With three wins in a row under their belt, the Vienna Capitals are traveling to Villach tomorrow to take on the EC iDM Heat Pumps VSV. The last meeting between the two teams in the current regular season will take place from 7:15 p.m. While the Viennese occupy one of the competitive pre-playoff places in seventh place, the Villachers are under pressure as eleventh in the table. The game will be broadcast live as usual on sporteurope.tv.
The Vienna Capitals are in seventh place in the table with 55 points after 40 league games. While a place in the top six seems unlikely given the 16-point gap to Olimpija Ljubljana, the Caps are in pole position in the race for a pre-playoff place. The Hydro Fehérvár AV19 (54 points), Steinbach Black Wings Linz (52) and FTC-Telekom (50), who are placed behind the Viennese, have all already played one more game than the Donaustadt team. Eleventh-placed VSV, which is currently not in a pre-playoff position, is six points behind the Caps with one game less.
The Capitals got the maximum points from the last three games against the Tyrolean teams HC TIWAG Innsbruck (5:2), HC Falkensteiner Pustertal (4:3) and HCB Südtirol Alperia (3:0). The Caps could get their fourth win in a row against VSV. That would be the longest winning streak since October 2022, when the Viennese even celebrated five successes en suite. Last Sunday’s 3-0 win against HCB Südtirol Alperia was the Capitals’ first shutout of the season. Goalkeeper Sebastian Wraneschitz stopped all 27 shots on goal against the Foxes. Across the three games the 23-year-old has played since his two-and-a-half-month injury break, he has a fabulous catch rate of 96.8 percent. In his 12 league appearances, Wraneschitz recorded a save percentage of 93.27 percent, the second-best value of all goalies who played more than one game.
Captain Linden Vey didn’t score against HCB, but she still leads the team’s internal scorers with 40 points (11 goals + 29 assists). The Viennese’s top scorer is still Carter Souch, who scored his 16th goal of the season on Sunday. Benjamin Lanzinger recorded a goal and an assist on his 26th birthday on Sunday. The son of VSV legend Günther Lanzinger will come to the Villach town hall as an opponent for the first time tomorrow. There are no changes in personnel compared to the South Tyrol double last week. This means that only Marco Richter, who has been injured for a long time, will be missing tomorrow.
The EC iDM Heat Pumps VSV is behind in the pre-playoff battle. The Eagles, who were briefly second in the table, have been in a nosedive since mid-November. From the last 20 games there are 15 defeats (two after overtime) and just as many points. In the form table that reflects this period, the Carinthians take second to last place. For comparison: The Capitals’ yield in the same period is more than double at 31 points. In the form table of the last 20 games, the capital city team are sixth. Another indication that both teams have been developing in opposite directions for months are the direct duels.
The VSV won the first two matches in November (2:3, 0:3), and at the beginning of January the Viennese remained victorious with a 5:2 in the STEFFL Arena. A win for the Caps after regular playing time would also be important in view of the direct duel, which would decide the placement in the event of a tie after the regular round. In front of their own crowd, VSV only got 27 points in 20 games, which only results in third-to-last place in the home table. Villach won three of the last five games, two of them only after overtime. Last Sunday the Carinthians had to admit defeat 1:4 at the Pioneers Vorarlberg. While the Villach power play with a hit rate of 23.39 percent is marginally better than the Caps’ power play (23.15 percent), the Eagles lose out when they are outnumbered. The success rate of 76.47 percent is the second worst value in the win2day ICE Hockey League. Villach’s top scorer is Nikita Scherbak, who collected 39 points (9 goals + 30 assists) from 37 games. However, the Russian missed the guest appearance in Vorarlberg due to injury. VSV’s top goalscorer is Adam Helewka, who scored 18 times in 37 games.
Statement Benjamin Lanzinger, attacker of the Vienna Capitals
“My birthday was a very nice day with the goal and the assist. For us as a team, it was a great weekend that we need to build on. I’m feeling a lot of anticipation before tomorrow’s game. I’m looking forward to coming back to Villach. I was annoyed that I missed the first game there due to injury. We have to continue playing tomorrow like we did last, carry on the momentum from the last three games and act with self-confidence. Villach is a good team. We have to fight back and play our game. Hopefully We’ll go home with three points tomorrow.”
vienna-capitals.at , Image: VSV/STEFAN
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