Austrian Ice Hockey League 2008/09

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Master:	EC KAC
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The 2008/09 season of the Austrian Ice Hockey League began on September 19, 2008. As in the previous year, seven Austrian teams, two teams from Slovenia and one from Hungary took part. Champion became for the 29th time in the history of the EC KAC .

In advance

EC Graz 99ers EC KAC EC VSV EC Red Bull Salzburg Vienna Capitals EHC Black Wings Linz Jesenice HDD Olimpija Ljubljana Fehérvár Alba Volán 19 HC Innsbruck

Map of all club locations for the 2008/09 season

The field of participants remained unchanged, even though, as in the previous year, there had been isolated reports of possible accession candidates. In March, for example, the HDK Maribor and thus a third Slovenian team were briefly involved, but this did not come true. In return, however, after the missed playoffs and the generally bad preseason of the Graz 99ers, their exit was briefly in the room. Towards the end of the regular round, there were sometimes violent spectator protests, in which the frequent changes in the squad, the dismissals of some long-term team supports and the trench warfare on the club's board had been criticized. It was only in March that the club announced its definitive participation in the 2008/09 season, leaving ten teams.

In addition, there were reports in March about a possible spin-off of the EBEL from the Austrian Ice Hockey Association (ÖEHV), which was to take place primarily due to the differences in the legionnaires' regulation and the association's frequent breakdowns in games. In April, however, it was announced that there would be no separation for the time being, although the fundamental problems could not be resolved by then.

Participating teams

	team	Preseason	Trainer
	EC Red Bull Salzburg	master	Pierre Pagé
	HDD Olimpija Ljubljana	Runner-up	Mike Posma (until October 6, 2008) Bojan Zajc (interim) Randy Edmonds (from October 14, 2008)
	EHC Linz	Semi-final out	Jim bonuses
	Vienna Capitals	Semi-final out	Kevin Gaudet
	EC KAC	Quarter final out	Emanuel Viveiros
	EC VSV	Quarter final out	Larry Huras
	HK Jesenice	Quarter final out	Douglas Bradley
	HC Innsbruck	Quarter final out	Ron Kennedy (until December 28, 2008) Greg Holst (from January 2009)
	EC Graz 99ers	Rank 9	Bill Gilligan
	Alba Volán Székesfehérvár	Rank 10	Ted Sator (until the end of the EBEL season) Lajos Énekes (Hungarian championship)

mode

After the mode of the previous season with an intermediate round (placement and qualification round) was not met with much approval from fans and teams, this was canceled again. Instead, a uniform basic round consisting of three rounds back and forth was played, which resulted in 54 games for each team. Two points were awarded for a win and one point for a defeat in overtime or a shootout. The start of the season took place on September 19, 2008, the basic round was completed on February 15, 2009. The best eight teams in the regular season qualified for the playoffs, which were played out as a best-of-seven series , beginning with a quarter-finals . The playoffs began on February 17, 2009 and ended with the final game on April 5, 2009.

Basic round

The season began with the early TV game of the Vienna Capitals against EC KAC and continued with the somewhat surprising victories of last year Alba Volán Székesfehérvár against EHC Linz (away), Salzburg (at home) and HDD Ljubljana (away) away. As expected, HC Innsbruck started the season well and topped the table with four wins in a row. While the runner-up Laibach started the season with several failed games and did not really find his form, the local rival HK Jesenice started the race to catch up and was in first place in the table from the sixth round despite rather poor goalkeeping performance. The team, which had started the new season with the fewest legionnaires, scored 28 goals in the first six games thanks to good leadership and some outstanding young players.

At the end of the first first half of the season, Laibach had already lost touch with the midfield of the table, while eight teams were tightly packed and some distance behind leaders Jesenice. Somewhat surprisingly, the EHC Linz was at times second to last. The EC VSV also had problems at the beginning, although the difficulties were foreseeable due to the low budget and the little-known names among the legionnaires. The Villach team was not spared from bad luck with injuries in the period that followed, but thanks to a good team spirit and the often outstanding performances of the young players, they were able to keep up in the table and slowly work their way up to the top half of the table.

