Austrian Ice Hockey League 2009/10

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Master:	EC Red Bull Salzburg
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The 2009/10 season of the Austrian ice hockey league lasted from September 2009 to April 2010 and after HC Innsbruck left it was completed with only six Austrian clubs, which were joined by four teams from Slovenia , Hungary and Croatia . The Croatian club KHL Medveščak Zagreb took part in the championship for the first time as a newcomer. The defending champion was the EC KAC , who was eliminated in the quarter-finals. The new champion was the third time in the short history of the EC Red Bull Salzburg club .

In advance

Participating teams

EC Graz 99ers EC KAC EC VSV EC Red Bull Salzburg Vienna Capitals EHC Black Wings Linz Jesenice HDD Olimpija Ljubljana Alba Volán Székesfehérvár KHL Medveščak Zagreb

Participants in the 2009/10 season

After the early exit in the quarter-finals last season, HC Innsbruck announced that due to financial difficulties, they no longer wanted to participate in the top Austrian league and were relegated to the national league. In order to still be able to guarantee an even number of teams in the field of participants, HC Innsbruck should be replaced by another foreign team, as, as in previous years, no team from the National League signaled willingness to move up to the EBEL. Foreign candidates were the Italian Serie A club HC Bozen and the Croatian team KHL Medveščak Zagreb . The Croatians had already submitted their application for membership for the first time in 2007, while the Italians expressed interest but did not make an official application. For this reason, the decision was made for the team from Zagreb, which started their first season with a rumored budget of around two million euros. This decision, however, caused a divided echo, especially among the fans. There were general fears that the so-called “ultras” - fans prone to violence who had already caused problems during test matches - could now also turn to ice hockey. Some teams had announced that they would take precautions in the event of an emergency, but all fears turned out to be unfounded. Both the team and the fans turned out to be a great asset to the league.

	team	Preseason	Trainer
	EC KAC	master	Emanuel Viveiros
	EC Red Bull Salzburg	Runner-up	Pierre Pagé
	Vienna Capitals	Semi-final out	Kevin Gaudet
	EHC Linz	Semi-final out	Kim Collins
	EC Graz 99ers	Quarter final out	Bill Gilligan
	EC VSV	Quarter final out	Johan Strömwall
	HK Jesenice	Quarter final out	Ildar Rahmatuljin (until November 8, 2009) Mike Posma
	Alba Volán Székesfehérvár	Rank 9	Jarmo Tolvanen
	HDD Olimpija Ljubljana	Rank 10	Dany Gélinas (until November 25, 2009) Matjaž Sekelj (interim) Hannu Järvenpää (from December 17, 2009)
	KHL Medveščak Zagreb	new to the league	Enio Sacilotto (until November 24, 2009) Ted Sator

Budgets

Due to the economic crisis, some clubs had to start the new season with partly heavily reduced budgets. The hardest hit was HK Jesenice, who announced at a press conference in early June that they only had around 700,000 euros available for the new season. In addition, a mountain of debt of around 1.6 million euros had to be reduced. The team therefore let some of their key players go and announced that they would like to work more with young players in the next few seasons.

But there were also problems during the season. HDD Olimpija Ljubljana published a press release at the end of December that, due to ongoing problems with the payment of player salaries, all legionnaires with the exception of Frank Banham and Kevin Mitchell were given the opportunity to join new clubs until the IIHF transfer deadline, regardless of current contracts seek when the players forego the outstanding salaries in return. Some players took up this offer and switched, so that the club played the rest of the championship with a rump team. For the following seasons, the team planned to continue to participate in the EBEL, but similar to HK Jesenice to fall back on a cheaper squad mainly made up of local young players.

mode

The final schedule was published on June 15, 2009. The mode of the previous year with three rounds back and forth in the basic round was retained, which again resulted in 54 games for each team. The Tuesday appointments, which were not very popular in the previous year, were largely avoided by a redistribution, but appointments were scheduled for December 25th and January 1st. The Christmas date was postponed not least due to protests from North American players, as it is customary overseas not to celebrate Christmas until December 25th. The play-offs were played in the best-of-seven mode again from the quarter-finals, for which the best eight teams qualify. The season started on September 10th with a new edition of last year's final, EC KAC against EC Red Bull Salzburg, as a live game on Sky .

Regulations

Due to the financial crisis, some changes were made to the regulations. This particularly affected the squads of the teams. The point rule has been modified. If in the previous year it was allowed to field players with a total of 60 points (the points were again awarded by the opposing teams before the season, a value between 0.5 and 4 points was allowed) per game, this total number was used now for the entire registered squad. This was to prevent players from being signed, as they did last season, who then only receive a little Ice Age. At the same time, the budgets should be kept within limits. When the 60-point mark was reached, only three exchanges were allowed. It was also agreed that, from the 2010/11 season, the clubs would only be allowed to negotiate with licensed players 'agents in order to put an end to the rising prices for players' salaries. The licensing system for these intermediaries was created in cooperation with the DEL .

Furthermore, from the semi-finals onwards, the clubs were no longer allowed to submit reports to the criminal senate in order to obtain subsequent bans for opposing players. This regulation was intended to prevent the proliferation of these advertisements, as had happened in recent seasons, especially in the play-offs.

At the end of August, at the annual congress of the International Ice Hockey Federation , a decision was made to amend three rules, which was also adopted in all Austrian championships. For example, a team that caused an icing was not allowed to change players in their defensive zone for the first break after the following face-off . Faceoffs were only allowed to be carried out at the allusion points, the imaginary line parallel to the longitudinal ligaments was omitted. In addition, after a pronounced penalty, the face-off was always carried out in the defensive zone of the punished team.

Change of players and squad

For the reigning champions EC KAC, the former junior player Dieter Kalt returned to his home club, while Warren Norris and Christoph Harand left the club for the Graz 99ers. As expected, the contracts with Travis Scott and Mike Pellegrims were not renewed.

It remained similarly calm at EHC Linz, whose striker rows remained practically unchanged. Here, however, the legionnaires were exchanged in defense. Rich Bronilla ( EV Landshut ), Darrel Scoville (EC VSV) and Franklin MacDonald ( Rochester Americans ) have been announced as newcomers . Similarly, replacing Kim Collins Jim bonuses as coach since the latter as sports director for ERC Ingolstadt in the German Ice Hockey League moved.

Last year Olimpija Ljubljana, where defender Pasi Petriläinen and strikers Todd Elik and Ralph Intranuovo left the club, signed a few youth players, including Norm Maracle, the former Iserlohn Roosters goalkeeper . In addition, Slovenian striker Ivo Jan ( EC Graz 99ers ) signed a one-season contract, returning to the team where he started his professional career.

The Graz 99ers signed a number of young Austrian players. So was Martin Oraze (EC VSV) and Florian Iberians (EHC Linz) is committed to the defense, the storm, the team was Manuel Ganahl ( EC-TREND Dornbirn ), Matthias Schwab , Patrick Harand (both EC Red Bull Salzburg) and Daniel Woger and Martin Hohenberger (both HC Innsbruck ) strengthened. In addition, the former Jesenice legionnaire Jean-Philippe Paré , defender Cole Jarrett ( Nürnberg Ice Tigers ) and striker Eric Healey ( Mora IK ) were signed on. In goal Sébastien Charpentier succeeded Dov Grumet-Morris . Another departure was Norwegian defender and former team captain Tommy Jakobsen , who wanted to end his career in his home country.

The Vienna Capitals were particularly noticeable by signing three key players at HK Jesenice. Marcel and David Rodman as well as Aleš Kranjc signed contracts in the federal capital, while Aaron Fox, who was injured for a long time in the preseason, moved to league newcomer KHL Medveščak Zagreb. After Jean-François Labbé, Frédéric Cassivi , a former player of the Nürnberg Ice Tigers , was once again committed to the position of goalkeeper . Defender Philippe Lakos returned to the federal capital after a year at HC Innsbruck . François Bouchard from Adler Mannheim also reinforced the defense . In order to strengthen the squad ceiling, which has been very thin in recent years, a try-out was also organized with younger players.

The VSV announced many departures from players from their own youth. Thomas Raffl left the team for Luleå HF , while Benjamin Petrik should have switched to the National League at ATSE Graz . However, this change was reversed when the ATSE decided against a National League participation. The two former VSV players Gerhard Unterluggauer (HC Innsbruck) and Philipp Pinter (Salzburg) were added. After the departure of Justin Mapletoft and Robby Sandrock , their positions were filled with Mike Martin ( Frederikshavn White Hawks ) and Kiel McLeod ( SG Cortina ). In the coaching bench, the previous assistant coach Johan Strömwall replaced Larry Huras , who had signed a two-year contract with SC Bern . In mid-July, it was also announced that Dan Cavanaugh was retiring after accepting a job in the real estate industry back home. With the Swede Mikael Wahlberg ( HC Ambrì-Piotta ) an adequate replacement could be found for the position of the first line center.

