HC Innsbruck, meanwhile, defended its lead in the standings with a 2-1 win at KAC. Chaser HCB Südtirol kept the gap at two points thanks to a 4:1 at Black Wings Linz. The Vienna Capitals won clearly against the Graz 99ers with 5:2.

In Carinthia, VSV took Salzburg by surprise in the opening phase and proved extremely efficient, especially in overtime. Three powerplay goals by Simon Despres (5th), Nicolas Rivett-Mattinen (9th) and John Hughes (10th) as well as a goal by Chris Collins (8th) gave Villach a comfortable lead after just ten minutes in front of 2,790 spectators. Ty Loney (18th) and Thomas Raffl (55th) reduced the lead before Hughes (59th /empty net) scored the final goal.

The Capitals also got off to a dream start in Vienna in front of 4,550 fans. Mario Fischer (10.), Lukas Kainz (13.), Alex Wall (14.) and Benjamin Finkelstein (15.) scored four goals in the first period. Kainz was able to enjoy a brace with another goal (42nd), while Tobias Fladeby (24th) and Zintis Zusevics (43rd) scored for Graz. The Innsbruck Sharks took the lead in Klagenfurt after just 45 seconds through Daniel Leavens. After the intermediate equalizer by Fabian Hochegger (9th) Tyler Coulter (19th) let the Tyroleans cheer again.

Wednesday, 14.12.2022
Pioneers Vorarlberg – Asiago Hockey 1:4 (0:1,1:2,0:1)

Friday, 13.01.2023
Vienna Capitals – Graz99ers 5:2 (4:0,0:1,1:1)
EC-KAC – HC Innsbruck 1:2 (1:2,0:0,0:0)
EC VSV – EC Salzburg 5:2 (4:1,0:0,1:1)
Black Wings Linz – HCB Südtirol 1:4 (0:1,0:1,1:2)

Friday, 20.01.2023
Fehervar AV19 – Olimpija Ljubljana 19.15