In round 21 there was a scandalous game on November 16, 2008, when EC Red Bull Salzburg visited the Hungarian EBEL participants (and won the game 4-1). After several provocative actions on the part of the audience, concrete scenes soon followed on the ice. Even during the game, the referees gave the players 252 penalty minutes (including game penalties against Ryan Bonni , Szabolcs Fodor and Derek Couture by Alba Volán and Matthias Trattnig from Salzburg). The criminal panel imposed further penalties a few days after the game, but Alba Volán was particularly hard hit. The subsequent reduction in the number of points available for line-up made a four-line game no longer possible, and Ted Sator had to play a hull team in some of the subsequent encounters. As a result, Alba slowly fell back in the table and after lap 34 finally took over the last place in the table from the Laibachers. In the meantime, they were able to achieve some victories, but the key games against the table leaders were still lost.

HC Innsbruck also had difficulties in the meantime. The import players, who were much praised before the season, did not perform as expected. Also due to a weak team structure, the team temporarily slipped back to eighth place and only just barely fell out of the playoff ranks. It was similar for the Graz 99ers, who were much more successful than in recent years, but who still did not make it into the top half of the table. In contrast to other EBEL teams, the Graz team had a good defense, but the strikers, especially Troy Riddle , who was a key player before the season, missed too many chances in front of the opposing goal, so that the Grazers only about 2 , Scored 27 goals per game.

In the meantime, the Vienna Capitals had replaced Jesenice, which was now struggling with problems in defense, at the top of the table. Even though Capitals coach Kevin Gaudet usually only allowed three lines to play, the aging star strikers, especially Patrick Lebeau , Benoît Gratton and Juha Riihijärvi , turned out to be goal guarantors in every game and secured high victories for the "Caps". Nevertheless, the Viennese were replaced by the EC KAC at the top of the table with round 34. The Carinthians did not give up the table lead until the end of the regular season, although it was again tight four rounds before the end: the EC KAC won away in Vienna with 5: 4 and thus secured home rights in all play- off series.

The season for Alba Volán and Olimpija Ljubljana was decided early and thus ended. While the Hungarians could not recover from the wear and tear caused by the long bans and were too far behind in eighth place, Laibach ended the season with similarly mixed performances as the team had shown at the beginning. HK Jesenice, HC Innsbruck and the Graz 99ers landed on ranks six to eight.

Table after the basic round

space	team	SP	S.	N	SNV	NNV	T	GT	TVH	Points
1	EC KAC	54	32	12	6th	4th	204	141	+63	80
2	Vienna Capitals	54	25th	14th	8th	7th	203	162	+41	73
3	EC Red Bull Salzburg	54	25th	18th	7th	4th	200	157	+43	68
4th	EC VSV	54	26th	18th	5	5	183	153	+30	67
5	EHC Linz	54	23	21st	7th	3	166	144	+22	63
6th	HK Jesenice	54	21st	24	3	6th	179	197	−18	54
7th	Graz 99ers	54	19th	24	5	6th	124	154	−30	54
8th	HC Innsbruck	54	17th	24	7th	6th	153	186	−33	54
9	Alba Volán Székesfehérvár	54	12	28	5	9	129	178	−49	43
10	HDD Olimpija Ljubljana	54	13	30th	4th	7th	131	200	−69	41

Basic run statistics

Top scorer

player	player	team	SP	T	V	PKT	+/-	PIM	PPG	PPA	SHG	SHA	GWG
	Patrick Lebeau	Capitals	52	30th	52	82	+7	54	10	29	1	1	5
	Brad Purdie	Linz	54	21st	42	63	+3	82	8th	19th	2	0	1
	Frank Banham	Ljubljana	52	30th	29	59	−17	100	17th	15th	1	0	4th
	Benoît Gratton	VIC	40	20th	38	58	+8	162	9	17th	2	1	2
	Thomas Koch	Salzburg	52	20th	38	58	+15	34	8th	22nd	1	0	3
	Justin Mapletoft	VSV	52	20th	38	58	+21	66	7th	15th	2	5	3
	Andy Schneider	KAC	54	14th	44	58	+6	66	6th	23	1	1	2
	Juha Riihijärvi	Capitals	47	28	29	57	+13	16	15th	14th	0	0	3
	Marcel Rodman	Jesenice	53	21st	36	57	+15	70	8th	14th	2	0	3
	Dan Cavanaugh	VSV	53	21st	35	56	+10	85	7th	19th	3	1	5
	David Rodman	Jesenice	54	26th	29	55	+16	84	6th	9	0	2	4th
	Dan Bjornlie	Capitals	46	13	42	55	+21	61	6th	23	3	1	5
	Conny Strömberg	Jesenice	53	17th	37	54	+3	34	9	9	1	0	6th
	Rem Murray	innsbruck	54	19th	34	53	−2	50	9	12	0	2	3
	Matthias Trattnig	Salzburg	45	23	28	51	+9	111	12	19th	0	2	5

