Ice Hockey National League (Austria) 2008/09

National league
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Master:	EHC Lustenau
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The 2008/09 season of the Austrian national ice hockey league was played with eight teams. The defending champion was EC Dornbirn , who was unable to defend the championship. The EHC Lustenau became the champion .

Participating teams

(ranked by previous year placement)

The EHC Team Vienna (a farm team of Vienna Capitals ) was no longer there . Due to a more stringent farm team regulation (players who play in the Bundesliga after the turn of the year were no longer allowed to switch back to the farm team ), an attempt was made together with Salzburg to block this regulation by not depositing the deposit for participation in the league. However, Salzburg gave in under protest shortly before the entry deadline and deposited the bail, for the Viennese (even after the ÖEHV President Dieter Kalt ) was no longer able to participate in the league.

mode

With the elimination of the EHC Team Vienna , all eight remaining teams were qualified for the quarter-finals. In contrast to the Bundesliga, the basic round of the National League was played with the 3-point rule (3 points for a win after 60 minutes, 2 points for a win after overtime or penalty shootout, 1 point in the event of defeat after overtime or penalty shootout). All play-off rounds of the national league are played out as best-of-five series.

Basic round

The basic round began on September 20, 2008. In the first round, a game had to be penalized: the match between the KSV ice hockey club and the EHC Bregenzerwald ended 6: 5 on the ice after a penalty shootout, but five days later it was with Valued 5: 0 for Bregenzerwald, as Philipp Meichernitsch was an improperly registered player in the Kapfenberg squad.

The EHC Lustenau confidently topped the table during the season. Behind this, a fight for the position of the first pursuer developed, which EC-TREND Dornbirn, EK Zell am See and VEU Feldkirch made out among themselves. In the end, Dornbirn was able to secure second place with just one point ahead. Zeltweg, Salzburg and Kapfenberg took ranks five to seven, although Salzburg, somewhat surprisingly, had only achieved sixth place. There Thomas Höneckl was able to prevail against Thomas Innerwinkler as the first goalkeeper (Innerwinkler moved to EC Wels in the league after this season ).

Some teams had changed players over the course of the season: the departure of goalie Markus Seidl from Zell, who had fought with a colleague at the team's Christmas party, caused some excitement , after which the contract was terminated by mutual agreement. For him, Florian Weißkircher was signed, who had only made a few appearances at the Vienna Capitals in Erste Bank Liga as a substitute goalkeeper behind Jean-François Labbé . At Feldkirch, Mikko Rämö was dismissed due to poor performance. For him, Walter Bartholomäus was an Austrian who, despite good performances in the preseason in the 2008/09 season, had not found a club by then.

At the end of January, the VEU Feldkirch strengthened itself again in the center position: Daniel Gauthier returned, who had been an integral part of the team from 1996 to 1999 and then also played for three years at EC VSV in the Bundesliga. Another player was signed with Mike Harder .

It took until the 18th lap (and thus up to ten laps before the end of the basic round) for Bregenzerwald to achieve its first win of the season: EV Zeltweg was defeated 7: 3 on its own ice. In total, the forests should have recorded four wins in the end (one of them after a penalty shootout in the last round). However, as in previous years, they finished last.

Table after the basic round

space	team	Games	Victories (after loss)	Defeats (after losing)	Goal difference	Points
1.	EHC Lustenau	28	20 (2)	8 (1)	139: 94	45
2.	EC Dornbirn	28	17 (0)	11 (1)	119: 82	38
3.	EK Zell am See	28	18 (3)	10 (0)	121: 93	37
4th	VEU Feldkirch	28	16 (0)	12 (2)	110: 92	37
5.	EV Zeltweg	28	13 (2)	15 (1)	97: 110	31
6th	EC Red Bull Salzburg 2nd	28	13 (1)	15 (1)	108: 99	30th
7th	KSV ice hockey club	28	11 (1)	17 (3)	95: 111	25th
8th.	EHC Bregenzerwald	28	4 (1)	24 (1)	68: 176	11