In Salzburg, Bobby Goepfert was hired as the successor to Jordan Parise , and many of the other legionaries were announced as departures in addition to Mario Scalzo ( Adler Mannheim ) and Stéphane Julien ( Kölner Haie ). New to the team were some young players like Michael Schiechl (Graz), Patrick Maier (Linz) and Florian Mühlstein (KAC). Salzburg continued to sign up young players as legionnaires and signed contracts with Michael Gergen ( University of Minnesota ), Ryan Duncan ( Bridgeport Sound Tigers ), Kelsey Wilson ( Milwaukee Admirals ) and Brent Aubin ( Toronto Marlies ). With Steve Regier ( Peoria Rivermen or St. Louis Blues ) a player was again committed who had only been active at an NHL club last season .

HK Jesenice only had a significantly reduced budget and had to give up most of its key players, but signed the young talent Rok Tičar , the two Russians Boris Tortunow (goalkeeper, Vitjas Chekhov ) and Jan Golubowski (defender, HK Junost Minsk ), the Estonian Andrei Makrov (striker) as well as the Kazak Andrei Troschtschinski and the German-Kazakh Alexander Dück also have some newcomers. With Aleš Remar ( Hockey Milano Rossoblu ), a long-serving striker returned to the club after a season in the Italian Serie A2 .

Above all, Alba Volán had to overcome the sudden death of Gábor Ocskay and signed a number of Hungarian internationals. The most prominent newcomers were Marton ( Diables Rouges de Briançon ) and János Vas ( Brynäs IF ). The former had been one of the top scorers in the French Ligue Magnus for several years . Goalkeeper Levente Szuper left the club and moved to the Hannover Scorpions in the DEL . He was replaced by Tommi Satosaari from the Diables Rouges de Briançon. Likewise, crowd favorite Nathan Martz decided after long deliberation to accept an offer from HC Alleghe from the Italian A1 series . Defenders Ryan Bonni , Blake Forsyth , Nick Martens and Andreas Byström also moved to new teams and were replaced by Oscar Ackeström (Hannover Scorpions) and Juha Alen ( Mora IK ). In the dugout Jarmo Tolvanen succeeded Ted Sator .

League newcomer KHL Medveščak Zagreb built a completely new team for the first EBEL season and signed several international players with Croatian roots as well as the Slovenian national goalkeeper Robert Kristan ( Mora IK ). Also, with Aaron Fox (Capitals), Robby Sandrock (VSV), Alan Letang (HC Innsbruck) and Conrad Martin (HK Jesenice) some EBEL-experienced legionnaires could be signed. With TJ Guidarelli a center returned to the EBEL, who had already formed a successful striker duo with Aaron Fox in the 2003/04 season at HC Innsbruck . Mike Ouellette ( Hartford Wolf Pack ) and Jeff Corey ( South Carolina Stingrays ) added to the storm series.

Transfers during the season

Former national goalkeeper Reinhard Divis returned to the Red Bulls after a year in Sweden.

The goalkeeper of HK Jesenice was exchanged relatively quickly with Boris Tortunow , whose position was taken over by Dov Grumet-Morris , the former goalkeeper of the Graz 99ers . The strikers Andrei Makrov and Andrei Troschtschinski were also criticized. However, the former was able to secure an additional period in a personal conversation with the trainer in order to prove his efficiency. The striker Konstantin Firsanov from the Schwenninger Wild Wings ( 2nd ice hockey Bundesliga ) was added for a short time , but he did not pass the tryout due to poor performance. He was replaced by Bobby Robins ( Belfast Giants ). However, since the success failed to materialize, coach Ildar Rahmatuljin was replaced in November by Mike Posma , who had led the Laibacher to the final two years earlier. He also brought Todd Elik from HC Thurgau to Jesenice. However, the details of the transfer took place under mysterious circumstances, as Posma picked up Elik from Thurgau by car, even before the formalities for the transfer were completed.

At Alba Volán, the try-out striker Teemu Elomo was not included in the fixed line-up. Initially, the commitment of the Canadian Grant Stevenson was in the room for a short time , but no agreement could be reached. Instead, the renewed commitment of Nathan Martz ( HC Alleghe ) was announced, who had already convinced with good performance the previous season. The defense was reinforced with David Bornhammar ( Leksands IF ).

HDD Ljubljana also strengthened itself during the season. After Ralph Intranuovo left the club, two more strikers were hired with Travis Brigley and Matt Higgins . Harlan Pratt , who had already played six games for the Vienna Capitals in the 2006/07 season, and Burke Henry (formerly Salzburg) strengthened the defense. Steve Kelly , whose contract had to be terminated prematurely due to an injury, only made a few missions . Most of the signed players left the club due to its financial difficulties in the course of the season.

League newcomer Zagreb hired defender Chris Powers after the start of the season and strengthened the storm a little later with Canadian Brad Smyth . In November, the former Capitals and Linz legionnaire Richard Seeley was also engaged for a tryout. At the end of November, the Frankfurt Lions striker Jeff Heerema also came to Zagreb.

The Red Bulls Salzburg released Bobby Goepfert from his contract after eighteen rounds due to insufficient performance and signed Reinhard Divis without a club as the second goalkeeper alongside David LeNeveu . In November, the current contract with coach Pierre Pagé was extended for another three years. A club-internal swap took place shortly before the end of the transfer: Brent Aubin was brought from the farm team to the first team, while the disappointing Michael Gergen took the opposite path.

The EC KAC strengthened due to a series of injuries among the key players - in October, four regular players - Sean Brown , Johannes Reichel , Christoph Brandner and Andy Schneider - were injured - in early November with NHL veteran Shawn Bates , but after only six games was dismissed due to poor performance. At the beginning of December, a new replacement was signed with Jason Morgan , but he was also unable to meet expectations. Just before Christmas, last year's goalkeeper from Salzburg came to KAC with Jordan Parise .

The young Austrian Kevin Puschnik , who had previously tried his luck in the Quebéc Major Junior Hockey League , completed a tryout with the 99ers, but was then signed by the Red Bulls Salzburg.

EHC Linz responded to Darrel Scoville's long-term injury in mid-November and signed defender Brendan Buckley as his replacement .

The EC VSV also had to react to the significant loss of performance after the strong start to the championship and signed defender Jean-François Fortin in November . Another striker was to follow and was found in the person of Nate DiCasmirro , who, however, could not bring the performance by far.

The Vienna Capitals responded by signing Canadian Yves Sarault in December to Marc Tropper's injury . Sarault first completed a tryout with the Viennese and was finally included in the fixed line-up. Shortly before the end of the transfer deadline, the Capitals drew attention to themselves with some sensational transfers: defender Tino Anton Teppert was given up despite strong performances and replaced by two other transfer card players , Francis Lemieux and the former Salzburg Darryl Bootland . This transfer caused a lot of criticism, as the Capitals already had a far above average number of legionnaires.

Preseason

Almost all teams played one or more tournaments in their test game program. The EC Red Bull Salzburg again organized the Red Bulls Salute , in which this time the Adler Mannheim ( DEL ), the Espoo Blues ( SM-liiga ) and the HK ZSKA Moscow ( KHL ) took part, and was able to do this tournament for the first time since win its event. Defending champion EC KAC and league competitors EC VSV , HK Jesenice and HDD Olimpija Ljubljana again took part in the Rudi-Hiti Summer Cup in Bled. The two previous finalists KAC and VSV could not reach the final this year, the winner was HK Jesenice, who prevailed in the decisive game against the Diables Rouges de Briançon in the penalty shootout. The EHC Linz contested the Dolomitencup and the Euro-Can-Cup , the latter together with the London Knights ( Ontario Hockey League ), the EHC Munich ( 2nd ice hockey Bundesliga ) and the EV Zug ( National League A ) in North America, and closed both tournaments in third place. Alba Volán Székesfehérvár was able to win a tournament in Poland and organized a memorial tournament in honor of the deceased player Gábor Ocskay , in which the Vienna Capitals, the Graz 99ers and the HDD Olimpija Ljubljana also took part. Alba Volán was able to prevail in the final against the Vienna Capitals.

In addition, a large number of test matches against teams from the German Ice Hockey League and the National League A and B took place. The Austrian teams were able to achieve very good results and show that the EBEL was able to bring its level closer to the leagues mentioned.