Legend : SP = games, T = goals, A = assists, PKT = points, +/- = plus minus, SM = penalty minutes, PPG = power play goals, PPA = power play assists, SHG = undernumbered goals, SHA = undernumbered Assists, GWG = winning goals

goalkeeper

	player	team	GP	GPI	GS	MIP	SO-CALLED	SVS	GA	SVS%	ATM	SO	W.	L.	OTL
	Travis Scott	KAC	15th	14th	14th	840: 20	446	417	29	93.50	2.07	1	11	2	1
	René Swette	KAC	54	21st	19th	1211: 00	630	583	47	92.54	2.33	1	14th	5	2
	Bernhard Starkbaum	VSV	54	18th	13	844: 42	504	466	38	92.46	2.70	2	6th	6th	1
	Gert Prohaska	VSV	52	41	41	2415: 56	1398	1285	113	91.92	2.81	1	25th	12	4th
	Dov Grumet-Morris	99ers	45	44	44	2589: 20	1360	1246	114	91.62	2.64	5	22nd	17th	2
	Jean-François Labbé	Capitals	44	44	44	2645: 06	1389	1272	117	91.58	2.65	5	26th	12	6th
	Alex Westlund	Linz	54	54	54	3250: 49	1616	1476	140	91.34	2.58	4th	30th	21st	3
	Seamus Kotyk	innsbruck	45	45	45	2562: 15	1574	1437	137	91.30	3.21	1	22nd	17th	5
	Levente Szuper	Alba Volán	50	41	41	2459: 51	1289	1168	121	90.61	2.95	2	15th	19th	7th
	Jordan Parise	Salzburg	47	47	47	2842: 10	1379	1244	135	90.21	2.85	5	27	17th	3
	Hannes Enzenhofer	KAC	30th	21st	21st	1218: 52	591	533	58	90.19	2.86	0	13	5	1
	Michael Morrison	Ljubljana	24	24	24	1367: 40	768	691	77	89.97	3.38	0	8th	14th	2
	Gaber Glavič	Jesenice	24	21st	21st	1232: 51	671	598	73	89.12	3.55	0	7th	10	3
	Aleš Sila	Ljubljana	37	22nd	19th	1150: 24	618	550	68	89.00	3.55	0	6th	10	4th
	Andrej Hočevar	Jesenice	32	31	31	1835: 27	922	815	107	88.39	3.50	2	17th	12	2

( Legend for the goalkeeper statistics: GP or Sp = total games; W or S = wins; L or N = defeats; T or U or OT = draws or overtime or shootout defeats; min. = Minutes; SOG or SaT = shots on goal; GA or GT = goals conceded; SO = shutouts ; GAA or GTS = goals conceded ; Sv% or SVS% = catch quota ; EN = empty net goal ; ¹  play-downs / relegation ; italics : statistics not complete)