statistics

Top scorer
Rk	player	team	GP	G	A.	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
1	Toni Saarinen	Lustenau	28	27	56	83	20th	10	3	5
2	Ryan Foster	Lustenau	26th	40	22nd	62	22nd	11	2	6th
3	Juha-Matti Vanhanen	Lustenau	28	14th	33	47	14th	7th	1	2
4th	Chris Peyton	Lustenau	27	11	32	43	32	9	0	2
5	Stefan Wiedmaier	Kapfenberg	22nd	11	31	42	24	2	1	1
6th	Jakub Ruckay	Kapfenberg	27	19th	22nd	41	38	6th	0	2
7th	Michael Pollross	Kapfenberg	25th	17th	21st	38	8th	7th	0	4th
8th	Diethard Winzig	Zeltweg	28	15th	23	38	34	8th	1	3
9	David Wechselberger	Bregenzerwald	28	14th	21st	35	12	3	1	2
10	Jari Suorsa	Cell	25th	13	22nd	35	56	4th	0	1
11	Matt Zultek	Dornbirn	21st	13	19th	32	45	3	1	2
12	Matthias Schwab	Salzburg	21st	10	22nd	32	44	5	0	4th
13	Thomas Auer	Dornbirn	24	8th	23	31	102	1	0	2
14th	Michael Lampert	Feldkirch	28	4th	27	31	40	2	0	0
15th	Martin Mallinger	Feldkirch	28	19th	11	30th	32	4th	0	3

goalkeeper
Rk	player	team	GP	MIP	SO-CALLED	SVS	GA	SVS%	ATM	SO	W.	L.	OTL
1	Markus Seidl	Cell	14th	822: 19	430	393	37	91.40	2.70	1	10	4th	0
2	Patrick Machreich	Lustenau	28	1608: 58	972	884	88	90.95	3.28	1	19th	7th	1
3	Bernhard Bock	Dornbirn	27	1623: 42	860	782	78	90.93	2.88	1	16	10	1
4th	Mikko Rämö	Feldkirch	14th	806: 24	449	405	44	90.20	3.27	0	8th	6th	0
5	Walter Bartholomew	Feldkirch	13	740: 00	375	335	40	89.33	3.24	0	6th	4th	2
6th	Michael Mayer	Kapfenberg	27	1623: 08	953	850	103	89.19	3.81	1	12	13	3
7th	Thomas Höneckl	Salzburg	21st	1158: 42	617	550	67	89.14	3.47	2	10	9	1
8th	Rickard Nilsson	Zeltweg	22nd	1253: 39	708	628	80	88.70	3.83	1	10	11	0
9	Florian Weißkircher	Cell	12	713: 02	349	309	40	88.54	3.37	0	8th	4th	0
10	Thomas Innerwinkler	Salzburg	9	453: 14	193	168	25th	87.05	3.31	2	3	5	0
11	Martin Iberer	Bregenzerwald	22nd	1049: 18	728	626	102	85.99	5.83	0	2	15th	2
12	Markus Stolz	Zeltweg	8th	432: 36	175	148	28	84.57	3.88	0	3	3	1
13	Christof Schwendinger	Bregenzerwald	14th	584: 05	371	300	71	80.86	7.29	0	1	8th	0

( 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 )

( 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	EHC Lustenau	3
8th	EHC Bregenzerwald	0
			1	EHC Lustenau	3

			4th	VEU Feldkirch	1
4th	VEU Feldkirch	3

5	EV Zeltweg	1
						1	EHC Lustenau	3

						2	EC Dornbirn	1
2	EC Dornbirn	3

7th	KSV ice hockey club	1
			2	EC Dornbirn	3

			3	EK Zell am See	1
3	EK Zell am See	3

6th	Red Bull Salzburg 2nd	1

Quarter-finals individual results

EHC Lustenau (1) - EHC Bregenzerwald (8)
21st of February	EHC Lustenau - EHC Bregenzerwald	5-0
February 25	EHC Bregenzerwald - EHC Lustenau	0: 3
February 28	EHC Lustenau - EHC Bregenzerwald	6: 2
The EHC Lustenau wins the series with 3-0 victories.

As expected, the quarter-finals between leaders EHC Lustenau and the last EHC Bregenzerwald went well. The latter took a total of 126 minutes and 16 seconds before they could score their first goal in the third game in the series. Until then, Lustenau had dominated the series at will and made it 2-0 with a 5-0 and a 3-0 victory. In the end, there should be a goal difference of 14: 2 in three games. The outstanding actor in the series was Lustenau goalkeeper Patrick Machreich , who made it possible for the favorites to march through safely with 77 shots blocked, a catch rate of 98.72% and two shutouts.

The EHC Bregenzerwald, however, showed again that the team was a few classes weaker than the other participants in the National League. For the fourth time in a row, the team was clearly in last place in the final ranking. After the 2004/05 season, when they were sixth of ten places in the table, the team management was no longer able to put together a competitive team. Nevertheless, it is a long-term goal to remain in the national league. In addition to the weak squad, the uncovered ice surface is also a problem, which is unique in European professional ice hockey.

