ÖEL: Lustenau outclasses Dornbirn 9:2!

EHC Lustenau celebrated a clear 9-2 away win in the district derby against the Dornbirn Bulldogs in the West Division on the national holiday. Defending champion Sharks Gmunden won 2-1 in the East Division on Saturday at WEV and took the lead in the table ahead of Kapfenberg. HDK Maribor also celebrated a narrow 2-1 win against ATSE Graz in the Styrian derby between the twin cities. SC Hohenems won 5-3 in the West Division in the Schlager at EHC Kundl on Friday.

The Dornbirner EC Bulldogs experienced the next district derby cracker in the West Division on the national holiday. League leaders EHC Lustenau was a guest at the exhibition stadium and put pressure on from the start. The Bulldogs held on and were dangerous even on the counterattack.

With a double strike, the favorite led 2-0 in the first period. First Martin Grabher Meier scored after a nice combination from the slot to make it 1-0 (14th). Just 49 seconds later, Luca Künz returned the puck over the line from close range to make it 2-0 (15th), his first goal in Lustenau’s uniform. Before the end of the first third, the hosts reduced the score to 1:2, with Sven Vugrinec lifting the disc from the left side over the catching hand of Lustenau keeper Felix Beck (19th).

Little changed in the character of the game in the middle section; the Lions were superior and were able to establish themselves in the attacking third again and again. Dornbirn defended well and relied on quick counterattacks. DEC keeper Cosmo Reichhalter provided good support in the first few minutes. The goalie was powerless when Thomas Auer deflected a shot to make it 3-1 (27′). A little later, Mattias Adam increased the score to 4-1 for Lustenauer (28th).

With the 5-1 by Adem Kandemir, who completed a nice attack from close range, the district derby was decided shortly after halftime (31st). In the final section, head coach Jörg Kopeinig’s team shortened the lead to 2:5 with a 5:3 majority, Mathias Hofer deflected the disc into the goal (47th). Just under a minute later, Christopher D’Alvise scored shorthanded after a quick counterattack to make it 6-2 for Lustenau (48th).

After Dornbirn lost a target, Robin Wüstner scored to make it 7:2 (52nd). Now the Lustenauers could no longer be held: Thomas Auer curved in front of the goal and made it 8:2 (57th). Just 36 seconds later, Adem Kandemir made the final score 9-2 from the slot (57th). The Lustenauers will go into the big Vorarlberg derby against SC Samina Hohenems with the same points in the Rheinhalle next Friday as league leaders.

SC Hohenems celebrates their fourth win in their fourth game against EHC Kundl

The EHC customer met in the West Division on Friday in the Eisarena Kundl SC Samina Hohenems. From the start, both teams tried to quickly bridge the neutral zone and get in front of the opponent’s goal. So in the first third the game developed into a lively back and forth with few interruptions and opportunities on both sides. Sebastian Schild missed the best chance when he put the disc from the slot onto the post.

The guests also tested Kundl goalie Jakub Kostelny a few times. 28 seconds before the end of the period, the home team took the lead with a dream goal: Alexander Frandl played a wonderfully long pass to newcomer Michal Kluka, who sent the puck from the left faceoff circle into the right corner to make it 1-0 (20th).

The Vorarlbergers had their best phase in the second section. After surviving the first outnumbered period, the Steinbocks restricted the Kundlers in their defensive zone at five on five. Then the Ems team had two power plays in a row, with Kundl missing a total of three big chances for a shorthander. Patrick Spannring made it 1-1 after a rebound (33′).

Then things happened in quick succession: just 36 seconds after the equalizer, Kundl was ahead again: Maximilian Agerer used a cross pass from close range to make it 2-1 (33′). Just 37 seconds later, Marcel Wolf scored from the slot to equalize 2-2 for Hohenems (34th). When Kundl again had the majority, Patrick Spannring, who was numerically inferior, scored with a wonderful wrist shot to make it 3-2 and give Hohenems the lead for the first time (38th).

In the final third, the Vorarlbergers let Kundl get going and cleverly waited for opportunities, one of which was snatched by Michael Novak to make it 4-2 (48th) after he initiated it himself with a trick pass between his own legs. Things got heated in the final phase: Kundl took a risk, pulled goalie Kostelny and Maximilian Agerer scored from the blue line to make it 3-4 (59th).

21 seconds before the end, Benjamin Kyllönen finally put the lid on it with his Emptynet goal to make it 5:3 (60th). SC Hohenems goes into the big derby against Lustenau next Friday in the Reinhalle with four wins from four games.

