Ice hackers get going

The “new” Pioneers are excited about the league

Last season, the Pioneers Vorarlberg made it to the quarter-finals. Many key players left in the summer and the new team has yet to find its feet. But they are eager to kick off their campaign on Friday (19:15) against the Innsbrucker Haie.

Last season, the Pioneers Vorarlberg needed time to find their feet with their newly formed team in the ICE Hockey League. The hard work paid off in the final phase of the championship - the Ländle-Cracks made it to the quarter-finals in only their second year in Austria's top league, only having to reluctantly admit defeat to record champions KAC. And with Steve Owre, the Feldkirch team even had the best player of the season at the end.

Squad for the 2024/25 season

Goal: Alex Caffi, David Madlener
Defense: Ivan Korecky, Aron Summer, Alexander Pallestrang, Tobias Reinbacher, Mark Mussbacher, Jakob Friend (new/Kan), Ross MacDougall (new/Kan), Jacob Lundegard (new/Sd), Ramon Schnetzer (new/Ö)
Attack: Kevin Macierzynski, Luca Erne, Yannik Lebeda, Julian Metzler, Daniel Woger, Janick Wernicke, Oskar Maier, Marlon Tschofen, Josh Passolt (new/can), David Keefer (new/US), Oliver Cooper (new/can), Brady Gilmour (new/can), Joseph Nardi (new/can), Lucas Sowder (new/US)
Head coach: Dylan Stanley (Kan/old)
Departures: Chris Bull (Tingsryds), Steve Owre (La Chaux-de-Fonds, Sz), Marcel Zitz (Rheintal), Jonas Oden (KooKoo), Clay Kirichenko (Frankfurt), Luka Maver, Guus van Nes (VSV), Nick Pastujov (KAC), Mike Pastujov (career end), Julian Payr, Patrick Spannring (both Hohenems), Bob Petersson, Olli Vanttaja.

However, the new season, which the Pioneers start on Friday with an away game against the Innsbrucker Haien and continue just 24 hours later with their home opener against Hydro Fehérvár, looks different again. Goalgetter Owre is gone, as are nine other legionnaires, including many of last season's mainstays. Ten new players have arrived, and the team is back to rebuilding.

Steady progress
Head coach Dylan Stanley and his team made good progress in the pre-season. The team made steady progress in the pre-season games and even stood up to the Cologne Sharks. "We're ready, we've already spent a lot of time together and seen a lot of each other," says Jacob Friend, who came from Belfast to strengthen the defense, "it's an exciting time for us. We're looking forward to seeing what we can achieve this season."

Alexander Pallestrang, who will lead the Pioneers onto the ice as captain again this season, is once again hoping for the support of the fans. "The people of Vorarlberg love ice hockey. You can already see that from the ticket sales," says the 34-year-old native of Bregenz, "I hope we play a good season and can build on last year. And that the spectators will have a lot of fun watching us play!"