ÖEL preview: Derby cracker in the west and KSV is a guest at the ATSE!

Matchday seven of the Austrian Ice Hockey League offers a parade of hits: In the West Division, the always hot district derby EHC Kundl against HC Kufstein takes place on Friday. The SC Hohenems district derby against the Dornbirn Bulldogs on Saturday also promises high excitement. And the Wattens Penguins challenge league leaders EHC Lustenau. In the East Division, HDK Maribor meets Leader Sharks Gmunden. And for the third time, ATSE Graz and the KSV Kangurus are dueling in the Styrian derby.

EHC Kundl vs. HC Kufstein
Fri., November 14, 2025, 7:30 p.m., Eisarena Kundl

Meeting in the West Division for the second time this season EHC customer and the HC Kufstein in the hot district derby in the Kundl ice arena. A touch of playoff feeling will not only be felt in the Lower Inn Valley through the rivalry between the two clubs, as there will be the back-to-back game in the Kufstein Arena a week later.

For Kundl, the derby is the last of six home games in a row, most recently there was a 1:5 defeat against league leaders Lustenau. The first duel between the local rivals in mid-October was a derby that was tough. Kundl led three times and Kufstein equalized three times. In overtime, Matko Pavetić brought the hall to a boil with the winning goal to make it 4:3.

Kundl chairman Stefan Rainer is looking forward to the always explosive derby against the Dragons: “Friday is our last game in the home game marathon. And directly the derby against Kufstein, one of our absolute highlight home games! We’re talking about a full house, a loud crowd and an atmosphere that burns through your jersey. We’ve already shown this year that we can tackle it. Kufstein remains a favorite for the title, a well-rehearsed team that is very difficult to crack. But it’s our turn and the last few weeks have proven that our young team is fully involved in the playoff race. Points at home against Kufstein would be worth their weight in gold for us!”

The Kufsteiners, who celebrated their first win against Dornbirn at the beginning of November, challenged SC Hohenems away last weekend, but in the end had to accept a narrow 2:4 defeat. The Dragons are currently four points behind Kundl in fourth place in the table, and the two games against their district opponents in a row offer the chance to make up ground in the ranking.

Kufstein’s chairman Roland Luchner believes in his team’s victory: “The away game in Kundl is certainly pointing the way after our mediocre start to the season. We were often close, but left the points behind. Nevertheless, we believe in the turnaround – and that we can not only play along on Friday, but also win!”

SC Samina Hohenems vs. Dornbirner EC Bulldogs
Sat., November 15, 2025, 5:30 p.m., Hohenems Ice Stadium

The second exciting local derby in the West Division takes place on Saturday between SC Samina Hohenems and that Dornbirner EC Bulldogs in the Hohenems ice stadium. Like the Kufstein district derby, the Dornbirn district derby is also a back-to-back duel, a week later the match will take place again in the atmospheric open-air stadium in Herrenried.

The Steinbocks are the first pursuers of West leader EHC Lustenau, against whom the Ems team lost their only game of the season so far after a penalty shootout. Most recently there was a hard-fought 4-2 home win against Kufstein.

Hohenems head coach Martin Mallinger has warned his team about the Bulldogs: “We are looking forward to the first derby at home and to the back-to-back games against Dornbirn. Our goal is to win every home game. Dornbirn has clearly improved compared to the previous season and can pose problems for any opponent. The previous duels have demanded everything from us, so we need full concentration and commitment from the first minute!”

For the Dornbirn team, a series of defeats of five games in a row began in mid-October with the 1:5 in the first home derby against the Hohenems team. The only win so far came in the season opener against the Wattens Penguins, against whom the Bulldogs impressively fought back into the match last Saturday after being 0:4 behind, in the end coming up to 3:5, only to ultimately have to leave the ice with a 3:6.

Dornbirn chairman Christof Schwendinger hopes that his team can challenge the favorites: “Hohenems is a strong team against whom we have to have our game under control in our own zone. We know how dangerous the Capricorns are and how mistakes are punished. The new foreigner gives the Ems team an additional boost. We want to play with the favorites and will do our best. We were able to keep the first game open for a long time and also show that we can keep up with the second-placed team in the table!”

WSG Swarovski Wattens Penguins vs. EHC Lustenau
Sat., November 15, 2025, 7:30 p.m., Alpine Stadium Wattens

The WSG Swarovski Wattens Penguins challenge leaders in the West Division in the Alpenstadion Wattens on Saturday EHC Lustenau. After four away defeats in a row, the Tyroleans celebrated their first win of the season in their long-awaited Open Art home debut against Dornbirn last weekend, thus capturing the first full three points and handing over the red lantern in the table to the Bulldogs.

Wattens lost the first duel against the Lions 1:5 in the Lustenau Rheinhalle, now there is a back-to-back duel with the Vorarlbergers, just like in the Kufstein and Dornbirn district derby.

Wattens head coach Fabian Hechenberger is relieved after the first victory and promises the league leaders a passionate fight: “The 6:3 home win at the start of the season in front of our own fans was enormously important – for the team, and for the self-confidence. Now a really tough challenge awaits Lustenau. They are delivering game after game and are so far unbeaten, playing great ice hockey. Just playing along well will definitely not be enough. It’s about investing everything, we are the underdog and have to perform with full passion, accept every duel and We have to stay compact defensively and consistently use our chances on offense. We will be ready and throw everything in!”

The Lustenauers are the measure of all things ice hockey in the West basic round, as they were in the previous season. With six wins in a row – one of them in the shootout in the derby against Hohenems – the Lustenauers are ahead in the table with 17 points, only the Steinbocks can currently keep up with 16 points. The green-yellow team recently had a commanding 5-1 away win in Kundl. With 30 direct hits in six games, the Lustenauers are the strongest offensive team in the league.

Dániel Fekete, Head Coach of EHC Lustenauis traveling to Tyrol with his team with a lot of self-confidence: “Our team has already played some good games over the course of the championship so far. We want to continue this in Wattens and return to the country with three points. We will try to impose our game on the Tyroleans and put them under pressure in their own third!”

East Division:

HDK Maribor vs. UEHV CAM4DENT Sharks Gmunden
Sat., November 15, 2025, 6:30 p.m., Ledna dvorana Maribor

The HDK Maribor meets defending champions and league leaders in the East Division on Saturday in the Ledna dvorana Maribor UEHV CAM4DENT Sharks Gmunden. The home-strong Foxes from the Slovenian Draustadt are currently at the bottom of the table with three points and are eager for revenge after the 1:6 away defeat against the Upper Austrians on All Saints Day.

Maribor is proof that the East Division has become more balanced and closer together this season. The Slovenians demanded everything from the Kangaroos from Kapfenberg in a 2:3 away win, followed by a hard-fought and ultimately emotional 2:1 win against ATSE Graz. Most recently, the Hokejsko Drsalni Klub gave the WEV a tough fight in front of the concert hall, in the end it was a narrow 1:2 thanks to the decisive goal conceded late in the last third.

Maribor head coach Jure Verlič hopes that his team can avoid mistakes and increase their scoring efficiency: “After two away games, we are now playing at home, where it is difficult for all opponents. We are against the leaders of our division, so we have to make as few mistakes as possible and not give them too many chances. We had problems scoring goals, so we have to find ways to get the puck in front of their goal and put their defense under pressure!”

The Haie vom Traunsee had to do a lot of hard work at home against ATSE Graz on Sunday. After a long 0-1 deficit, they managed to equalize with 32 seconds to go and still win in overtime.

The Sharks, who would have actually completed a double round at the weekend – the hit in Kapfenberg had to be postponed due to a technical defect in the Kapfenberg town hall – are currently at the top of the table with 14 points, but only had a relatively easy game in the 6-1 win against their upcoming opponents, all other games were hard-fought.

Sharks head coach Gregor Baumgartner knows that the next tough match is coming up in Ledna dvorana Maribor: “We had a difficult game against ATSE Graz and we will have to sharpen our game during the training week so that we can survive in Maribor. Maribor plays very intense and physical hockey, we should be ready for that!”

ATSE Graz vs. KSV Kangaroos
Sat., November 15, 2025, 7:00 p.m., Merkur Ice Stadium Graz (Hall A)

For the third time, they will duel in the East Division on Saturday in the Merkur Ice Stadium ATSE Graz and the KSV Kangaroos. In the early opening derby at the end of September, the Graz team celebrated a surprising 2-1 win in overtime in Kapfenberg. In the second meeting at the beginning of November, the Kangaroos got revenge with a 5-2 win.

Now the first duel takes place in the Liebenau bunker. Last Sunday, the Styrian capital team gave the champions and league leaders Sharks Gmunden a massive challenge, led 1-0 until 32 seconds before the end and had to accept a 1-2 defeat in extra time after the extremely late equalizer.

ATSE Head Coach Markus Losch knows how his team can survive against the Mürztalers: “After the defeat in the second game in Kapfenberg, the ATSE team is eager for revenge against the KSV. If we manage to do our jobs like we did in the first game in Kapfenberg, we can definitely keep up with the Kangaroos. We have to try not to let the opponents into the slot and stay compact in front of our own goal. If we then manage to score on the offensive, it will definitely be an interesting one again Duel on equal terms!”

The Kapfenbergers, who had got rolling in the last three games after a mixed start to the season and were able to achieve three wins in a row, were looking forward to a home double with the big games against champions Gmunden and WEV at the weekend, but were forced to do nothing.

Both games had to be canceled and postponed due to a technical defect in the Kapfenberg town hall. The new dates will be announced as soon as possible.

Kapfenberg’s player-coach Kristof Reinthaler wants to prepare his team as best as possible for the task in Graz given the situation: “The two game cancellations are force majeure, so we now have to make the best of it. The ATSE Graz has now also taken a point from Gmunden, the game was very close according to the live ticker. The ATSE is a strong team, we have to make sure that we go into the game as well prepared as possible with training but also mentally in order to get the full number of points again!”

Ö Ice Hockey League – Division West:

Ö Ice Hockey League – Division EAST:

HDK Maribor vs. UEHV CAM4DENT Sharks Gmunden
Sat., November 15, 2025, 6:30 p.m., Ledna dvorana Maribor – >> to the live stream

ATSE Graz vs. KSV Kangaroos
Sat., November 15, 2025, 7:00 p.m., Merkur Ice Stadium (Hall A) – >> to the live stream

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