Play-offs

Play-off tree

Quarter finals

Semifinals

final

1

EC KAC

4th

8th

HC Innsbruck

2

1

EC KAC

4th

5

EHC Liwest Linz

0

4th

EC VSV

2

5

EHC Liwest Linz

4th

1

EC KAC

4th

3

EC Red Bulls Salzburg

3

2

Vienna Capitals

4th

7th

Graz 99ers

3

2

Vienna Capitals

1

3

EC Red Bulls Salzburg

4th

3

EC Red Bulls Salzburg

4th

6th

HK Jesenice

1

Quarter-finals individual results

EC KAC series: HC TWK Innsbruck

The series began with an expected but surprisingly high victory for the EC KAC. The first third went 2-1 to the guests from Innsbruck, but the defensive performance of the team collapsed completely in the second and third sections of the game and enabled the EC KAC to win, to which the many penalties from the Innsbruck players also did the rest. In the second meeting, HC Innsbruck acted much more concentrated and set the course for victory with a double strike in the first two minutes. The team then took a 3-2 lead to equalize in the series. In the third game, however, the guests took a lot of penalties again, and the EC KAC was able to restore the lead in the series with four power play hits. However, Innsbruck equalized again and only allowed one goal in the second home game. With a 5-0 win (and Travis Scott's first shutout in the play-offs), the EC KAC then won the matchpuck and made it to the semi-finals with a hard-fought but ultimately safe away win.

EC KAC (1) - HC Innsbruck (8) February 17th EC KAC - HC Innsbruck 8: 2 19th of February HC Innsbruck - EC KAC 3: 2 February 22 EC KAC - HC Innsbruck 5: 2 February 24th HC Innsbruck - EC KAC 3: 1 February 26th EC KAC - HC Innsbruck 5-0 1st March HC Innsbruck - EC KAC 1: 3 KAC wins with 4: 2 victories.

EV Vienna Capitals series: EC Graz 99ers

The series between the two teams unexpectedly turned out to be the closest of all quarter-finals. After the Capitals had apparently made things clear with a sovereign 6-0 home win in the first game, the Graz team equalized with a close 2-1 in the second game. A defensive team playing very concentrated and Dov Grumet-Morris in goal, who was powerless only after a shot by Mario Altmann , were responsible. However, the Capitals came back with an equally narrow 3-2 win in the series and then got their first match puck with an away win. The 99ers, who had their first play-off win this season since the team was founded, surpassed themselves in the following game in Vienna and, with an outstanding team performance and another very good defense, made it 2: 3 in Vienna of the series. In the subsequent home game, which was again won by only one goal difference, they even equalized in the series. The all-important game in Vienna was then again shaped by the Capitals, who took the lead with an early goal after just 55 seconds and consistently exploited their chances in the following period.

Vienna Capitals (2) - Graz 99ers (7) February 17th Vienna Capitals - Graz 99ers 6-0 19th of February Graz 99ers - Vienna Capitals 2: 1 February 22 Vienna Capitals - Graz 99ers 3: 2 February 24th Graz 99ers - Vienna Capitals 2: 3 February 26th Vienna Capitals - Graz 99ers 1: 3 1st March Graz 99ers - Vienna Capitals 2: 1 3 March Vienna Capitals - Graz 99ers 5: 1 Vienna wins 4: 3 victories.

EC Red Bull Salzburg: HK Acroni Jesenice

Salzburg started as a big favorite in this series against the recently somewhat ailing Slovenes, but the new goalkeeper Matthew Yeats had new self-confidence against them. The Salzburg team fell behind twice and found it difficult to save themselves into extra time, where Thomas Koch released his team with one goal after six and a half minutes. This narrow result motivated the team from Jesenice additionally, and with a clear 6-2 home win, the Slovenes equalized in the series. Matthew Yeats sustained an injury in this game, so Andrej Hočevar had to take over again in goal. Unsettled by this setback, Jesenice slipped into a debacle and lost the third game in Salzburg clearly 1: 9. The team didn't recover from that and then lost 3-1 at home. In the final game in Salzburg, the hosts played the victory home safely and advanced to the semi-finals.

Red Bulls Salzburg (3) - HK Jesenice (6) February 17th Red Bulls Salzburg - HK Jesenice 3: 2 n / a 19th of February HK Jesenice - Red Bulls Salzburg 6: 2 February 22 Red Bulls Salzburg - HK Jesenice 9: 1 February 24th HK Jesenice - Red Bulls Salzburg 1: 3 February 26th Red Bulls Salzburg - HK Jesenice 4: 1 Salzburg wins with 4-1 victories.

