After a hard-fought 3:2 win in Jesenice, EC REKORD-Fenster VSV had a bye-week on Tuesday. Now they host the Slovenes under other circumstances. Bernhard Starkbaum celebrated two shutouts in their last meetings with the Slovenian side and the offense scored ten goals. In these two games Villach scored four power play goals out of eight opportunities. „We didn’t have the greatest start and struggled but in the end the two points are crucial. Contrary to other teams we played defensively-minded in Jesenice. Tomorrow we have to be more aggressive and focused until the end because the Slovenes never give up. Our power play was the main problem in the last games in qualification round. We practiced intensively and I hope that we can come back to former strength. At the moment it’s hard to find a rhythm but that can be our advantage in the last games”, reports Captain Marco Pewal. Shayne Toporowski and Kevin Mitchell have gained seven points each against Jesenice so far. The Carinthians are the best team at shorthanded play and Starkbaum is the league’s best goaltender at the moment. The Eagles have all players good-to-go.

HK Acroni Jesenice is back to the winning ways and ended January in the same way as the month had begun. After their home victory over Salzburg on New Year’s Day, the Slovenes suffered ten straight defeats. On Tuesday they broke the spell with a 2:1 win after penalties in Graz with Antti Pusa scoring the equalizer two seconds before the end of the game. The playoffs are theoretically possible but the Slovenes are under no illusions about this. „We fought and played like we did in our last games. Only in the defense we were less prone to errors and forced overtime with a late goal. The shootout was amazing and it was a great victory for this team but the young players are too euphoric. Tomorrow we have to come back to the basics. Villach played the last game in Jesenice passively and defensively. At home I expect them totally different, they will forecheck hard. In our next games we try to get some points. It will be difficult but possible”, says head coach Heikki Mälkiä. The bottom club has not been able to score from their 18 power play chances in Villach so far. Jure Dolinsek remains sidelined and Antti Pusa is doubtful for tomorrow’s game.

Top clash in Znojmo
HC Orli Znojmo is on the fast track: the Czechs have gained seven points out of their four games in qualification round to move to second place. On Tuesday they celebrated their first season victory over UPC Vienna Capitals. It was the first time they scored six goals on the road. The rookie team has a real advantage hosting the Austrian teams in the following games. First, Graz will arrive and on Sunday the Caps are looking for revenge. The 99ers are coming with five victories in the direct duel on the back. In two home games against the Styrians, the Czechs only scored one goal. They gained eleven victories out of 21 games in front of their crowd. „Long ago it was fixed that we have to play in qualification round and we benefitted from that. We practiced hard and prepared well for these games. Now we are playing on the highest level and we have a good starting position to reach the playoffs. It’s in our hands now and this weekend can be decisive. The guys will be read, they have to deliver a top performance. In Vienna we were lucky in the final period but in Graz we definitely were the better team”, knows head coach Martin Stloukal. Antonin Boruta is the only injury rated doubtful.

After eight consecutive home victories Moser Medical Graz99ers suffered a bitter defeat against Jesenice on Tuesday scoring only one goal out of 47 shots. Now the Styrians have to hit the road again travelling to Znojmo and Jesenice. “We were not mentally ready and wasted too many scoring chances. It’s an important game for both teams and I expect that it will be very intense. The Czechs have improved and we have to work harder than our opponent. We have to build on our special teams”, analyses head coach Mario Richer. Zdenek Blatny is Graz’ top scorer with 19 goals, scoring three against his fellow countrymen. New arrival Brett Schell will make his debut. Toni Dahlman and Sebastien Bisaillon are rated doubtful. Daniel Woger is out for the game.

Friday, 3rd February 2012, 19:15
EC REKORD-Fenster VSV – HK Acroni Jesenice (249)
Referees: GRABER, POTOCAN, Hofstätter, Piragic
Previous matches:
30.09.2011: HK Acroni Jesenice – EC REKORD-Fenster VSV 3:1 (1:0, 0:1, 2:0)
18.11.2011: EC REKORD-Fenster VSV – HK Acroni Jesenice 4:0 (1:0, 2:0, 1:0)
27.11.2011: EC REKORD-Fenster VSV – HK Acroni Jesenice 6:0 (1:0, 3:0, 2:0)
03.01.2012: HK Acroni Jesenice – EC REKORD-Fenster VSV 1:5 (0:2, 1:2, 0:1)
29.01.2012: HK Acroni Jesenice – EC REKORD-Fenster VSV 2:3 (0:0, 1:2, 1:1)

HC Orli Znojmo – Moser Medical Graz99ers (250)
Referees: DREMELJ, SMETANA, Hribar, Hütter.
Previous matches:
25.09.2011: Moser Medical Graz99ers – HC Orli Znojmo 7:1 (2:1, 5:0, 0:0)
06.11.2011: HC Orli Znojmo – Moser Medical Graz99ers 0:3 (0:1, 0:1, 0:1)
02.12.2011: HC Orli Znojmo – Moser Medical Graz99ers 1:2 (0:2, 0:0, 1:0)
13.01.2012: Moser Medical Graz99ers – HC Orli Znojmo 2:1 (2:0, 0:1, 0:0)
29.01.2012: Moser Medical Graz99ers – HC Orli Znojmo 3:2 n. V. (0:1, 0:0, 2:1, 1:0)