Overview of all preseason tournaments

competition	Period	Participants from the EBEL	Attendees	Final results
Dolomites Cup	August 14-16, 2009	EHC Linz	4th	EHC Linz: 3rd place
Tournament in Poland	August 20-22, 2009	Alba Volán Székesfehérvár	4th	Alba Volán Székesfehérvár: Tournament winner
Euro-Can-Cup	August 25th to 31st, 2009	EHC Linz	4th	EHC Linz: 3rd place
Red Bulls Salute	August 27-30, 2009	EC Red Bull Salzburg	6th	EC Red Bull Salzburg: Tournament winner
Rudi Hiti Summer Cup	August 27-30, 2009	EC KAC EC VSV HK Jesenice HDD Olimpija Ljubljana	6th	HK Jesenice: tournament winner EC KAC: 3rd place HDD Olimpija Ljubljana: 4th place EC VSV: 5th place
Gábor Ocskay Memorial Tournament	September 5th and 6th, 2009	Alba Volán Székesfehérvár EV Vienna Capitals EC Graz 99ers HDD Tilia Olimpija Ljubljana	4th	Alba Volán Székesfehérvár: Tournament winner EV Vienna Capitals: Rank 2 EC Graz 99ers: Rank 3 HDD Olimpija Ljubljana: Rank 4
Four countries tournament	September 5th and 6th, 2009	EC VSV	4th	EC VSV: 4th place

Basic round

1st round

Table situation after the first round (18 rounds)
Rk	team	GP	W.	L (OTL)	GF: GA	+/-	Pts
1	EC Graz 99ers	18th	13	5 (2)	74:44	+30	28
2	EHC Linz	18th	12	6 (3)	68:49	+19	27
3	Vienna Capitals	18th	13	5 (0)	70:46	+24	26th
4th	EC VSV	18th	11	7 (1)	55:56	−1	23
5	EC KAC	18th	10	8 (1)	59:55	+4	21st
6th	EC Red Bull Salzburg	18th	9	9 (2)	80:67	+13	20th
7th	Alba Volán	18th	8th	10 (2)	51:64	−13	18th
8th	KHL Medveščak Zagreb	18th	7th	11 (3)	50:73	−23	17th
9	HDD Olimpija Ljubljana	18th	5	13 (2)	45:65	−20	12
10	HK Jesenice	18th	2	16 (3)	43:76	−33	7th

The basic round started on September 10th with the new edition of the previous year's final , EC KAC against EC Red Bull Salzburg , which was broadcast live as a television game by the pay-TV broadcaster Sky and was won 7: 6 by runner-up Salzburg. In the period that followed, the EC VSV, considered by many to be weaker, took the lead, which opened the season with five wins in a row. Above all, the new legionaries Kiel McLeod and Mikael Wahlberg , as well as the young Austrian Michael Raffl , repeatedly ensured goals. The Villachers were closely followed by the Graz 99ers, who were able to achieve very good results with the young Fabian Weinhandl despite an injury to goalkeeper Sébastien Charpentier . With champions and runners-up, however, a clear weakness on the defensive became apparent in the first games. In the Salzburg team, where coach Pierre Pagé had installed a system with four strikers and only one defender, the two goalkeepers Bobby Goepfert and David LeNeveu were initially unable to fully convince, although the outfield players in particular did not do their defensive tasks consistently. Nevertheless, LeNeveu managed to secure the position as the first goalkeeper after a few rounds.

At the champions EC KAC, the performances stabilized after a mixed start towards the end of the first round after the team had won the first Carinthian derby of the season against EC VSV with 4: 1. However, many failures hampered the team: Center Andy Schneider had to pause with a concussion after a hard check from Benoît Gratton , and a little later an old shoulder injury became acute again for defender Sean Brown . Both were out for most of the season. Only a few games later, defender Johannes Reichel and strikers Jeff Shantz and Christoph Brandner also dropped out, which meant that the EC KAC had to play a few games with a core team. The club was already thinking about getting reinforcements at this time, but the healing of the injuries and the team's performance should first be observed. The younger players in particular stood out here, so that some games were won against top-class opponents.

The Vienna Capitals started the season with two home defeats, but found their way back to their usual strength with an away win against the Hungarian EBEL participant Alba Volán and then won six games in a row. Despite a sometimes very extensive list of injuries, the team quickly established itself at the top of the table. EHC Linz was able to build on a solid defense and goalkeeper Alex Westlund also placed in the front half of the table, but initially missed first place due to a weak phase during which three games in a row were lost. In particular, the first away game in Székesfehérvár marked a turning point in the performance shown so far, when the team lost a 5-1 lead in the last third and finally lost in the penalty shoot-out (after a total of 24 shooters).

The first eighteen rounds were less successful for foreign participants. Newcomer Zagreb took second place in the table, but fell back as the championship progressed, after conceding 23 goals in four games alone. In particular, the away game in Salzburg was a major defeat with a final score of 3: 9. The reaction here was to sign Brad Smyth . In the following period, the team got the defensive weakness under control, but could only make up little ground in the table.

Ljubljana was able to start the championship stronger than had been forecast at the beginning, but after eighteen laps the team was only ninth. With Travis Brigley , Matt Higgins and Harlan Pratt three new players were signed, while Ralph Intranuovo left the club. With the lack of strength away from home, the main problem remained.

Alba Volán, who already decided after eight games not to renew the contract with the Finnish tryout striker Teemu Elomo , was able to win several games thanks to a strong Tommi Satosaari in goal and thus place himself in the lower midfield. In particular after the unexpected shootout victory against EHC Linz, the team grew strongly and was able to show with several victories that the team had improved significantly since the first season in the EBEL. Nevertheless , new players were added in the form of defender David Bornhammar and striker Nathan Martz , who had been one of the Hungarians' best players the previous season and had since left the club.

At HK Jesenice the financially-related lack of real performers became clear, as the team was last in the table with only two wins and had to accept major defeats in some games. Here goalkeeper Boris Tortunow was released prematurely and the former Graz Dov Grumet-Morris signed for him . Even Andrei Troschtschinski had to leave the club and was replaced by Bobby Robins replaced. Nevertheless, it turned out that Jesenice lacked the necessary wit and stamina, especially towards the end of a game, which meant that many matches were lost, especially in the final phase.

The top of the table was held by the Graz 99ers after eighteen rounds. While the EC VSV had to accept a five-game series of defeats after the strong start phase and showed poor performances in places, the Grazers achieved several sovereign victories in a row, in which Fabian Weinhandl also played a large part in goal. This series was only interrupted by an unexpected home defeat against the team from Zagreb. In a close match against their table neighbors from Linz, the Graz team lost in the shootout, but the point saved first place in the meantime.

2nd round

Table situation after the second round (36 rounds)
Rk	team	GP	W.	L (OTL)	GF: GA	+/-	Pts
1	EC Graz 99ers	36	23	13 (4)	133: 88	+45	50
2	Vienna Capitals	36	24	12 (2)	135: 100	+35	50
3	EC Red Bull Salzburg	36	22nd	14 (3)	145: 110	+35	47
4th	EHC Linz	36	20th	16 (5)	123: 104	+19	45
5	Alba Volán	36	17th	19 (6)	114: 120	−6	40
6th	EC VSV	36	18th	18 (2)	105: 121	−16	38
7th	EC KAC	36	18th	18 (1)	112: 117	−5	37
8th	KHL Medveščak Zagreb	36	16	20 (3)	107: 131	−24	35
9	HDD Olimpija Ljubljana	36	13	23 (2)	99: 133	−34	28
10	HK Jesenice	36	9	27 (4)	99: 148	−49	22nd

In the second of the three rounds, the trends heralded at the beginning of the championship continued. The Graz 99ers were able to extend the lead to up to six points, but a short low let them fall back a little later. With the Linzers, the former first pursuer also weakened and finally fell back to fourth place. Linz also had to react to the injury of defender Darrel Scoville and signed a replacement with Brendan Buckley in order to stabilize the recently somewhat uncertain defense. Goalie Alex Westlund also showed signs of being dubbed at times and was often replaced by his backup Lorenz Hirn during the game.

The new first pursuers were the Vienna Capitals, who despite the injuries of Rafael Rotter , David Rodman , Christian Dolezal and Philippe Lakos were able to play a winning streak and even were in first place for a short time after the 33rd match day.

The Red Bulls Salzburg were able to largely eliminate their latent defensive weakness in the course of the championship and make up some places in the table. At the same time, the team was preparing for participation in the IIHF Continental Cup , which is why some games were postponed to December. The changed system of coach Pierre Pagé, who continued to play with four strikers per line, was reflected above all in the offensive power: After 36 games, Salzburg had scored 145 goals, which corresponded to an average of 4.03 goals per game.