EC VSV: EHC Linz

The series began with a somewhat surprising victory for the Linzers on Villach ice. Especially the strikers of the EC VSV failed to create danger in front of the excellent Linz goalkeeper Alex Westlund , and so the home advantage in the series switched to the steel city. The second game started promisingly for the EC VSV with a goal from Roland Kaspitz , but the team was unable to match and allowed Linz to win another narrow victory with only one goal ahead. Only in the third meeting did the EC VSV find their way into the series and won 5: 2. The young players from Villach, who scored the goals instead of the ailing legionnaires, played a major role in this victory. Linz won in the fourth game again very narrowly on their own ice, but Villach was able to improve again and make it 3-2. In the last game of the series, however, the lack of offensive strength of Villach became clear when they lost the series with 0: 2 without a goal. Nevertheless, the Villach goalkeeper Gert Prohaska achieved the best statistical values ​​of the play-offs with a catch rate of 94.59%.

EC VSV (4) - EHC Liwest Linz (5) February 17th EC VSV - EHC Liwest Linz 1: 2 19th of February EHC Liwest Linz - EC VSV 2: 1 February 22 EC VSV - EHC Liwest Linz 5: 2 February 24th EHC Liwest Linz - EC VSV 3: 2 February 26th EC VSV - EHC Liwest Linz 2: 1 1st March EHC Liwest Linz - EC VSV 2-0 Linz wins with 4: 2 victories.

Individual results semi-finals

EC KAC series: EHC Liwest Linz

The fans had expected a very short series. The first game confirmed this at first, as the EC KAC could only narrowly prevail against the strong Linz players. The father of the win was Travis Scott (ice hockey player) | Travis Scott, who scored his second shut-out in the play-offs in this game. In the second encounter, the Linz team initially took the lead, but after that the EC KAC scored three goals in just ten minutes and turned the narrow deficit into a 3-1 lead. Linz continued to fight for their first victory and scored the next goal shortly after the start of the final third, but the equalizer was no longer possible. In the third encounter, the EC KAC won confidently after a double strike in the first third and thus secured the first match puck. The Linzers could not gain any more after that. Despite the lead after the first third, it was 2-2 after 40 minutes, and in the final section the EC KAC decided the game again with a double strike. An empty net goal just before the end had only statistical value. This made the EC KAC the first to participate in the final without defeat in the semi-finals.

EC KAC (1) - EHC Liwest Linz (5) 5. March EC KAC - EHC Liwest Linz 2-0 8th of March EHC Liwest Linz - EC KAC 2: 4 March 10th EC KAC - EHC Liwest Linz 5: 1 March 12th EHC Liwest Linz - EC KAC 3: 5 KAC wins the series 4-0.

EV Vienna Capitals series: EC Red Bull Salzburg

The first game in the series between the Vienna Capitals and the Red Bulls Salzburg provided a lot to talk about: after various unpunished fouls, both the Viennese and Salzburg sent videos of controversial scenes to the association. The criminal senate then imposed the following unconditional bans: three games against Benoît Gratton (Vienna) and Matthias Trattnig (Salzburg), two games for Rafael Rotter (Vienna) and one game for Mike Siklenka (Salzburg). Curiously, Benoit Gratton was not only the perpetrator, but also the victim of both Salzburg fouls. The narrow victory after extension of the Viennese against the fearful opponent from Salzburg (in the three years before, Vienna could only achieve one victory, but not on the ice: in the 2005/06 season the Salzburgers were denied a victory because they had one unregistered players) initially seemed to mean a turnaround, but Salzburg initially made it 1-1 in the series with a home win. There followed a painful defeat on their own ice, in which the Capitals did not seem equal to the Salzburgers in any phase. The next encounter in Salzburg was very close, but goalie Jordan Parise ensured the hosts a narrow victory. The Viennese tried to find their way back into the series, but Salzburg first turned a 2-0 lead for the Viennese into a 2: 3 and scored the 3: 4 in the four and a half minutes before the end after the interim equalization. A hit in the empty gate secured the reigning champions the renewed participation in the finals. The Viennese were eliminated for the fourth time in a row against Salzburg in the semifinals.

Vienna Capitals (2) - Red Bulls Salzburg (3) 5. March Vienna Capitals - Red Bulls Salzburg 4: 3 n / a 8th of March Red Bulls Salzburg - Vienna Capitals 4: 2 March 10th Vienna Capitals - Red Bulls Salzburg 1: 4 March 12th Red Bulls Salzburg - Vienna Capitals 2: 1 March, 15 Vienna Capitals - Red Bulls Salzburg 3: 5 Salzburg wins the series 4-1.

