After three victories in a row, the Adler will meet second-placed Olimpija Ljubljana this Friday (Villach town hall, start: 7:15 p.m., live on Radio Kärnten Eishockey-Magazin and on sporteurope.tv). The Eagles want to convince once again against the weakened Slovenians and catch up to the top in the table.
The initial situation:
Thanks to its recent successful runs in the win2day ICE Hockey League, the EC iDM Heat Pumps VSV has established itself in the top 6. After 17 games this season, the Eagles have nine wins, five defeats, one win after extra time and two overtime defeats and therefore have 31 points. With 58 goals scored and 51 goals conceded, VSV also has a positive goal difference of +7. A look up shows that the gap to second-placed Laibach has narrowed to just six points. The Slovenians have already played 19 games in which they recorded nine wins, four defeats as well as four successes and two defeats in overtime, increasing their total to 37 points.
Offensive fireworks
Offensively, Olimpija is the measure of all things: with an impressive 89 goals, Ljubljana is by far the most accurate team in the league, although the defense is the most vulnerable among the current top teams with 59 goals conceded. Nevertheless, the goal difference of +30 remains remarkable. What particularly stands out is Laibach’s power play, which is currently the best in the league: 27 goals resulted from 81 outnumbered situations – an outstanding rate of 33.33 percent. Even when outnumbered, Olimpija remains stable and maintains a success rate of 82.26 percent, which means third place in the league. This strong overall package is complemented by the highest scoring efficiency of all teams at 14.04 percent; the lead over second-placed Linz (11.22 percent) is almost 3.80%.
Direct duel
In retrospect, the direct duel between VSV and Olimpija Ljubljana is extremely even: the Eagles emerged victorious six times in the last ten encounters, and the Slovenians triumphed four times. There has only been one meeting this season – and head coach Ben Cooper’s team won it with a clear 7-2. Of the last five encounters, VSV won two and Laibach retained the upper hand three times. The Slovenians’ last guest appearance in Villach, on January 5, 2025, also ended with a success for the guests: Ljubljana narrowly won 5-4 after a penalty shootout.
The opponent:
Olimpija Ljubljana is one of the most traditional ice hockey clubs in Slovenia and looks back on a long history in the former Erste Bank Ice Hockey League and the later ICE Hockey League. After being re-founded, the Green-Whites returned to the league for the 2021/22 season and promptly celebrated their first sporting exclamation mark: in the first year they made it to the quarter-finals, in which they only had to admit defeat to VSV in Game 7. The 2024/25 season represented a significant turning point when Alexandre Lefebvre, a financially strong patron and visionary, joined the club. Since then, the Slovenian squad has gradually gained international stature.
This year, Ljubljana secured the services of TJ Brennan, who was already one of the top performers in Salzburg, as well as several Slovenian regulars such as Blaž Gregorc and Bine Masič – the latter of whom was already given a long-term contract last year. In attack, Olimpija has a remarkable mix of routine and international experience. Robert Sabolič, once active at VSV, and Slovenia’s “old star” Žiga Pance shape the front rows, as do NHL-proven reinforcements in the person of Zach Boychuk. With Nicolai Meyer, the current top scorer in the entire league, the Slovenians also have a striker who is setting standards across the league this season. The defense has also been significantly upgraded:
With Clayton Kirichenko, a reliable defender was brought back from Vorarlberg, who most recently played in the DEL and Slovakia. The defensive structure is complemented by Andrew McWilliams and Nathanael Halbert, two robust, strong defenders. The experienced Lukas Horak, who has now been naturalized, provides stability between the posts. The team continues to play its home games in the venerable Hala Tivoli, probably the most traditional stadium in Slovenia. Head coach Ben Cooper, who previously worked as an associate coach at Red Bull Salzburg, has been on the board since this season. He is supported by Andrej Tavželj, who served as head coach last year. The sporting direction is completed by Slovenia’s defender legend Žiga Pavlin, who now takes on the role of team manager.
Opponents and Stats to Watch:
At Olimpija Ljubljana, the statistics are quite impressive: the Slovenians are at the top of the league in almost all relevant categories. A prime example of this is top scorer Nicolai Meyer, who leads the scoring not only within the team but across the league. With 14 goals and 21 assists from 19 games, the Danish offensive artist has an outstanding 35 points, which corresponds to an average of 1.84 points per game. Only closely behind is TJ Brennan – as a defender, mind you: after 19 appearances, the American has 12 hits and 19 assists and thus 31 points.
The best Slovenian points collector is youngster Marcel Mahkovec, who has also established himself in the top field with six goals and ten assists in 19 games. Ljubljana is also well positioned in the goalkeeper position. Veteran Lukas Horak, now a Slovenian citizen, has a catch rate of 90.63 percent and a goals conceded average of 2.67 after 14 appearances. Statistically speaking, he has already prevented around three more goals this season than would be expected given the quality of the opposition’s shots. His backup Luka Kolin has a goals-against average of 3.60 and a catch rate of 87.67 percent after five appearances.