EC Dornbirn (2) - KSV Ice Hockey Club (7)
21st of February	EC Dornbirn - KSV ice hockey club	5: 7
February 25	KSV Ice Hockey Club - EC Dornbirn	1: 4
February 28	EC Dornbirn - KSV ice hockey club	5: 3
4th of March	KSV Ice Hockey Club - EC Dornbirn	3: 5
The EC-TREND Dornbirn wins the series with 3: 1 victories.

The series between EC-TREND Dornbirn and the KSV ice hockey club, which began with two sovereign victories for the respective away team, was much more exciting. The opening match took place with alternating leadership until the score was 4: 4 in the 48th minute. Just under thirty seconds later, Kapfenberg scored the 5: 4, which for the first time was not equalized. Instead, the guests put it 6: 4, and the hosts could only score the next goal before an empty net goal produced the final score. The second game was dominated by the Vorarlbergers, despite the lead by Kapfenberg, who made it 4-1 in the 44th minute and with the support of Bernhard Bock in goal, played the clear lead over time. This playful dominance continued in the third game, in which the home side were permanently in the lead from the 8th minute. The Kapfenbergers succeeded one after the other, but they were denied equalization.

The last game was open until halftime and the score was 2-2. However, Dornbirn scored three goals within eight minutes in the final third, creating an unassailable lead that ultimately secured them victory in the series and participation in the semi-finals.

After the departure, a difficult phase began for Kapfenberg, which finally culminated in the dissolution of the association and the re-establishment under the name Kapfenberg Bulls . The Kapfenberg Bulls went for the 2009/10 season voluntarily in the league starting.

EK Zell am See (3) - EC Red Bull Salzburg (6)
20. February	EK Zell am See - EC Red Bull Salzburg	4: 2
February 25	EC Red Bull Salzburg - EC Zell am See	5: 4	n / a
February 28	EK Zell am See - EC Red Bull Salzburg	5: 3
4th of March	EC Red Bull Salzburg - EC Zell am See	4: 7
EK Zell am See wins the series with 3-1 victories.

With EK Zell am See's series against EC Red Bull Salzburg, there was already a derby between the two Salzburg teams in the quarter-finals. The first game was surprisingly clear when the Zeller Eisbären were able to play a 4-0 lead up to the 37th minute. Although Salzburg was able to correct the result to 4-2 with two goals, the Zeller victory was never really in danger. Zell was similarly strong in the second game in the series. After a 2-0 lead by Salzburg had been equalized by half-time, the home side were able to create a two-goal lead again, but Zell equalized with a double strike in the 58th minute. In overtime, Philipp Ullrich equalized Salzburg in the series, just three seconds before a penalty shoot-out should have decided the game.

The third game brought a quick exchange of blows between the two teams, in which first Salzburg and then Zell were each in the lead for a short time. After the 5: 3 by Zell, Salzburg could not improve and had to lose the third game in the series. The last game in the series developed into a shooting festival: when it was 2-0 for Salzburg after the first third, Zell turned the game until the beginning of the last third to a score of 2: 5. Salzburg fought their way up to 4: 5, but then had to accept two goals again. Shortly before the end, Thomas Höneckl left his goal and made room for his replacement Thomas Innerwinkler , who was able to keep the last two shots from Zell but could no longer prevent the defeat. With that, Salzburg dropped out of the series in the quarterfinals.

VEU Feldkirch (4) - EV Zeltweg (5)
21st of February	VEU Feldkirch - EV Zeltweg	3: 4
February 24th	EV Zeltweg - VEU Feldkirch	4: 5	n / a
February 28	VEU Feldkirch - EV Zeltweg	8: 1
3 March	EV Zeltweg - VEU Feldkirch	1: 4
VEU Feldkirch wins the series with 3-1 victories.

In the series of the fourth against the fifth, the first game was surprisingly clear. The guests from Zeltweg pulled away by 4: 1 by the end of the second third. Just before the end of the game, Feldkirch scored two goals in a short time, which corrected the result a little, but an equalization was no longer possible. The second game turned out to be exciting with alternating goalscoring, which resulted in a 4-4 tie just before the end. In overtime, the Feldkirch newcomer Daniel Gauthier finally scored the winning goal after seven minutes for his team, which was able to make it 1-1 in the series.

From Zeltweger's point of view, the third meeting got completely out of hand. Feldkirch dominated the game at will and was already leading 5-1 after 40 minutes, whereupon Rickard Nilsson left his goal. The young Markus Stolz then had to accept three more hits, so that in the end an 8: 1 for Feldkirch was on the books. Zeltweg tried a more defensive tactic in the fourth game, but could no longer prevent the clear 1: 4 defeat despite a respectable 1: 1 intermediate result at halftime.

For Zeltweg it should be the meanwhile last season in the National League. The team followed the KSV ice hockey club after the season in the league.