Individual results final

Record champions EC KAC and defending champions Salzburg met in the final. In Klagenfurt, the club was hoping for the title on the 100th anniversary of its existence; for Salzburg it would have been the third title in a row. The series was exciting. The first game could only be decided in overtime after four goals in regular time. Salzburg acted offensively and had 44 shots on goal in the encounter, the EC KAC, in which Warren Norris was not used due to the point rule, used the opportunities presented, especially in the power play. After a late equalizer from Salzburg, Mike Craig scored 1-0 in the series for Klagenfurt. However, the flood of reports from the criminal senate continued in the final, which is why Daniel Welser (Salzburg, two games absolutely), Gregor Hager (KAC, one game absolutely) and Johannes Kirisits (KAC, one game absolutely) were subsequently banned.

On the ice, Salzburg responded convincingly to the opening defeat. The second game in Salzburg turned into a debacle for the EC KAC when the Salzburg team achieved a 7-2 victory and equalized in the series without any risk. After a restrained first third, the hosts scored three goals in the middle section, so that at the EC KAC, Travis Scott was taken out of the gate prematurely and replaced by backup René Swette . The optical superiority of the Salzburg team, along with the uncertainty on the part of the KAC resulting from the high defeat, again led to a high 6: 3 victory for the red bulls in the third game, which turned the series and the home advantage for the KAC was lost.

However, the EC KAC found their way back to the disciplined style of play of the semi-finals in game four, and thanks to an excellent Travis Scott in Salzburg, who had to accept a defeat for the first time after eleven wins on their own ice, they were able to achieve a 4-1 victory and so did the series turn again. In the fifth game in the series, Scott once again became the player of the evening and was instrumental in the 3-0 success. In a tough game, Salzburg was visually superior for long stretches, but didn't get a hit. An own goal by Thomas Hundertpfund was ultimately not given because the goal had previously been torn from its anchoring. So the EC KAC only needed one victory. This game also led to subsequent bans against Gregor Hager (KAC, one game is essential) and Mario Scalzo (Salzburg, one game is essential).

The sixth encounter then turned out to be extremely exciting. Andy Schneider scored the 2-1 lead for EC KAC at the beginning of the final third in a hard-fought game. Salzburg then tried everything to equalize, but failed again and again to Scott. 68 seconds before the end of the game, when Jordan Parise had already left his goal, Darryl Bootland saved Salzburg in overtime, where he fixed the series equalization with another goal (both times without the assistance of another player).

In the last game, Salzburg initially proved to be a more active team, while the KAC waited for their chances. So it took until the 35th minute before the first hit fell. Andy Schneider scored the 1-0 for the EC KAC. At the beginning of the final third, Salzburg equalized, but only thirteen seconds later Christoph Harand took the lead again for the KAC to make it 2-1. In contrast to the sixth game, this time the lead lasted to the end, and the EC KAC thus secured the 29th championship title in the club's history.

statistics

Top scorer

player	player	team	SP	T	V	PKT	+/-	PIM	PPG	PPA	SHG	SHA	GWG
	Andy Schneider	KAC	17th	11	17th	28	+7	6th	4th	10	0	0	3
	Mike Craig	KAC	16	8th	12	20th	+5	28	4th	5	0	0	2
	Thomas Koch	Salzburg	16	8th	11	19th	+4	20th	2	7th	0	0	2
	John Hughes	Salzburg	17th	4th	11	15th	+5	26th	2	3	1	0	0
	Jeff Tory	KAC	17th	3	12	15th	+2	24	3	8th	0	0	0
	Manuel Latusa	Salzburg	17th	9	5	14th	+6	22nd	4th	1	1	1	3
	Adrian Foster	Salzburg	17th	5	7th	12	+5	34	1	3	0	0	1
	Mario Scalzo	Salzburg	15th	4th	8th	12	+7	16	2	4th	0	2	2
	Daniel Welser	Salzburg	15th	4th	8th	12	+4	40	1	3	2	0	1
	Gregor Hager	KAC	16	7th	4th	11	+2	63	3	2	0	0	1

