Who would have thought that UPC Vienna Capitals fight for extra points for qualification round in their last home game? It’s a logic consequence because the Caps are not among the best six teams in the home and away standings. On Friday they suffered a 4:3 defeat after overtime against EC Red Bull Salzburg. Now Francois Fortier and company need every point to move in the standings and to start qualification round with additional points. They gained four points out of three games against their next opponent from Hungary. In all of their 15 previous home games against the Hungarian champion the Caps had scored five goals or more of ten of these games and were able to take the victory. In the current season they have scored many goals, too, but with the difference that they concede as many goals as no other team at home. „It was an improvement in performance in comparison to our last games. Our combination play worked well and many players performed better. Reinhard Divis was a tower and Nathan Robinson played his best game so far. We found a good mixture against Salzburg and I trust in the same lines tomorrow. With enough effort and motivation we’ll rack up a victory against Fehervar”, says head coach Tommy Samuelsson. Unfortunately for Vienna, they will be without Captain Benoit Gratton, Peter Schweda and Daniel Nageler.
With an important 3:1 home victory over HK Acroni Jesenice, SAPA Fehervar AV19 secured itself a playoff spot for the second time in its five-year Erste Bank Eishockey Liga history. “We played a good, fast rhythm game against Jesenice and we managed to achieve the result that we were hoping for. We created a lot of scoring chances but our opponent’s goalie worked fantastically and due to this we had to concentrate until the very end of the game because there wasn’t a large difference in terms of goals between the teams. Despite all of this we were certain in our victory throughout the game”, summarizes assistant coach Lajos Enekes.
For the Hungarians the regular season will end on Tuesday in Vienna. “With the win against Jesenice we don’t want to close the regular season yet and against Vienna we would like to play as well as we’ve been playing recently. I believe that the Capitals are a strong team with outstanding individual players in their line-up, unlike what their current position in the standings shows. Against them we must play the effective defense that was the basis of our recent wins.Our newly formed forward units seem to have finally really come together and hopefully this will also show in their performance and playing efficiency”, adds Enekes. The coaching staff hasn’t yet made a decision about SAPA Fehervar AV19’s starting goalie in Vienna but fortunately there are no further injuries or sicknesses in the team.

The bottom club welcomes the leader
HK Acroni Jesenice was beaten 3:1 by SAPA Fehervar AV19 on Sunday. The loss was Jesenice’s thirteenth consecutive on the road. But the Slovenians have to pick up the positive things: Antti Pusa scored his tenth goal of the season and Gasper Kroselj stopped 27 shots he faced. Now the next hard task awaits them when Linz comes to town. The leader is the only one of the six best placed teams against the Red Steelers were not able to win so far. In each of the last five seasons they always won one home game, so the history books mean well for the Slovenes. „We didn’t play so badly but we made crucial mistakes in the key moments. We got few chances to score but we only were to score once. It’s not easy to pass with our young team in a very strong league but we do our best on the ice. We are still hoping for the playoffs. I expect a tough game against Linz because they are a very good team. But we play at home and it will be an interesting match”, reports Jure Dolinsek. Jesenice showed with their victories over Klagenfurt, Ljubljana and Salzburg that they can outgrow themselves. The Slovenians lineup will not be changed.
EHC Liwest Black Wings Linz overcame EC Red Bull Salzburg for the fourth time this season. Two power play goals lead them to winning ways and in the end the Upper Austrians celebrated a 4:3 victory. After three consecutive away defeats, the table-toppers want to be successful on the road again. But in the last two years Gregor Baumgartner and company lost their last road game of the regular season. “It was important that we are back on the road to victory. A win against the current champion is twice as important. Both teams played a good game but we were more efficient in front of their goal. Jesenice has a young team and they can play free of pressure at this moment. We assume that we will be able to decide the game to our favor”, says Martin Grabher-Maier, who assisted the first goal against Salzburg. The leader will be without Pat Leahy (injured) and Justin Keller (suspended).

Tuesday, 17^th January 2012, 19:15
UPC Vienna Capitals – SAPA Fehervar AV19 (214)
Referees: BERNEKER, POTOCAN, Hütter, Mathis
Previous matches:
09.10.2011: UPC Vienna Capitals – SAPA Fehervar AV19 6:5 n. P. (2:2, 2:2, 1:1, 0:0, 1:0)
01.11.2011: SAPA Fehervar AV19 – UPC Vienna Capitals 1:3 (0:1, 1:2, 0:0)
09.12.2011: SAPA Fehervar AV19 – UPC Vienna Capitals 6:2 (2:0, 1:1, 3:1)

HK Acroni Jesenice – EHC Liwest Black Wings Linz (211)
Referees: FUSSI, KELLNER, Nagy, Nemeth
Previous matches:
09.10.2011: HK Acroni Jesenice – EHC Liwest Black Wings Linz 3:4 n. V. (1:0, 1:1, 1:2, 0:1)
01.11.2011: EHC Liwest Black Wings Linz – HK Acroni Jesenice 3:2 n. P. (1:0, 1:2, 0:0, 0:0, 1:0)
09.12.2011: EHC Liwest Black Wings Linz – HK Acroni Jesenice 6:2 (2:1, 2:0, 2:1)