Somewhat surprisingly, Alba Volán worked his way up with a few wins and was able to assert himself in midfield. There were also some successes away from the better placed teams.

The EC VSV had to react to the injury of Mikael Wahlberg , who, as a creative force in attack, left a big gap that even newcomer Nate DiCasmirro could not fill. As a result, the team slipped back in the table and showed that the quality in the squad was not competitive with that of the top teams in the long term. However, due to the good fitness training in the run-up to the season, the team was able to compensate for some weaknesses.

The series of injuries continued at the EC KAC. In the meantime, Sean Brown , Herbert Ratz , Johannes Reichel , Fabian Scholz , Christoph Brandner , Andy Schneider and Jeff Shantz were injured, and newcomer Shawn Bates also missed a few games soon after his first game. The gaps in the squad were partially filled with players from the youth teams, but the lack of routine repeatedly led to defeats, with no immediate improvement in sight due to the mostly protracted injuries. In addition, Bates disappointed with his performance and was finally replaced by Jason Morgan , who, however, could not set new accents. In the goalkeeping position, a reinforcement was also signed with Jordan Parise , but the team still fell back to seventh place.

New signing Medveščak was able to improve in places, although there were still problems on the defensive. Coach Enio Sacilotto was replaced by Ted Sator , who should bring more stability to the team. Although its acquisition had a positive effect, it did not result in a long-term trend. Good games with consistent performances by all players were always countered by mistakes in individual games, which allowed the Croatians to approach midfield but prevented an improvement in the standings.

At the bottom of the table were the two Slovenian participants, who also changed their coaches. At HDD Ljubljana, Dany Gélinas was sacked at the end of November and replaced by Hannu Järvenpää from Finland . The Laibacher were able to reduce the gap a bit, but here too there was no real improvement in performance. In addition, there were financial problems, so that the Slovenians also had to release Travis Brigley from the contract early despite good performances. These difficulties should worsen significantly as the season progressed and lead to a wave of key players leaving.

As expected, HK Jesenice continued to have the most problems. With Grumet-Morris there was more stability in the position of goalkeeper, but the inexperienced defense, largely based on young players, continued to have problems. In the storm there was a slight improvement due to the signing of Todd Elik . Elik was picked up from Thurgau by car by trainer Mike Posma (who had taken over from the Russian Ildar Rahmatuljin) , even before the contractual details of the change had been clarified. The deficit of the team from Jesenice on a play-off place was already 13 points after two thirds of the championship, which made reaching a play-off place very unlikely in view of the lack of quality in the squad.

3rd round

The third round brought no more fundamental changes to the table, although some placements were still shifted. The Graz 99ers continued to maintain their top position and convinced with a functioning team structure and good defensive work. Here Fabian Weinhandl had confidence even after Sébastien Charpentier's recovery and took turns with him in goal. It was also essential for the success that there were hardly any injuries among the players over the season. As in previous years, Salzburg managed to optimize their form towards the end of the season and once again consolidate their claim as title contenders, although the team ended the regular season with a 7-0 defeat at Graz.

However, Vienna Capitals revealed some weaknesses, with some controversial decisions being made just before the transfer deadline. Defender Tino Teppert was taken out of the squad despite good performances and replaced by the two legionnaires Francis Lemieux and Darryl Bootland . This decision aroused much criticism and did not result in any significant improvement in the roster.

The EHC Linz also weakened, but stabilized towards the end, although the team could not get beyond fourth place. Behind them, the EC VSV secured fifth place in the table. Villach benefited from the return of some injured players and found a more compact form at the end of the regular season. The EC KAC also improved towards the end and attracted attention with away wins in Salzburg and Graz, which also made it possible to make up some places in the table. Jordan Parise proved to be the hoped-for support and meanwhile led the goalkeeper standings. Gregor Hager , who made an away win at the EC VSV possible with a hat trick, also made a positive impression. Only Alba Volán was able to win again 2-1 against the reigning champions in this phase.

KHL Medvešcak Zagreb and Alba Volán Székesfehérvár easily qualified for the play-offs and only just missed the higher places in the table. The Croatians were able to largely eliminate the problems in defense, while Alba Volán was able to convince with consistently good performances.

There was no big change in ranks nine and ten. HDD Olimpija Ljubljana had to give up more and more of its top performers due to the precarious financial situation and, despite some good performances, lost more and more ground. But the performance of HK Jesenice improved, which in the meantime was able to achieve some victories against favorites, and whose team got together better and better towards the end of the season. In the end, the two teams had nothing more to do with the outcome of the championship, although Jesenice Laibach overtook Laibach in the end.

Table after the basic round

Rk	team	Games	S.	N	SNV	NNV	SNP	NNP	Gates	TVH	Points
1	EC Graz 99ers	54	36	18th	3	2	3	3	197: 132	+65	77
2	EC Red Bull Salzburg	54	33	21st	5	4th	1	1	203: 158	+45	71
3	Vienna Capitals	54	33	21st	5	3	2	1	193: 156	+37	70
4th	EHC Linz	54	30th	24	0	2	2	7th	176: 150	+26	69
5	EC VSV	54	29	25th	3	1	2	1	162: 174	−12	60
6th	Alba Volán Székesfehérvár	54	25th	29	2	7th	3	0	165: 184	−19	57
7th	EC KAC	54	27	27	3	1	4th	2	166: 159	+7	57
8th	KHL Medveščak Zagreb	54	25th	29	5	5	4th	2	160: 182	−22	57
9	HK Jesenice	54	16	38	4th	3	2	4th	148: 205	−57	39
10	HDD Olimpija Ljubljana	54	16	38	1	3	0	2	141: 211	−70	37

Basic run statistics

Top scorer

player	player	team	SP	T	V	PKT	SM	+/-	PPG	PPA	SHG	SHA	GWG
	Eric Healey	99ers	53	27	40	67	18th	+31	8th	13	0	0	5
	Roland Kaspitz	VSV	53	14th	51	65	58	+16	2	16	0	0	1
	Greg Day	99ers	54	19th	45	64	16	+29	3	15th	0	1	5
	Pat Leahy	Linz	50	24	39	63	90	+4	12	18th	0	0	4th
	Frank Banham	Ljubljana	44	30th	32	62	34	−4	6th	15th	2	1	3
	Thomas Koch	Salzburg	50	19th	43	62	24	+27	4th	22nd	3	0	3
	Benoît Gratton	Capitals	49	18th	41	59	140	+16	6th	17th	2	0	3
	Ryan Duncan	Salzburg	50	26th	32	58	34	+14	6th	11	1	0	4th
	David Rodman	Capitals	52	22nd	36	58	50	+12	7th	15th	1	0	5
	Brad Purdie	Linz	51	23	33	56	74	+6	9	15th	0	0	3
	Árpád Mihály	Alba Volán	54	24	31	55	65	+12	12	5	1	1	4th
	Jean-Philippe Paré	99ers	54	18th	36	54	40	+21	4th	9	1	1	1
	Rob Shearer	Linz	51	17th	36	53	43	+11	2	15th	1	0	2
	Warren Norris	99ers	53	29	23	52	34	+25	9	4th	0	1	7th
	Andrei Makrov	Jesenice	52	27	25th	52	40	−8	10	8th	0	0	4th

( Legend for player statistics: Sp or GP = games played; T or G = goals scored; V or A = assists scored ; Pkt or Pts = scorer points scored ; SM or PIM = penalty minutes received ; +/− = plus / minus balance; PP = overpaid goals scored ; SH = underpaid goals scored ; GW = winning goals scored; ¹  play-downs / relegation )

goalkeeper

	player	team	GP	GPI	GS	MIP	SO-CALLED	SVS	GA	SVS%	ATM	SO	W.	L.	OTL
	Fabian Weinhandl	99ers	54	39	38	2302: 40	1135	1043	92	91.89	2.40	3	25th	8th	4th
	Jordan Parise	KAC	17th	14th	13	815: 18	417	383	34	91.85	2.50	1	6th	6th	2
	Zoltán Hetényi	Alba Volán	51	21st	18th	1123: 47	718	656	62	91.36	3.31	0	7th	8th	4th
	Alex Westlund	Linz	54	51	51	3061: 28	1615	1475	140	91.33	2.74	2	28	14th	9
	Sébastien Charpentier	99ers	35	17th	16	965: 18	434	396	38	91.24	2.36	0	11	5	1
	Bernhard Starkbaum	VSV	54	18th	17th	1031: 15	554	505	49	91.16	2.85	1	12	5	0
	Frédéric Cassivi	Capitals	53	51	51	2984: 27	1549	1411	138	91.09	2.77	1	30th	16	4th
	René Swette	KAC	54	36	36	2018: 58	1071	974	97	90.94	2.88	3	19th	14th	0
	Gert Prohaska	VSV	54	38	37	2214: 46	1274	1155	119	90.66	3.22	1	17th	18th	2
	Tommi Satosaari	Alba Volán	52	37	36	2144: 58	1270	1150	120	90.55	3.36	0	18th	14th	3
	David LeNeveu	Salzburg	49	34	32	1938: 58	909	822	87	90.43	2.69	2	23	7th	2
	Dov Grumet-Morris	Jesenice	40	39	38	2350: 28	1357	1224	133	90.20	3.40	2	13	20th	6th
	Norm Maracle	Ljubljana	35	25th	23	1376: 08	833	751	82	90.16	3.58	1	6th	13	3
	Reinhard Divis	Salzburg	32	16	16	944: 36	438	394	44	89.95	2.79	1	9	5	2
	Robert Kristan	Medveščak	54	48	48	2732: 03	1491	1339	152	89.81	3.34	1	23	18th	7th
	Aleš Sila	Ljubljana	53	28	24	1339: 43	820	735	85	89.63	3.81	0	9	14th	0
	Gaber Glavič	Jesenice	52	16	13	777: 36	467	413	54	88.44	4.17	0	3	9	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)