Legend : SP = games, T = goals, A = assists, PKT = points, +/- = plus minus, SM = penalty minutes, PPG = power play goals, PPA = power play assists, SHG = undernumbered goals, SHA = undernumbered Assists, GWG = winning goals

goalkeeper

	player	team	GP	GPI	GS	MIP	SO-CALLED	SVS	GA	SVS%	ATM	SO	W.	L.	OTL
	Gert Prohaska	VSV	6th	6th	6th	356: 54	222	210	12	94.59	2.02	0	2	4th	0
	Travis Scott	KAC	17th	17th	17th	999: 18	535	500	35	93.46	2.10	3	12	4th	1
	Matthew Yeats	Jesenice	2	2	2	126: 26	76	71	5	93.42	2.37	0	1	0	1
	Sebastien Charpentier	99ers	3	3	3	180: 00	104	97	7th	93.27	2.33	0	2	1	0
	Jean-François Labbé	Capitals	11	11	11	658: 26	341	316	25th	92.67	2.28	1	5	6th	0
	Alex Westlund	Linz	10	10	10	596: 27	318	293	25th	92.14	2.51	1	4th	6th	0
	Jordan Parise	Salzburg	17th	17th	17th	1027: 14	480	439	41	91.46	2.39	0	11	4th	2
	Dov Grumet-Morris	99ers	4th	4th	4th	218: 30	117	106	11	90.60	3.02	0	1	3	0
	Seamus Kotyk	innsbruck	6th	6th	6th	344: 57	216	195	21st	90.28	3.65	0	2	4th	0
	Andrej Hočevar	Jesenice	3	3	3	158: 09	98	85	13	86.73	4.93	0	0	3	0

( Legend for the goalkeeper statistics: GP or Sp = total games; W or S = wins; L or N = defeats; T or U or OT = draws or overtime or shootout defeats; min. = Minutes; SOG or SaT = shots on goal; GA or GT = goals conceded; SO = shutouts ; GAA or GTS = goals conceded ; Sv% or SVS% = catch quota ; EN = empty net goal ; ¹  play-downs / relegation ; italics : statistics not complete)

Championship final result

1. EC KAC
2. EC Red Bull Salzburg
3. Vienna Capitals
4. EHC Linz
5. EC Graz 99ers
6. EC VSV
7. HK Jesenice
8. HC Innsbruck
9. Alba Volán Székesfehérvár
10. HDD Olimpija Ljubljana

Squad of the Austrian champions

Austrian champion EC KAC

Goalkeepers: Travis Scott , René Swette , Hannes Enzenhofer Defenders: Herbert Ratz , Johannes Kirisits , Johannes Reichel , Kirk Furey , Martin Schumnig , Jeff Tory , Sean Brown , Mike Pellegrims Attackers: Markus Pirmann , Warren Norris , Paul Schellander , Gregor Hager , Silvio Jakobitsch , Stefan Geier , Manuel Geier , Thomas Hundertpfund , Christoph Brandner (C) , Jeff Shantz , David Schuller , Andy Schneider , Christoph Harand , Raphael Herburger , Mike Craig Coaching team: Emanuel Viveiros , Mario Schaden , Gerald Ressmann

spectator

In absolute terms, the 2008/09 season was the EBEL's most successful to date with 907,740 spectators and 303 games. The main reason for this, however, was primarily the significantly higher number of games. The many Tuesday appointments during the regular season caused the average number of spectators per game to drop slightly compared to last season, with 2,928 people per game remaining below the 3000 mark for the first time since the 2003/04 season .

