/08/2026 | Vienna Capitals – Hydro Fehérvár AV19 (if necessary)
EC iDM heat pumps VSV (8) – Steinbach Black Wings Linz (9)
Season duels: 2:2
Statement Head Coach Pierre Allard (VSV): “Linz is really a very good team. They have a lot of speed and we definitely have to be prepared for that. We have already started preparing for them – with the special teams, the faceoffs and everything else. Tomorrow and Tuesday we will go through this together, so we have two intensive days ahead of us to be ready. But we are very happy that we can start at home in front of our fans and we will be really motivated for the game on Wednesday.”
Statement Head Coach Philipp Lukas (BWL): coming soon
Game dates:
03/04/2026 | EC iDM heat pumps VSV – Steinbach Black Wings Linz
Mar 6, 2026 | Steinbach Black Wings Linz – EC iDM heat pumps VSV
01/08/2026 | EC iDM heat pumps VSV – Steinbach Black Wings Linz (if necessary)
ice.hockey , Image: Black Wings Linz/Eisenbauer