Play-offs

Play-off tree

Quarter finals

Semifinals

final

1

EC Graz 99ers

2

8th

KHL Medveščak Zagreb

4th

2

EC Red Bull Salzburg

4th

8th

KHL Medveščak Zagreb

1

2

EC Red Bull Salzburg

4th

7th

EC KAC

3

2

EC Red Bull Salzburg

4th

4th

EHC Linz

2

3

Vienna Capitals

4th

6th

Alba Volán Székesfehérvár

1

3

Vienna Capitals

3

4th

EHC Linz

4th

4th

EHC Linz

4th

5

EC VSV

1

Quarter finals

The quarter-final series began on February 21, 2010. EHC Linz was the first team to secure its place in the semi-finals, which beat EC VSV with 4-1 victories. In the first four matches, the losing team awarded a lead of two goals in each game. The EC VSV were 2-0 ahead in the first two games in Linz, but ultimately only won one home game in overtime. The fifth and decisive game turned into a disaster for the team when they lost 7-2 in Linz and failed mainly due to serious mistakes in the defense. Overall, it was shown that the team benefited primarily from the strong local forces, but the transfer card players partly missed the necessary class due to the lack of budget. The EHC Linz could not show a consistently good performance either, but proved to be more efficient over the series.

Only about twenty minutes later, the Vienna Capitals secured the semi-finals, which were only able to prevail in the decisive fifth game in overtime against Alba Volán. The series had started with a surprising overtime victory for the Hungarians, but the Capitals equalized in the next game, also in extra time. After that, the Viennese turned out to be the much better team. After two clear defeats, Alba Volán was only a strong opponent again in game five and in the meantime even led on Viennese ice. In overtime, however, the home side used an outnumbered game and threw the only Hungarian EBEL participant out of the championship.

The biggest surprise of the quarter-finals came in the series of the table top EC Graz 99ers against number eight, KHL Medveščak Zagreb from Croatia. As expected, the series began with two wins for the favorite. The Croatians only found their strengths in the third game in the series and also swapped their first goalkeeper Robert Kristan for the young and comparatively inexperienced Gašper Krošelj . With a close 3-2 away win after extra time, the tide turned. Zagreb managed to successfully neutralize the nominally strongest storm series in the league, consisting of Eric Healey , Warren Norris and Greg Day , and initially equalized in the series. With another away win, the team got the match puck, which was also easily utilized with the fourth win in a row on their own ice.

The only series was the duel between EC Red Bull Salzburg and EC KAC over the full distance of seven games. The encounters were extremely close and were largely dominated by the defensives of both teams. After the first four games were won by the away team, the Salzburg team achieved their first home win in game five. The EC KAC forced a play-off in the sixth duel, but had to pay tribute to the wear and tear of the basic round, which was plagued by injuries, and could not keep up with the Red Bulls' high pace. Although they managed to make up a 3-0 deficit with two goals, Salzburg finally secured the semi-finals with an empty net goal .

EC Graz 99ers (1) - KHL Medveščak Zagreb (8) 21st of February EC Graz 99ers - KHL Medveščak Zagreb 2: 1 (0: 1, 1: 0, 1: 0) February 23 KHL Medveščak Zagreb - EC Graz 99ers 3: 6 (2: 1, 0: 1, 1: 4) February 25 EC Graz 99ers - KHL Medveščak Zagreb 2: 3 n.V. (0: 0, 1: 2, 1: 0, 0: 1) February 28 KHL Medveščak Zagreb - EC Graz 99ers 3: 0 (0: 0, 1: 0, 2: 0) 2nd March EC Graz 99ers - KHL Medveščak Zagreb 3: 4 n.V. (3: 0, 0: 1, 0: 2, 0: 1) 4th of March KHL Medveščak Zagreb - EC Graz 99ers 5: 2 (2: 1, 1: 0, 2: 1) KHL Medveščak Zagreb wins the series 4-2

EC Red Bull Salzburg (2) - EC KAC (7) 21st of February EC Red Bull Salzburg - EC KAC 2: 3 (0: 1, 1: 0, 1: 2) February 23 EC KAC - EC Red Bull Salzburg 1: 3 (0: 1, 1: 0, 0: 2) February 25 EC Red Bull Salzburg - EC KAC 2: 3 (1: 2, 0: 0, 1: 1) February 28 EC KAC - EC Red Bull Salzburg 0: 2 (0: 0, 0: 0, 0: 2) 2nd March EC Red Bull Salzburg - EC KAC 3: 2 (1: 1, 1: 1, 1: 0) 4th of March EC KAC - EC Red Bull Salzburg 5: 3 (2: 3, 2: 0, 1: 0) 7th March EC Red Bull Salzburg - EC KAC 4: 2 (2: 0, 1: 1, 1: 1) EC Red Bull Salzburg wins the series 4: 3

Vienna Capitals (3) - Alba Volán Székesfehérvár (6) 21st of February Vienna Capitals - Alba Volán Székesfehérvár 2: 3 n.V. (1: 0, 1: 2, 0: 0, 0: 1) February 23 Alba Volán Székesfehérvár - Vienna Capitals 2: 3 n.V. (1: 1, 0: 1, 1: 0, 0: 1) February 25 Vienna Capitals - Alba Volán Székesfehérvár 5: 1 (1: 0, 2: 0, 2: 1) February 28 Alba Volán Székesfehérvár - Vienna Capitals 1: 4 (0: 1, 1: 2, 0: 1) 2nd March Vienna Capitals - Alba Volán Székesfehérvár 6: 5 n.V. (1: 0, 0: 1, 4: 4, 1: 0) The Vienna Capitals win the series 4: 1

EHC Linz (4) - EC VSV (5) 21st of February EHC Linz - EC VSV 3: 2 (0: 2, 2: 0, 1: 0) February 23 EC VSV - EHC Linz 4: 3 n.V. (1: 1, 0: 2, 2: 0, 1: 0) February 25 EHC Linz - EC VSV 5: 2 (0: 2, 4: 0, 1: 0) February 28 EC VSV - EHC Linz 3: 4 n.V. (2: 1, 0: 1, 1: 1, 0: 1) 2nd March EHC Linz - EC VSV 7: 2 (3: 0, 2: 1, 2: 1) EHC Linz wins the series 4: 1

Semifinals

The semi-finals began on March 9, 2010. EC Red Bull Salzburg was the first team to take part in the final. The runner-up only lost game number three, which went to the Croatians with a clear 1: 4 on their own ice. The other matches were clearly dominated by the Salzburgers. Zagreb failed, among other things, because of its own discipline and was consistently outnumbered. In the last game, the newcomer managed to make up a 3-0 deficit with two goals in the final section, but in the end it was no longer enough for a second victory.

In the second series, the Vienna Capitals pulled away from the ailing Linz with three wins in a row. The Upper Austrians only found their strengths in the fourth game and won their first game based on a strong Alex Westlund in goal in overtime. The fifth encounter then turned out to be very curious: at the beginning of the second period the Capitals were already leading with a comfortable 4-1 lead, but gave up the game when the team had to accept three underpaid goals within four minutes . In game six, too, the Capitals gave the lead seconds before the end and lost in overtime due to a penalty shot by Brad Purdie , with which Linz had equalized the series despite the 0: 3 deficit. In the all-important game, the Upper Austrians got off to a weak start and quickly fell 2-0 down, but equaled to 3: 3 in the first third. Mainly responsible on the Viennese side was the extremely weak defensive game, which gave the Linzers a lot of space. The Viennese goalkeeper Frédéric Cassivi also played below his possibilities and left his goal with a score of 6: 3 for Linz after just 42 minutes. Shortly before the end, the Viennese came up again with a one-two blow from Marcel Rodman , but in the end Linz reached the final with a 7-5 win, something that no other team in Austrian ice hockey history has done after being 0: 3 behind in a series so far.