East Division:

The Vienna Ice Skating Club challenged the reigning champions in the East Division on Saturday UEHV CAM4DENT Sharks Gmunden in the Steffl Arena Hall 3 in the Kagran district of Vienna. The WEV had the first advantage early on, played a pleasant power play, but had no tangible success. Both teams put up an intense fight in the first third, there were good scenes in front of the goals, but Moritz Merkader in the WEV box and Sharks goalie Luka Gračnar were right up to speed.

Shortly after the middle of the first section, the Cracks from Traunsee had their first numerical superiority, but they couldn’t get the disc into the opponent’s box. The Viennese then repeatedly had good offensive scenes, supported by intensive forechecking.

The Sharks Gmunden took the lead early in the second third. After a counterattack triggered by a simple pass from Ian Motil, Bastian Szieber single-handedly found Merkader and scored to make it 1-0 for the defending champions (23′).

Head coach Philipp Ullrich’s team then had to survive two outnumbered games in a row and, together with keeper Merkader, kept the narrow deficit. The game became more emotional, Jonas Kail from the Sharks and WEV crack Nils Granitz exchanged pleasantries. A little later, Marc-André Dorion and Lukas Pohl had a little performance. With the siren the Upper Austrians hit the goal, but the second third had already ended.

After a few seconds, WEV had the majority in the final period, but again couldn’t score a goal. On the other hand, head coach Gregor Baumgartner’s team was more efficient: Elias Koller scored from close range to make it 2-0 (47th).

The Viennese then had two more power plays, and again the Upper Austrians held tight at the back. The WEV tried everything, pulling goalie Merkader in a four-on-four situation on the ice. Denis Simek pulled away and scored the 1-2 goal just under two minutes before the end (59′). The game was suddenly very exciting, Gmunden won 2-1 in the end and took the lead in the table ahead of Kapfenberg.

HDK Maribor beats ATSE Graz in the derby thriller

The HDK Maribor dueled on Saturday in the East Division in the Ledna dvorana Maribor in the Styrian derby with the ATSE Graz. The match between the twin cities, the capital of Štajerska and the Styrian state capital are only around 70 kilometers apart, began with brisk attacks on both sides. In the first few minutes, however, both teams lacked passing accuracy. There were some unnecessary losses, but it turned out to be an intense fight.

Five minutes before the end of the third, the Foxes had their first majority, but they were unable to score the lead due to numerical superiority. There were no top-class players in the first 20 minutes, and Omar Ždralović in the Maribor goal and ATSE keeper Gernot Fally didn’t allow anything big.

In the second period, the hosts were suddenly ahead: Shortly after a power play, Ian Fingušt scored with a well-placed shot from the left face-off circle to make it 1-0 for Maribor (26th). The Graz team now had to act more offensively, but the Slovenians were good defensively and were always dangerous in their attacks. The match became more and more fast-paced as it went on and remained an exciting affair. Shortly after halftime of the game, the ATSE escaped from another shortfall.

After a faceoff win on the left side in the attacking third, Cornelius Kaschnig pulled away and equalized the score at 1-1 for Graz two and a half minutes before the end of the period (38th). A little later, the game was over for ATSE crack Moritz Ausperger after a crosscheck with a five plus game misconduct penalty, and head coach Jure Verlič’s team took most of the power play time into the final section.

Head coach Markus Losch’s team survived this tricky phase without conceding a goal and were then close to the opening goal. After being outnumbered, Maribor had a great chance to take the lead through Adi Drnda, who came straight from the penalty box, but was denied by keeper Gernot Fally. The match became more and more of a thriller and crunch time had begun. Nejc Bizjak made Ledna dvorana Maribor tremble; after an attack from the right, he surprised ATSE keeper Fally with an artificial shot to make it 2-1 (54th).

In the end, Maribor survived being outnumbered and saved their narrow lead over time. In the end, the nerves were on edge in the derby, the sparks were flying and there were tons of penalties.

Ö Ice Hockey League – Division West:

Ö Ice Hockey League – Division EAST:

HDK Maribor vs. ATSE Graz 2:1 (0:0,1:1,1:0)
Sat., October 25, 2025, 6:30 p.m., Ledna dvorana Maribor
Goal scorers HDK Maribor: Ian Fingušt (25:26 mins), (53:48 mins)
Goalscorer ATSE Graz: Cornelius Kaschnig (37:25 mins)

Vienna Ice Skating Club vs. UEHV CAM4DENT Sharks Gmunden 1:2 (0:0,0:1,1:1)
Sat., October 25, 2025, 7:30 p.m., Steffl Arena Hall 3
Goalscorer Vienna Ice Skating Club: Denis Simek (58:10 mins)
Goal scorers Sharks Gmunden: Bastian Szieber (22:13 mins), Elias Koller (46:19 mins)

KSV Kangaroos free of play.

www.eishockey.at, Pic: Simone Haas