Before the Olympic break comes for the Vienna Capitals, the Viennese have two home games within 24 hours. On Friday from 7:15 p.m. the Capitals will host the bottom of the table, HC TIWAG Innsbruck. The next day the Pioneers Vorarlberg will be playing in the STEFFL Arena (4.30 p.m.). For the Viennese, the final duel of the season with the last or penultimate team in the win2day ICE Hockey League is about scoring the necessary points in the fight for the pre-playoffs.
Due to yesterday’s 1:4 defeat at EC iDM Heat Pumps VSV and the simultaneous victory of the Steinbach Black Wings Linz over HCB Südtirol Alperia, the Capitals fell back to eighth place in the table. Both the Viennese and the Linzers have 55 points, although the Capitals have played one game less than the Upper Austrians.
Zane Franklin scored Vienna’s only goal yesterday. The Canadian scored his eleventh goal of the season in Villach, bringing the 27-year-old level with Linden Vey. The Viennese captain is the Capitals’ top scorer with 40 points after as many appearances. Goalkeeper Sebastian Wraneschitz had no chance of defending against yesterday’s goals. The 23-year-old finished the guest appearance in Villach with a catch rate of 90.32 percent. In the current season, the self-made player’s catch rate is a strong 93 percent, still the second best value of all goalkeepers who have played more than one league game.
This weekend the STEFFL Arena should be the trump card for the Vienna Capitals again. Since head coach Kevin Constantine took office in November, the Donaustadt team have won eight of their eleven appearances in front of their home crowd. The last home game that the Viennese lost without gaining points was on December 28, 2025. The Caps got 13 points from the last five games in front of their own team. Only Salzburg, who were perfect in the comparison period, scored more points. Due to injuries, Erik Kirchschläger and Marco Richter are not available for the Viennese team. The former suffered a serious upper body injury on Tuesday and will be out for weeks.
For HC TIWAG Innsbruck, the remaining six league games are all about honor. The Tyroleans no longer have a chance of reaching the pre-playoffs. If the Haie lose tomorrow and the Pioneers score three points in Graz at the same time, the Innsbruck team would be cemented in last place in the table. Ryan Kinasewich’s side have a disastrous away record. From 20 away games there are only eight points from three wins (two of them after overtime). The Tyroleans celebrated their only complete success after regular playing time in the first away game on September 14, 2025 in Feldkirch. The Haie in Laibach celebrated the two overtime successes.
Since the 6:5 after extra time at the Dragons on November 1, 2025, there have been twelve away defeats. Only in the 4:5 after overtime in Linz did Innsbruck score anything. Consequently, the Innsbruck team also occupy last place in the away table. The last duels between tomorrow’s opponents also don’t speak for the Tyroleans. The Caps won the last seven games against HCI. The Viennese most recently lost against Innsbruck on January 13, 2024. The Caps won their last meeting so far on January 17th 5-2. The Tyroleans’ top scorer is the Swede Sebastian Benker, who has 38 points (12 goals + 16 assists) after 42 games.
With the Pioneers Vorarlberg, a team is coming to the STEFFL Arena on Saturday that hasn’t particularly suited the Viennese recently. While the Donaustadt team won the first seven duels since the Feldkirch team joined the league, the Vorarlberg team won seven of the last eight meetings. In the STEFFL Arena, the capital city team’s record against the Ländle cracks looks significantly better. The Viennese won five of the seven home games against the Pioneers. The last meeting so far in Vienna-Kagran on October 25, 2025 went to the Caps 4-3 after a shootout under interim head coach Fabian Scholz. While the Pioneers regularly take points from better-positioned teams in the Vorarlberghalle at home, the Feldkirchen team show a different face away.
As of Thursday, the Vorarlbergers collected 27 of their 39 points in the state. There is also an acceptable goal difference of -5. Away, with a value of -53, this is even worse than that of Innsbruck (-45). Nevertheless, the Pioneers were able to win two of their last five away games. At HC Falkensteiner Pustertal and Hydro Fehérvár AV19, the Vorarlberg team scored two points each with victories after shootouts and overtime respectively. Before the Pioneers appear in the STEFFL Arena for the last time on Saturday, the Vorarlbergers will be guests at the Moser Medical Graz99ers on Friday evening. Collin Adams is Vorarlberg’s top scorer with 31 points, and his 17 goals are also the team’s best.
Statement Fabian Scholz, assistant coach of the Vienna Capitals
“Our goal for the next two games is six points, but to achieve that we have to play better than yesterday in Villach. The STEFFL Arena always gives our team an extra push, which is a big advantage for us. However, we should also start winning away games with a view to the post-season. Innsbruck’s power play is really dangerous at the moment. We have won all three games against them so far, but they are ahead in the special teams battle. If they play in five-on-five “If we stay steadfast, it can be a very close game. In their situation, they can play freely, which can be dangerous against the Pioneers. However, they are traveling a lot on the bus on Saturday, which means they have to spend a lot of kilometers on the bus.
vienna-capitals.at , Image: HCI / PAPA Productions
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