EC Red Bull Salzburg (2) - KHL Medveščak Zagreb (8) 9th March EC Red Bull Salzburg - KHL Medveščak Zagreb 2: 0 (0: 0, 2: 0, 0: 0) March 11 KHL Medveščak Zagreb - EC Red Bull Salzburg 1: 5 (0: 2, 0: 1, 1: 2) the 14th of March EC Red Bull Salzburg - KHL Medveščak Zagreb 1: 4 (0: 2, 1: 2, 0: 0) March 16 KHL Medveščak Zagreb - EC Red Bull Salzburg 1: 5 (1: 2, 0: 1, 0: 2) March 18th EC Red Bull Salzburg - KHL Medveščak Zagreb 3: 2 (1: 0, 1: 0, 1: 2) Salzburg wins the series 4-1

Vienna Capitals (3) - EHC Linz (4) 9th March Vienna Capitals - EHC Linz 4: 0 (0: 0, 1: 0, 3: 0) March 11 EHC Linz - Vienna Capitals 1: 3 (0: 2, 0: 1, 1: 0) the 14th of March Vienna Capitals - EHC Linz 5: 4 (2: 2, 1: 2, 2: 0) March 16 EHC Linz - Vienna Capitals 2: 1 n.V. (0: 0, 0: 1, 1: 0, 1: 0) March 18th Vienna Capitals - EHC Linz 4: 6 (3: 1, 1: 4, 0: 1) March 21st EHC Linz - Vienna Capitals 6: 5 n.V. (2: 2, 1: 2, 2: 1, 1: 0) March 23 Vienna Capitals - EHC Linz 5: 7 (3: 3, 0: 2, 2: 2) EHC Linz wins the series 4: 3

final

Doug Lynch shot the EC Red Bull Salzburg in the all-important game to the championship title.

The final began on March 25, 2010. In the first two encounters, the Linz team continued the successful run from the semi-finals and took a 2-0 lead in the series. Alex Westlund again proved to be a great support, as he had to save significantly more shots on goal than his opponent in both games. However, the Linz storm shone through its efficiency and consistently exploited the opportunities it had worked out. On the other hand, Salzburg had problems with the comparatively long break after the prematurely won semifinals and did not find their game, especially on the offensive. Coach Pierre Pagé spoke in front of the cameras of the pay-TV channel Sky of "second class ice hockey" of the Linzers and accused them of disrupting the "speed and skills" of Salzburg with their wait-and-see defensive tactics and thus disrupting Austrian ice hockey overall in international comparison throw back. These statements, however, met with displeasure among the fans.

The balance of power only changed in the third game, when Salzburg was able to pull away to 4-0 in the first third thanks to an unfocused Linz defense. The Linzers remembered their strengths in the second part of the game and even scored the next goal in the final third, but in the end a goal by Jeremy Rebek in the empty goal sealed the first defeat of the Upper Austrians in the final.

Salzburg also had the upper hand in the following encounter. With a double hit, the runner-up made it 2-0 in the first third and was even able to score another hit at the beginning of the middle third. The Linz team again had problems on the defensive, but only scored their first goal a minute later. However, the connection hit fell just before the end. Salzburg brought the narrow lead over time and thus equalized in the series. The Upper Austrians had more shots on goal than their opponents for the first time in the series, but in contrast to the semi-finals and the first two final games, the efficiency in front of the goal was lacking.

Salzburg finally turned the series with the fifth game. The Linz team were able to equalize the first goal, but the Bulls pulled away to 3-1 at the beginning of the final third. The subsequent goal by Brad Purdie , who had also scored the equalizer, came too late. Only in the decisive game did the Linzers manage to stand up to the runner-up. A quick 2-0 lead after the first third was equalized, but the Linzers were able to compensate for a Salzburg lead in the final section to 3: 3. The winner was only found in the second overtime, which made the encounter the longest in the history of the Austrian ice hockey league. It was only in the 83rd minute that Doug Lynch scored the all-important goal for EC Red Bull Salzburg, who became Austrian ice hockey champions for the third time in the club's short history.

March 25, 2010 7:15 pm

EC Red Bull Salzburg Latusa M. (4:43, Welser D. ) Aubin B. (41:13, Siklenka M. )

2: 3 (1: 2, 0: 1, 1: 0)

EHC Linz Bronilla R. (8:42, Lukas P. , Schlacher M. ) MacDonald F. (19:15, PP, Grabher-Meier M. , Shearer R. ) Lukas P. (33:37, PP, Bronilla R . , Leahy P. )

March 28, 2010 6:00 p.m.	EHC Linz Matthiasson M. (17:46, Shearer R. , Purdie B. ) Baumgartner G. (33:33, Leahy P. , Lukas R. ) Grabher-Meier M. (38:17, PP, Shearer R. , MacDonald F. ) Shearer R. (40:46, Purdie B. , Lukas R. ) Iberer M. (49:05, Grabher-Meier M. , Buckley B. ) Shearer R. (51:27, Mayr M. )	6: 4 (1: 0, 2: 1, 3: 3) Penalty minutes: 14: 4 shots on goal: 23:45	EC Red Bull Salzburg Filewich J. (32:07, Duncan R. , Trattnig M. ) Trattnig M. (45:16, PP, Siklenka M. , Latusa M. ) Koch T. (46:42, PP, Siklenka M . ) Lakos A. (55:02, power play, Welser D. )
March 30, 2010 7:15 pm	EC Red Bull Salzburg Aubin B. (01:53, Lakos A. , Pewal M. ) Heinrich D. (5:47, Rebek J. , Schiechl M. ) Welser D. (14:04, power play, Aubin B. , Wilson K. ) Koch T. (14:48, Rebek J. ) Duncan R. (55:38, Aubin B. , Regier S. ) Rebek J. (57:04, Empty Net, Lynch D. )	6: 3 (4: 0, 0: 2, 2: 1) Penalty minutes: 24:10 Shots on goal: 37:25	EHC Linz Bronilla R. (23:52, Powerplay, Pat Leahy , Lukas P. ) Pat Leahy (27:48, Shorthanded, Shearer R. ) MacDonald F. (53:28, Shearer R. , Matthiasson M. )
April 1, 2010 7:15 pm	EHC Linz Lukas P. (24:08, Leahy P. , Buckley B. ) Baumgartner G. (56:56, Powerplay, Lukas P. , Bronilla R. )	2: 3 (0: 2, 1: 1, 1: 0) Penalty minutes: 6:10 Shots on goal: 29:23	EC Red Bull Salzburg Siklenka M. (15:33, Powerplay, Koch T. ) Duncan R. (16:23) Lynch D. (23:05, Ulmer M. , Rebek J. )
April 4, 2010 6:00 p.m.	EC Red Bull Salzburg Aubin B. (04:13, Powerplay, Pewal M. , Wilson K. ) Rebek J. (38:41, Powerplay, Koch T. , Latusa M. ) Welser D. (43:12, Koch T. . )	3: 2 (1: 0, 1: 1, 1: 1) Penalty minutes: 8:12 Shots on goal: 42:27	EHC Linz Purdie B. (21:21, Powerplay, Matthiasson M. , MacDonald F. ) Purdie B. (56:20, Shearer R. , Lukas R. )
April 6, 2010 7:15 pm	EHC Linz Leahy P. (03:40, Powerplay, Lukas R. , Lukas P. ) Purdie B. (14:53, MacDonald F. , Shearer R. ) Matthiasson M. (42:20, Purdie B. , Lukas R . )	3: 4 n.2.V. (2: 1, 0: 1, 1: 1, 0: 0, 0: 1) Penalty minutes: 18:12 Shots on goal: 29:47	EC Red Bull Salzburg Duncan R. (18:20, Powerplay, Regier S. , Rebek J. ) Lynch D. (23:45, Powerplay, Filewich J. ) Welser D. (40:51, Koch T. , Latusa M . ) Lynch D. (82:27)

