After the brilliant 5:3 derby success on Friday evening, head coach Tray Tuomie’s team will meet the Spusu Vienna Capitals tomorrow, Sunday (Villach town hall, start: 5:00 p.m., live on Radio Kärnten Eishockey-Magazin and on sporteurope.tv). The Adler want to maintain their place in the top 6 of the league against the capital club and collect important points.
The initial situation
The EC iDM Heat Pumps VSV has moved up to sixth place in the table with its latest derby success in the win2day ICE Hockey League. After 16 games this season, the Eagles have 28 points. The interim balance: eight wins, five defeats, one success after extra time and two overtime defeats. With 55 goals scored and 49 goals conceded, VSV also has a positive goal difference of +6. The situation for the Vienna Capitals is less rosy. The Viennese are currently in eleventh place and have only managed six wins and a total of 18 points from as many games. The statistics are particularly encouraging for the VSV before the direct duel: the Eagles won six of the last ten encounters, and the Capitals prevailed four times. The most recent meeting in Villach, on January 24, 2025, also went to the blue-whites. And the last two games against the capital club even ended with a shutout for the VSV: 13 days ago the Adler celebrated a clear 3-0 win in Vienna and a 4-0 win in February 2025. The goalkeeper record: one clean sheet each from Joe Cannata and ex-VSV goalie JP Lamoureux.
The opponent
The Vienna Capitals are one of the most traditional clubs in Austrian ice hockey. Since its founding in 2001, the Viennese have been at the top of the national league. Already in their premiere season in 2001/02 in what was then the Erste Bank Ice Hockey League, they made it into the playoffs. They have won two championship titles so far: in 2005 and 2017. The Capitals were particularly successful between 2004/05 and the early 2010s, when they reached the semi-finals several times and won their first title in 2005. The Viennese team also made an impact internationally: they qualified for the Champions Hockey League six times. The last championship title to date dates back to the 2016/17 season with JP Lamoureux in goal and defensive support Jamie Fraser as the defining figures.
After a disappointing preseason, the Capitals have fundamentally restructured their squad this year. Evan Cowley and Sebastian Wraneschitz form the new duo in goal. The defense has been strengthened with four legionnaires: Cole Hults, Nelson Nogier, Simon Bourque and Randy Gazzola to bring stability. In attack, they also relied on experience and names known throughout the league, including Mitch Hults. The Austrian newcomers are attracting particular attention. Benjamin Lanzinger, trained in Villach and an influential figure at VSV for many years, moved to Vienna. Also new to the squad is Marco Richter, a native of Vienna who was most recently active in Carinthia. Goalkeeping coach Bernhard Starkbaum ensures additional competence: The Carinthian stood between the posts for six seasons at VSV and once achieved a remarkable catch rate of 93.6 percent. With striker Christof Kromp, another player with VSV roots also wears the Capitals jersey – son of Villach legend Wolfgang Kromp.
Opponents and Stats to Watch
The statistics for the Vienna Capitals are currently rather sobering – even if there are individual positive outliers. With a success rate of exactly 25 percent (12 hits from 48 powerplay situations), the power play is one of the stronger in the league and is currently in fourth place. The penalty killing is also impressive: only ten goals conceded in 60 outnumbered situations correspond to a value of 83.33 percent, making it the third best in the league. The Viennese also perform above average at the faceoff point: with a success rate of 51.66 percent, they are one of the stronger faceoff teams in the ICE. However, a look at the individual players shows that the hoped-for offensive breakthrough is still missing.
The current top scorer is Linden Vey with five goals and eleven assists from 15 games, but with a plus/minus balance of -3. Behind him is Mitch Hults, one of the hopefuls in attack, with four goals and eleven assists from 16 games and a neutral plus/minus rating. The best Austrian points collector is Leon Wallner: in 11 games he recorded four goals and two assists, but is also in the minus range (-5). The former VSV players have not yet been able to make a big impact either. Christof Kromp has one goal and three assists after 16 appearances. Benjamin Lanzinger has two goals and one assist after 11 games. Marco Richter contributed one goal and one assist in 15 games. Things are also looking difficult at the goalkeeper position: goalkeeper Evan Cowley – intended as the clear number one – currently has a goals against average of 4.05 and a catch rate of just 87.72 percent. Statistically, he saves an average of 0.6 fewer goals per game than statistically expected of him.
Blue and white stats & facts
At EC iDM Heat Pumps VSV, the derby victory against EC-KAC also left a clear statistical mark. With a total of 42 hits, 23 blocked shots and three fights, head coach Tray Tuomie’s team made a strong physical statement – and thus laid the foundation for the derby victory. Nick Hutchison played a key role in this, leading the way with two goals, four hits, three blocks and a strong Corsi rating of 52.0 percent. The Blue-Whites’ top scorer remains Nikita Scherbak. After 16 appearances, the offensive man has seven goals and twelve assists and also has a plus/minus balance of +3.
On the defensive, Dylan MacPherson once again stands out: The Canadian has already recorded twelve assists in 16 games this season and leads the team with an impressive plus/minus rating of. Against the EC-KAC he also impressed with two blocked shots, two assists, four hits and five goal captures with an ice time of 23:18 minutes.
The special teams have also improved recently. Thanks to three converted power plays against the Red Jackets, the outnumbered ratio climbed to 20.31 percent – 13 goals from 64 opportunities. Although they were outnumbered, the Eagles conceded a goal, but otherwise performed stably. The penalty killing rate is currently 69.09 percent, still capable of increasing, but clearly on an upward trend.
EC iDM heat pumps VSV – Vienna Capitals
Sunday, November 16, 2025 | 5:00 p.m
Villach Town Hall (Villach, Austria)
www.ecvsv.at, Image: Leo Vymlatil
