Ice Hockey League

Capitals defeat Fehervar ++ Bolzano new leader!

The jubilation of the Capitals cracks(Bild: GEPA)

There has been a change of places at the top of the ICE Hockey League in the 16th round!

The previous league leaders Fehervar AV19 were beaten 3-1 at home by the Vienna Capitals on Wednesday. The new leaders are HCB Südtirol, who won 4:2 against VSV. The KAC kept the upper hand against Asiago with 5:3, while bottom team Pioneers Vorarlberg managed a small surprise with a 5:4 against Pustertal. Linz won 3:2 after overtime in Innsbruck.

Fehervar loses to the Vienna Capitals
Fehervar's duel with the Caps was even for long stretches, with the first period remaining goalless. In the second period, Fehervar's Bence Stipsicz (23rd) was the first scorer of the game, which then tipped in favor of the Viennese. Jeremy Gregoire (38) tied the game at 1:1 at the end of the third period and Leon Wallner made it 2:1 in the 46th minute. When Fehervar took their goalie off the ice at the end, Nikolaus Hartl (59) scored into the empty net. It was the first defeat for the home team after eight ICE victories.

Linz wins 3:2 in Innsbruck
However, the win had no impact on the Capitals' standings. Coach Gerry Fleming's team is still eighth. One place behind them are the Black Wings Linz, who recovered from a 2-0 deficit against the Innsbrucker Haie and fought their way into overtime. In overtime, defenseman Logan Roe decided the game against the league's penultimate team with a full effort after seven seconds.

HCB Südtirol wins against VSV 4:2
Meanwhile, HC Bolzano took advantage of the moment and overtook Fehervar. VSV had taken the lead through a goal by Maximilian Rebernig (12'), but then the South Tyroleans came back and made it 2:1 within two and a half minutes in the second period. After Nikita Scherbak (44') had equalized for Villach, the score remained 2:2 for a long time. It was only in the final minute that Cristiano DiGiacinto scored first, before Luca Frigo added the empty-net goal.

South Tyrol is now three points ahead of Fehervar in the table. The best Austrian team are the Graz99ers, who are a further four points behind them in third place.