Play-off statistics

Top scorer

player	player	team	SP	T	V	PKT	SM	+/-	PPG	PPA	SHG	SHA	GWG
	Brad Purdie	Linz	18th	11	11	22nd	32	+9	5	2	1	0	2
	Rob Shearer	Linz	18th	9	13	22nd	18th	+7	1	5	0	1	2
	Patrick Lebeau	Capitals	12	5	17th	22nd	8th	+11	1	7th	0	0	1
	Markus Matthiasson	Linz	18th	9	10	19th	14th	+6	1	6th	0	0	1
	Pat Leahy	Linz	18th	7th	11	18th	28	−1	3	6th	1	0	1
	Benoît Gratton	Capitals	12	4th	14th	18th	68	+13	1	5	1	1	1
	Daniel Welser	Salzburg	17th	7th	9	16	42	+5	2	4th	0	1	2
	Thomas Koch	Salzburg	18th	5	11	16	6th	+5	1	6th	0	1	1
	Rafael Rotter	Capitals	12	10	5	15th	38	+5	2	1	0	0	1
	TJ Guidarelli	Zagreb	11	2	13	15th	4th	+7	0	5	1	1	0
	Mike Siklenka	Salzburg	16	6th	7th	13	10	+8	2	4th	0	0	1
	Manuel Latusa	Salzburg	18th	4th	9	13	8th	+11	0	2	2	0	1
	David Rodman	Capitals	12	5	7th	12	14th	+1	2	2	0	1	0
	Martin Grabher-Meier	Linz	18th	5	7th	12	8th	+1	1	3	0	0	1
	Marco Pewal	Salzburg	18th	3	9	12	20th	+2	2	2	0	2	1

( Legend for player statistics: Sp or GP = games played; T or G = goals scored; V or A = assists scored ; Pkt or Pts = scorer points scored ; SM or PIM = penalty minutes received ; +/− = plus / minus balance; PP = overpaid goals scored ; SH = underpaid goals scored ; GW = winning goals scored; ¹  play-downs / relegation )

goalkeeper

	player	team	GP	GPI	GS	MIP	SO-CALLED	SVS	GA	SVS%	ATM	SO	W.	L.	OTL
	Jordan Parise	KAC	7th	7th	7th	416: 21	242	224	18th	92.56	2.59	0	3	4th	0
	Gašper Krošelj	Zagreb	11	6th	6th	320: 22	133	122	11	91.73	2.06	1	4th	2	0
	David LeNeveu	Salzburg	11	9	8th	526: 32	215	19th	196	91.16	2.17	0	6th	2	0
	Reinhard Divis	Salzburg	18th	10	10	566: 53	271	247	24	91.14	2.54	2	6th	4th	0
	Robert Kristan	Zagreb	11	6th	5	353: 25	211	192	19th	91.00	3.23	0	1	4th	0
	Alex Westlund	Linz	18th	18th	18th	1115: 06	655	61	594	90.69	3.28	0	10	7th	1
	Fabian Weinhandl	Graz	6th	2	2	120: 00	63	57	6th	90.48	3.00	0	1	1	0
	Sébastien Charpentier	Graz	6th	4th	4th	256: 51	115	103	12	89.57	2.80	0	1	1	2
	Tommi Satosaari	Alba Volán	5	5	5	302: 49	185	165	20th	89.19	3.96	0	1	3	1
	Gert Prohaska	VSV	5	4th	4th	250: 52	135	120	15th	88.89	3.59	0	1	2	1
	Frédéric Cassivi	Capitals	12	12	12	718: 04	278	241	37	86.69	3.09	1	7th	2	3

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

Squad of the Austrian champions

Austrian champion EC Red Bull Salzburg

Goalkeepers: Reinhard Divis , David LeNeveu Defenders: André Lakos , Wilhelm Lanz , Robert Lembacher , Doug Lynch , Daniel Mitterdorfer , Florian Mühlstein , Jeremy Rebek , Andreas Reisinger , Mike Siklenka , René Tödling , Matthias Trattnig , Daniel Welser , Andreas Wiedergut Attackers: Brent Aubin , Ryan Duncan , Alexander Feichtner , Jonathan Filewich , Mario Fischer , Lukas Fritz , Dominique Heinrich , Thomas Koch , Manuel Latusa , Patrick Maier , Marco Pewal , Kevin Puschnik , Steve Regier , Michael Schiechl , Martin Ulmer , Kelsey Wilson Head coach: Pierre Pagé

referee

As in previous years, referees from all countries involved in the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga (and some other) will lead the games. The referees are assigned to the missions by chairman Martin Labitzke and his staff. The following list shows all the referees involved in the 2009/10 season. In brackets it is indicated whether the referee has a license from the international ice hockey federation to conduct international matches.

Stefan Bauer Thomas Berneker (IIHF) Martin Bogen Pavel Cervenak (*) Robert Dostal Igor Dremelj Robert Falkner (IIHF)

Wolfgang Fussi (IIHF) Peter Gebei Christian Jelinek Roland waiter Matthias Längle (IIHF) Borut Lesnjak Christian Oswald

Christian Potocan (IIHF) Martin Reichert Wilhelm Schimm (**) Ladislav Smetana Viktor Trilar Horst Martin Tschebull (IIHF) Georg Veit

Remarks:

(*) With a total of 186 EBEL appearances since 2000, Pavel Cervenak is the current record holder among active referees (as of the end of the 2008/09 season).

(**) Wilhelm Schimm is a guest referee in the EBEL (so far 81 appearances).

spectator

Due to the large number of spectators in the new league Zagreb and the open-air derby between the two Carinthian clubs, the total number of spectators this season broke through the threshold of one million that was reached during the semi-finals for the first time. This means that the absolute number of spectators has almost doubled since the 2004/05 season and even more than tripled since the turn of the millennium. In March the International Ice Hockey Federation announced that the EBEL had overtaken the Slovnaft Extraliga with an average of more than 3,300 spectators at the games of the regular season and thus placed seventh in the European top leagues. However, a long-term trend cannot yet be foreseen from these figures, as part of the increase resulted from the circumstances mentioned above. The overall extremely positive development was confirmed again after the last few years.

Audience statistics

rank	team	At home			Away			total
		Games	spectator	average	Games	spectator	average	Games	spectator	average
1.	KHL Medveščak Zagreb	32	190,850	5,964	33	93,488	2,833	65	284,338	4,374
2.	EC KAC	30th	153.193	5.106	31	105,792	3,413	61	258.985	4,246
3.	EC VSV	29	108,700	3,748	30th	125,911	4,197	59	234.611	3,976
4th	EV Vienna Capitals	34	133,200	3,918	32	98,835	3,089	66	232.035	3,516
5.	EC Graz 99ers	30th	77,500	2,583	30th	109,683	3,656	60	187.183	3,120
6th	Alba Volán Székesfehérvár	29	89,370	3,082	30th	93,582	3.119	59	182,952	3,101
7th	EHC LIWEST ​​Linz	36	96,350	2,676	36	125,543	3,487	72	221,893	3,082
8th.	EC Red Bull Salzburg	37	92,779	2,508	35	124.014	3,543	72	216,793	3,011
9.	HDD Olimpija Ljubljana	27	66,100	2,448	27	86,929	3,220	54	153.029	2,834
10.	HK Jesenice	27	44,867	1,662	27	89,132	3,301	54	133,999	2,481

media

Television broadcasts

On 16 February 2010, announced that the Pay TV transmitter Sky Germany its cooperation with Erste Bank Liga, to the 2014/15 season extended and thus the most important media will remain the league. However, in the current season four broadcasts by the private broadcaster Servus TV were added on free TV, which is to be expanded in the future. League games were also broadcast abroad: in Slovenia, RTV Slovenia showed 29, in Hungary Sportklub 17 and in Croatia HRT also 29 live games, so that the EBEL games reached a total of 121 TV shows in the regular season alone.

radio

As in previous years, the matches of the two Carinthian clubs EC KAC and EC VSV were regularly broadcast live on Radio Carinthia . Some other federal states such as Vienna also offered irregular broadcasts. In addition, Radio Harmonie brought out its own magazine for the league with the program Eis: society .

Print media and miscellaneous

In total, there were over 5,000 reports on the league on TV, radio and the print media in the basic round alone, which resulted in a gross reach of around 1.8 billion people. During this period, every Austrian was contacted by the league an average of 1.8 times a day, which again meant a strong increase compared to previous years.

All-Star Team and Most Valuable Player

As in this season by the hockey journalists again the most valuable player (MVP, has in recent years Most valuable player ) of the season chosen. Linz goalkeeper Alex Westlund succeeded Salzburg striker Thomas Koch . Koch was second in front of VSV striker Roland Kaspitz . On the other places followed Rob Shearer (EHC Linz), Benoît Gratton and Raphael Rotter (both Vienna), Krisztián Palkovics and Márton Vas (both Alba Volán) and Brad Purdie and Patrick Leahy (also both Linz). In homage to the ice hockey player and coach Ron Kennedy , who died last year , the award was renamed and has been called the Ron Kennedy Trophy since the 2009/10 season .