rank	team	At home			Away			total
		Games	spectator	average	Games	spectator	average	Games	spectator	average
1	EC KAC	36	155,608	4,322	35	107,725	3,078	71	263,333	3,709
2	EC VSV	30th	113,800	3,793	30th	86,807	2,894	60	200,607	3,343
3	EV Vienna Capitals	34	121,300	3,568	32	89,168	2,787	66	210,468	3,189
4th	HDD Olimpija Ljubljana	27	77,900	2,885	27	78,550	2,909	54	156,450	2,897
5	EC Red Bull Salzburg	35	87,150	2,490	36	114.730	3,187	71	201,880	2,843
6th	EHC Linz	32	82,677	2,584	32	95,570	2,987	64	178,247	2,785
7th	HK Jesenice	29	75,600	2,607	30th	88,480	2,949	59	164.080	2,781
8th	Alba Volán Székesfehérvár	27	77,220	2,860	27	67,350	2,494	54	144,570	2,677
9	HC TWK Innsbruck	30th	62,100	2,070	30th	87,410	2,914	60	149,510	2,492
10	EC Graz 99ers	30th	54,385	1,813	31	91,950	2,966	61	146.335	2,399

Withdrawal of HC Innsbruck

On March 3rd, HC Innsbruck announced that they would play in the National League - the second highest division in Austria - from the following season . The reasons given for the voluntary relegation were the low average attendance and the high costs for the Bundesliga. In the future, more Tyrolean players should be included in the squad again. After a consolidation phase, the Tyroleans planned to return to the EBEL, which also happened in the 2012/13 season .

The death of Ron Kennedy

With Ron Kennedy , an internationally recognized coach took over HC Innsbruck at the end of the 2007/08 season . However, Kennedy's health deteriorated rapidly over the course of the season. A brain tumor had already been diagnosed in December 2006 , which was believed to have been defeated after surgical removal. Two years later, just a few months after the start of the season, metastases were found again , and Kennedy had to resign prematurely from HC Innsbruck. In Greg Holst , he was replaced by a good friend of many years. Kennedy underwent retreatment, but the doctors' efforts were in vain; on July 9, 2009, the Canadian died of his illness.

Web links

• Official homepage of the Erste Bank ice hockey league

swell

1. ↑ Marburg also wants to join the EBEL , report on hockeyfans.at from March 21, 2008
2. ↑ Fan protests at the 99ers , report on hockeyfans.at from February 2, 2008
3. ↑ 99ers remain loyal to the EBEL , report on hockeyfans.at from March 8, 2008
4. ↑ League wants to break away from the ÖEHV , report on hockeyfans.at from March 27, 2008
5. ↑ EBEL and ÖEHV remain chained to one another , report on hockeyfans.at from April 19, 2008
6. ↑ Laibach without a trainer to the VSV , report on hockeyfans.at from October 6, 2008
7. ↑ Laibach has a new trainer , report on hockeyfans.at from October 14, 2008
8. ↑ A bang - Ron Kennedy is no longer a Haie trainer , report on hockeyfans.at from December 28, 2008
9. ↑ Greg Holst new trainer in Innsbruck , report on hockeyfans.at from December 20, 2008
10. ↑ Ted Sator leaves Alba Volán , report on hockeyfans.at of March 3, 2009
11. ↑ Salzburg wins hard battle in Hungary , report on hockeyfans.at from November 16, 2008
12. ↑ Volán heavily decimated to Jesenice , report on hockeyfans.at from November 17, 2008
13. ↑ http://www.eishockey.at/9748.html (link not available)
14. ↑ Eiskalter KAC is lucky to present in the final , report on hockeyfans.at from March 22, 2009
15. ↑ Ads and bans also continue in the final , report on hockeyfans.at from March 24, 2009
16. ↑ Bulls react with a runaway victory against KAC , report on hockeyfans.at of March 24, 2009
17. ↑ Salzburg gets home rights from the KAC , report on hockeyfans.at from March 26, 2009
18. ↑ KAC takes back home rights , report on hockeyfans.at from March 29, 2009
19. ↑ KAC gets its first matchpuck , report on hockeyfans.at from March 31, 2009
20. ↑ Hager banned for the sixth final , report on hockeyfans.at from April 2, 2009
21. ↑ Salzburg Scalzo also blocked , report on hockeyfans.at from April 2, 2009
22. ↑ Salzburg forces play-off , report on hockeyfans.at from April 2, 2009
23. ↑ KAC gives itself the championship , report on hockeyfans.at from April 5, 2009
24. ↑ Kleine Zeitung , Notbremse: Innsbruck "Haie" dismount voluntarily ( memento of October 10, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on March 27, 2014
25. ↑ Kleine Zeitung: Good bye, Ron Kennedy ( Memento from September 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive )