HC Orli Znojmo is irresistibly marching forward to the playoffs. Yesterday the rookie team overcame Graz 4:1 at home and their recipe for success remains constant: three different lines produce the goals and Ondrej Kacetl saves 52 shots for their first season win over the Styrians. The Czechs are now on top of the qualification round and that has a main reason: Martin Podesva and company scored 19 goals in their last five matches. The team of head coach Martin Stloukal had the second-weakest offense in the regular season and now that’s their trump card. “We didn’t have a good start and the lead after the first period was pure chance. Then, we played better and better and in the end we deserved the win. We try to play simple hockey and it works. We score more goals on rebound, maybe that’s the difference to the regular season. Tomorrow it’s gonna be a tough game and every single mistake can be crucial. Vienna has good players with quality but it’s not running smoothly at the moment”, says Lubomir Stach, who has gained 23 points so far. After their last game in Vienna, the defender spoke to Rafael Rotter in the tunnel. “We played together for six months for Guelph Storm in OHL and stayed in touch. Rafael is a really good guy and I share his pain but injuries belong to sports”. Martin Skadra and Mike Danton are suspended for tomorrow’s game.
The air grows thinner and thinner for UPC Vienna Capitals. On Tuesday they lost 6:4 against Znojmo at home conceding three goals at the beginning of the middle period. The Viennese travel to the Czech Republic for the first of four deciding games. The Caps were able to win the two previous matches at Hostan arena after regulation. In qualification round they scored six of their ten goals on power play. “In sports confidence is the essential thing and we don’t have it at the moment. At the end of the first period we made mistakes and got under pressure. The beginning of the second was determinative but we tried everything to come back. If we are able to take two points from Znojmo the cards will be reshuffled. It’s a formidable challenge for our team to come out of this situation. We have seen that Znojmo plays great hockey, they are one of the best skating teams in the league. I expect a close game”, says head coach Tommy Samuelsson. Reinhard Divis and Benoit Gratton have recovered but Francois Fortier is rated doubtful for tomorrow’s encounter.

Graz is warned against Jesenice
HK Acroni Jesenice won’t participate in this year’s playoffs. After their 1:3 defeat in Villach it’s also theoretically impossible. This is no surprise for the Slovenes and so they stay focused on the last three games. The bottom club has a good memory of the Styrians because on Tuesday they celebrated a huge victory after penalties in Graz. The Slovenes have scored only seven goals in qualification round so far and because of that head coach Heikki Mälkiä will change the lines to bring new life into the offense. “My players fought till they dropped. We had good chances but we were not able to capitalize on them. Villach has a good and experienced team, they exploited our individual mistakes. Now we have to look forward again. We beat Graz on the road and I feel confident that we can repeat the feat. In our last games we played solid in the defense. On the attack we have to play simpler and in front of the opposing goal we have to be more aggressive. My players want to repeat the victory to tip the scales”, reports Mälkiä. Jure Dolinsek remains sidelined.
Moser Medical Graz99ers often sleep at the early stage of the match. In this season they have conceded eight goals in the first five minutes so far. On Friday Znojmo scored after 125 seconds and in the end the Styrians lost 4:1. They can still make the playoff qualification, so they have to avoid another loss against the underdog. “It looks like we are not ready at the beginning. In our last three games we were not able to show our real strength. We have to score more goals. For that our power play has to work again. I expect a tough match in Jesenice because the Slovenes will fight for sure. We need three victories for the quarterfinal. Tomorrow only a victory counts”, explains Sven Klimbacher. The Styrians are without Daniel Woger (injured) and Guillaume Lefebvre (suspended).

Sunday, 5^th February 2012, 17:30
HC Orli Znojmo – UPC Vienna Capitals (254)
Live-TV: ServusTV
Referees: FUSSI, GEBEI, Nemeth, Zehenthofer
Previous matches:
18.09.2011: HC Orli Znojmo – UPC Vienna Capitals 5:6 n. P. (0:1, 3:2, 2:2, 0:0, 0:1)25.10.2011: UPC Vienna Capitals – HC Orli Znojmo 9:2 (3:1, 3:0, 3:1)
27.11.2011: UPC Vienna Capitals – HC Orli Znojmo 4:1 (1:0, 3:0, 0:1)
03.01.2012: HC Orli Znojmo – UPC Vienna Capitals 2:3 n. V. (1:1, 1:0, 0:1, 0:1)
31.01.2012: UPC Vienna Capitals – HC Orli Znojmo 4:6 (2:1, 1:4, 1:1)

HK Acroni Jesenice – Moser Medical Graz99ers (255)
Live-TV: Sport TV SLO
Referees: BERNEKER, FALKNER, Hofer, Hollenstein
Previous matches:
02.10.2011: Moser Medical Graz99ers – HK Acroni Jesenice 3:2 (2:0, 1:1, 0:1)
30.10.2011: HK Acroni Jesenice – Moser Medical Graz99ers 3:4 n. V. (2:1, 1:0, 0:2, 0:1)
06.12.2011: HK Acroni Jesenice – Moser Medical Graz99ers 0:3 (0:2, 0:0, 0:1)
20.01.2012: Moser Medical Graz99ers – HK Acroni Jesenice 4:1 (2:0, 2:0, 0:1)
31.01.2012: Moser Medical Graz99ers – HK Acroni Jesenice 1:2 n. P. (0:0, 1:0, 0:1, 0:0, 0:1)