ÖEL: KSV beats leader Gmunden in the East Kracher!

There were two games on Sunday in the Austrian Ice Hockey League: In the East Division, the KSV Kangurus won the big hit against league leaders Sharks Gmunden in front of almost 1,000 fans with 2-1 after extra time. In the West Division, the Wattens Penguins celebrated a 7-3 win away to the Dornbirn Bulldogs and now have the big home clash against EHC Kundl on Tuesday in the race for the final playoff spot.

The big hit of the long ice hockey weekend in the East Division took place on Sunday in the Kapfenberg town hall, pursuers KSV Kangaroos met the league leaders in front of almost 1,000 fans UEHV CAM4DENT Sharks Gmunden. The Upper Austrians got off to a better start: Marc-André Dorion sent Elias Koller on his way with a dream pass, the striker gave KSV keeper Felix Nußbacher no chance at 1-0 (6th).

The defending champions then failed to extend their lead in their first majority. In an intense game, the Styrians pushed for the equalizer, which was achieved a short time later: Florian Hoppl sent the disc from the left throw-up circle into the right cross corner to make it 1-1 (14th). Both teams acted with an open mind, there were attacks and goal scenes on both sides.

In the second section, little changed in the character of the game. Both teams tried to quickly bridge the neutral zone. The fans saw an attractive top game in which emotions slowly came into play. Sharks goalie Tobias Windhofer became more and more the center of attention as the middle section continued, was really warmed up by the Kangaroos and kept his goal clean even when he was outnumbered just after halftime of the game.

The hosts had another majority. Neither team managed to score again until the end of the second third, also because KSV goalkeeper Felix Nußbacher was in no way inferior to his counterpart. In the final section it was soon crunch time, the match had long been a thriller with playoff character.

Both teams had the winning goal on their hands, with Kapfenberger even having the majority four and a half minutes before the end. Since no further goals were scored, a three-on-three overtime followed. There, KSV player-coach Kris Reinthaler secured the victory after extra time (63′) with a well-placed shot to make it 2-1. The Kapfenbergers are now only two points behind the defending champions in the table.

Wattens Penguins defeat Dornbirn and have a real playoff chance

For the fourth and final time in the current season, they cruised in the West Division on Sunday Dornbirner EC Bulldogs and the WSG Swarovski Wattens Penguins the thugs. Right from the start, both teams exchanged blows quickly. With a double strike, the Tyroleans led 2-0 early on. Mikus Mintautiskis scored with a well-placed shot from the slot to make it 1-0 (4th). Just 17 seconds later, Christian Csics beautifully lifted the puck into the net with his backhand to make it 2-0 (4th).

The Bulldogs tried to get back into the game after the brief shock, the Penguins initially controlled the match with a two-goal lead. And scored the third goal in the first third: Mikus Mintautiskis made an energetic drive down the right side and made it 3-0 for Wattens 40 seconds before the first siren (20th).

In the second third, Dornbirn was quickly on the scoreboard: Alessandro Togni was completely alone in the slot and reduced the score to 1:3 (22nd). The hope of a quick catch-up didn’t last long; with a majority, the Bulldogs acted too carelessly in their own zone, Mikus Mintautiskis scored his hat trick from the slot and made it 4-1 for the Penguins (23rd).

The Vorarlbergers showed character and got back into the match: Mathias Hofer took the puck in the neutral zone, entered the attacking third and made it 2-4 (33′). Wattens found an answer again and extended the lead to three goals: Noah Polig deflected a shot from Lukas Jaunegg to make it 5-2 (38th).

In the final section, Sandro Wille increased the advantage to 6:2 for the guests with a beautiful wrist shot (48th). The hosts were able to reduce the deficit once again, with Simon Brunner scoring cleanly in a power play to make it 3:6 (59′). Wattens scored the final point, Daniel Frischmann scored short-handed into the empty goal to make the final score 7:3 (60th). With the victory, Wattens stays close to EHC Kundl in the table, and the big direct hit in the race for the fourth and final playoff spot follows on Epiphany.

Ö Ice Hockey League – Division EAST:

KSV Kangaroos vs. UEHV CAM4DENT Sharks Gmunden 2:1 nV (1:1.0:0.0:0.1:0)
Sun., January 4th, 2026, 5:00 p.m., Kapfenberg town hall
Goal scorers KSV Kangaroos: Florian Hoppl (13:23 mins), Kristof Reinthaler (62:28 mins)
Goalscorer Sharks Gmunden: Elias Koller (05:39 mins)

ATSE Graz vs. Vienna Ice Skating Club 3:6 (0:5.3:1.0:0)
Sat., January 3rd, 2026, 6:30 p.m., Graz Merkur Ice Stadium (Hall A)
Goal scorers ATSE Graz: Kevin Pesendorfer (29:44 mins), Maximilian Schwarz (34:14 mins/PP1, 39:17 mins/PP1)
Goalscorers Vienna Ice Skating Club: Patrick Bolterle (02:28 min./PP1), Rupert Fichtinger (08:47 min.), Nils Granitz (09:00 min.), Theodor Fichtinger (12:42 min.), Denis Simek (19:39 min.), Stefan Nador (36:23 min.)

KSV Kangaroos vs. HDK Maribor 8:3 (1:2.5:0.2:1)
Sat., January 3rd, 2026, 7:30 p.m., Kapfenberg town hall
Goal scorers KSV Kangaroos: Stefan Trost (13:08 mins), Mark Kompain (26:58 mins), Luca Fasching (32:49 mins), Lukas Winkler (36:23 mins), Nick Strumberger (36:40 mins), Daniel Oberkofler (37:36 mins), Pierre Graf (41:29 mins/PP1), Florian Hoppl (50:13 mins)
Goal scorers HDK Maribor: Rok Frešer (05:07 mins), Luka Vinčec (08:09 mins), Jure Robek (53:18 mins)

HDK Maribor vs. ATSE Graz
Tue, January 6th, 2026, 6:30 p.m., Ledna dvorana Maribor >> to the live stream

Vienna Ice Skating Club vs. UEHV CAM4DENT Sharks Gmunden
Tue., January 6th, 2026, 7:00 p.m., WEV Arena Heumarkt – >> to the live stream

Ö Ice Hockey League – Division West: