Before the Olympic break comes, the Pioneers Vorarlberg are going on an away trip once again. Macierzynski & Co will meet the Graz99ers on Friday, then the duel with the Vienna Capitals awaits on Saturday.
In Graz the Pioneers will face one of the most consistent teams of this year’s season. The 99ers are firmly in the top three and have the statistically best defense in the league (only 85 goals conceded in 40 games). The Styrian special teams are also at or near the top of the league.
The previous three duels of the season have all gone to Graz, and the Nygard cracks were able to get at least one point in the home game in October. Only twelve days ago the two teams met in Feldkirch, where there was a clear 4-0 win for the guests from the Styrian capital.
Capitals with a positive run
The duel against the Vienna Capitals awaits just 22 hours after the game in Graz. The Viennese team won three of their last four games and moved up to eighth place in the table (55 points). Most recently, the Viennese suffered their first defeat after three wins in a row in a 4-1 defeat against VSV on Wednesday. The two teams faced each other for the first time in the federal capital in October, where the hosts prevailed just after extra time.
“We all want to go into the upcoming break with a positive feeling”
“We can be satisfied with the performance at 5 vs. 5 in Ljubljana, but Olimpija had clear advantages in the special teams,” said head coach Johannes Nygard after the 2:5 in the Slovenian capital. “Of course we know the two upcoming opponents well, also because we recently played against both of them. We all want to go into the upcoming break with a positive feeling,” the 31-year-old continued.
Injury update
However, the head coach and his team will have to do without two other players on this road trip alongside Daniel Woger and Yannik Lebeda. Luca Erne was suspended for two games after his game misconduct penalty in Ljubljana. Mathias Böhm is missing due to an upper body injury he sustained in the game against Laibach. For Roberts Bukarts, these are also the last games in the PIV jersey for the time being; the Latvian veteran will represent his country at the Olympic Games in Milan. The entire organization is of course keeping its fingers crossed for Roberts!