For EBEL Young Star of the Year (Young Player) was created by the fans of KAC striker Markus Pirmann selected.

The all-star team was voted again by the fans. Here the euphoric Croatian fans showed what a great response KHL Medveščak Zagreb's entry into the EBEL had generated: all the players in the All-Star team came from the ranks of the bears:

All-Star Team of the 2009/10 season
Robert Kristan goalkeeper
Alan Letang Right-Back			Conrad Martin Left-BackLoan
John Hecimovic right wing		Mike Ouellette Center		TJ Guidarelli left wing

Special occurrences

On January 9, 2009, the first ice hockey game in Austria took place in a football stadium in the Hypo Group Arena .

• During the play-offs of the 2008/09 season , the EHC Linz obtained a three-game suspension against Villach defender Darrel Scoville in the semi-final series against EC VSV . However, this only sat one game from it, as his team then lost the semi-finals. Since Scoville moved to Linz in the summer, he had to serve the remaining two games at the club that originally obtained the ban.
• The Graz 99ers announced on September 10, 2009 that they had found a new main sponsor in the "Moser Medical Group". Therefore the team name was changed to EC Moser Medical Graz 99ers .
• The Hungarian EBEL participant Alba Volán Székesfehérvár announced another name change. After the death of long-time team striker Gábor Ocskay , the team took his shirt number in their name and called themselves Alba Volán 19 or SAPA Fehérvár Alba Volán 19 in full .
• On January 9th, a game of the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga was played in a football stadium for the first time. The derby between the EC KAC and the EC VSV took place in the Hypo Group Arena , where an icerink was set up especially for this game. The costs for the event amounted to around 350,000 euros. A total of 30,500 spectators were present at the game, which the EC VSV won 3-1.
• Also benefiting from the open-air game in Klagenfurt and the participation of the crowd puller KHL Medveščak Zagreb , the average number of spectators this season rose to 3,301. This puts the EBEL in 7th place in Europe in the IIHF ranking and has pushed the Slovakian Slovnaft extraliga to 8th place.

See also

• National League 2009/10
• Oberliga 2009/10

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Innsbruck leaves the EBEL , report on hockeyfans.at from March 3, 2009
2. ↑ Bozen not yet in the EBEL. In: hockeyfans.at. May 15, 2009, accessed January 23, 2019 . 
3. ↑ Jesenice throws the trainer out , report on hockeyfans.at from November 8, 2009
4. ↑ Mike Posma new Jesenice coach , report on hockeyfans.at from November 8, 2009
5. ↑ Laibach throws trainers out , report on hockeyfans.at from November 25, 2009
6. ↑ Laibach with a new trainer against the KAC , report on hockeyfans.at from December 17, 2009
7. ↑ Zagreb exchanges the coach , report on hockeyfans.at from November 24, 2009
8. ↑ Deep red numbers at HK Jesenice
9. ↑ Shock in the EBEL: Laibach on the verge of bankruptcy?
10. ^ Results of the league meeting
11. ↑ IIHF introduces three new rules
12. ↑ Witcher Travis Scott leaves KAC , report on the Kronen Zeitung website from April 6, 2009
13. ↑ Jesenice fires two legionnaires , report on hockeyfans.at from September 29, 2009
14. ↑ Makrov is allowed to stay in Jesenice , report on hockeyfans.at from September 29, 2009
15. ↑ New tryout striker for Jesenice , report on hockeyfans.at from September 30, 2009
16. ↑ Jesenice throws two more players out , report on hockeyfans.at from October 12, 2009
17. ↑ Mike Posma new Jesenice coach , report on hockeyfans.at from November 8, 2009
18. ↑ Jesenice confirms: Elik is back! , Report on hockeyfans.at from November 25, 2009
19. ↑ Alba Volán does not extend tryout Finns , report on hockeyfans.at from September 29, 2009
20. ↑ Alba Volán has a new striker on the hook , report on hockeyfans.at from October 1, 2009
21. ↑ Alba Volán gets Swedish concrete for the defense , report on hockeyfans.at from October 19, 2009
22. ↑ Two new strikers for Laibach , report on hockeyfans.at from October 12, 2009
23. ↑ Laibach brings ex-Salzburgers for the defense , report on hockeyfans.at from November 8, 2009
24. ↑ Laibach loses next legionnaire , report on hockeyfans.at from October 6, 2009
25. ↑ Zagreb is upgrading again , report on hockeyfans.at from October 6, 2009
26. ↑ Zagreb brings Seeley to a tryout , report on hockeyfans.at from November 10, 2009
27. ↑ Zagreb brings ex-NHL striker , report on hockeyfans.at from November 23, 2009
28. ↑ Divis back in Salzburg, Goepfert has to go , report on hockeyfans.at from October 28, 2009
29. ↑ Pagé extended by three years in Salzburg , report on hockeyfans.at of November 10, 2009
30. ↑ Master KAC brings new striker , report on hockeyfans.at from October 28, 2009
31. ↑ KAC throws Bates out , report on hockeyfans.at from December 1, 2009
32. ↑ Master KAC has a new striker , report on hockeyfans.at from December 6, 2009
33. ↑ So yes! KAC brings Parise into goal! , Report on hockeyfans.at from December 17, 2009
34. ↑ 99ers are fishing for Talent Puschnik , report on hockeyfans.at from November 3, 2009
35. ↑ Salzburg is fishing Puschnik away from the Grazers , report on hockeyfans.at from November 14, 2009
36. ↑ Black Wings have found defenders , report on hockeyfans.at from November 22, 2009
37. ^ VSV confirms access to Fortin , report on hockeyfans.at from November 24, 2009
38. ↑ Capitals get tryout Canadians , report on hockeyfans.at from December 16, 2009
39. ↑ Alba Volán wins tournament in Poland
40. ↑ Homepage of the EHC Linz: Wings take 3rd place
41. ↑ Homepage of the Red Bulls Salute
42. ↑ Alba Volán wins home tournament against the Capitals
43. ↑ VSV is only last in Italy
44. ↑ Table situation after 18 rounds at www.hockeyfans.at
45. ↑ Table situation after 36 rounds at www.hockeyfans.at
46. ↑ Results and match reports at www.erstebankliga.at
47. ↑ Results and match reports at www.erstebankliga.at
48. ↑ Results and match reports at www.erstebankliga.at
49. ↑ Results and match reports at www.erstebankliga.at
50. ↑ http://www.eishockey.at/12234.html (different content)
51. ↑ Results and match reports at www.erstebankliga.at
52. ↑ Results and match reports at www.erstebankliga.at
53. ^ The statistics speak against Salzburg
54. ↑ Match report ( Memento from March 16, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
55. ↑ http://www.eishockey.at/e.php?t=639&x=spiel&d=EBL0910_SPIEL_307&home=355&guest=93 (different content)
56. ↑ http://www.eishockey.at/e.php?t=639&x=spiel&d=EBL0910_SPIEL_308&home=93&guest=355 (different content)
57. ↑ http://www.eishockey.at/e.php?t=639&x=spiel&d=EBL0910_SPIEL_309&home=355&guest=93 (different content)
58. ↑ http://www.eishockey.at/e.php?t=639&x=spiel&d=EBL0910_SPIEL_310&home=93&guest=355 (different content)
59. ↑ http://www.eishockey.at/e.php?t=639&x=spiel&d=EBL0910_SPIEL_311&home=355&guest=93 (different content)
60. ↑ Yearbook of the ÖEHV 2009/10 http://www.eishockey.at/fileadmin/Redaktion/downloads/jahrbuch_Internet.pdf (different content)
61. ↑ Audience statistics in the annual report, p. 58 ( Memento from February 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
62. ↑ 1 million viewers within reach , report on www.erstebankliga.at from February 20, 2010
63. ↑ EBEL names Alex Westlund league MVP
64. ↑ Markus Pirmann YoungStar of the Year , www.erstebankliga.at
65. ^ Final result of the election ( memento of February 10, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), www.erstebankliga.at
66. ↑ http://www.erstebankliga.at/ffc4eeaac0bdc5520e2416c9c56d9f9a.html?arrSave[ArticleID Autovermietung= 4271 (link not available)
67. ↑ Graz 99ers have a new name. In: hockeyfans.at. September 10, 2009, accessed January 23, 2019 . 
68. ↑ Alba Volan to Poland with a new name. In: hockeyfans.at. October 18, 2009, accessed January 23, 2019 . 
69. ↑ The outdoor derby costs 350,000 euros
70. ↑ VSV with triumph in the first outdoor derby
71. ↑ Austrian league cracks top 7. In: webarchive.iihf.com. March 22, 2010, accessed January 23, 2019 . 

Web links

• Official homepage of the Erste Bank ice hockey league