Individual results semi-finals

EHC Lustenau (1) - VEU Feldkirch (4)
March 10th	EHC Lustenau - VEU Feldkirch	4: 3	n / a
the 14th of March	VEU Feldkirch - EHC Lustenau	3: 2	n / a
17. March	EHC Lustenau - VEU Feldkirch	5: 2
March 21st	VEU Feldkirch - EHC Lustenau	3: 4	n / a
The EHC Lustenau wins the series with 3-1 victories.

An extremely short series developed between the EHC Lustenau and the VEU Feldkirch; three out of four games only found their winners in overtime. In the first encounter, Feldkirch took the lead after just nine seconds with a goal from Daniel Goneau . It then took Lustenau some time to get into the game. After exactly twelve minutes, however, the equalizer fell. However, the home side did not manage to take the lead. Instead, Feldkirch used the weak offensive game of the Lustenauer and established a 3-1 lead with a double strike at the end of the second period. However, Lustenau found his way back to his familiar qualities in the final section and was able to equalize. In overtime, Juha-Matti Vanhanen secured the first win after six and a half minutes.

The second game was similar. At halftime Feldkirch had achieved a 2-0 lead. It was not until the 51st minute that EHC Lustenau scored their first goal, which was also able to equalize just before the end. In the overtime this time Feldkirch had the better end for himself. In the third game, Lustenau finally found the right tactic and moved away to 3-0 after just six minutes. Feldkirch was able to shorten, but the home side were able to make it 5: 1 up to the 52nd minute, so that Feldkirch could only do cosmetic results. The fourth game brought the decision. After both teams alternately scored goals and Lustenau was able to make it 3: 3 just before the end, overtime brought the guests to the final with a goal from Ryan Foster .

EC Dornbirn (2) - EC Zell am See (3)
March 11	EC Dornbirn - EC Zell am See	3: 2	n.p.
the 14th of March	EK Zell am See - EC Dornbirn	2-0
March 18th	EC Dornbirn - EC Zell am See	2: 1
March 21st	EK Zell am See - EC Dornbirn	0: 4
EC Dornbirn wins the series with 3: 1 victories.

The second semi-final series between EC-TREND Dornbirn and EK Zell am See was just as close. After a 2-0 lead by Zell and the subsequent equalization, the first meeting brought the only penalty shoot-out in the entire playoff, which the home side finally won. In the second game, however, Zell am See showed an excellent defensive performance; Goalie Florian Weißkircher saved all 18 shots fired at him, and Zell equalized with a narrow 2-0 win in the series. The third game was no less close. The quick lead through Zell after only 45 seconds was followed by a double strike within 25 seconds in the tenth minute, which turned the game in favor of EC Dornbirn. As a result, Zell ran for fifty minutes against the strong defense of the home side, but goalkeeper Bernhard Bock did not allow a second goal.

The fourth game ended up being clearer than was generally expected. Goalkeeper Florian Weißkircher had a very good day and blocked all 22 shots, while the strikers consistently used their chances and played out an unassailable 4-0 lead until the end, which secured EC Dornbirn the win of the series.

Individual results final

EHC Lustenau (1) - EC Dornbirn (2)
28th March	EHC Lustenau - EC Dornbirn	3: 2
March 31	EC Dornbirn - EHC Lustenau	3: 2
4. April	EHC Lustenau - EC Dornbirn	4: 1
7th of April	EC Dornbirn - EHC Lustenau	1: 4
The EHC Lustenau wins the series with 3-1 victories.

With the EHC Lustenau and the EC-TREND Dornbirn, the two teams that had also dominated the regular season reached the final. The series began with a game that Lustenau was able to win just 3-2 in the end. The team had turned a 0: 1 deficit after just 37 seconds by the end of the second period to a 3: 1 lead. Dornbirn scored the next goal, but could not save himself into overtime. The second game was just as close, with Dornbirn again able to score the first goal. After the interim equalization, at the end of the 2nd section there was again a 3: 1 lead - this time for Dornbirn. Lustenau scored the 3-2 one minute before the end, but could not equalize either.

Only the third game in the series was clearer. Dornbirn scored the first goal again, but Lustenau showed a consistent A performance in the rest of the game, especially in the majority, and gradually gained a 4-1 lead after equalizing, with the last goal only falling eleven seconds before the end. The fourth encounter in the series should then bring the decision: Lustenau scored the premiere goal for the first time. Dornbirn was able to equalize, but Lustenau showed itself - supported by an outstanding Patrick Machreich, who was able to defuse a total of 40 of 41 shots - with a consistent away tactic and was able to win the final series and thus the championship with the 4-1 away win.

statistics

Top scorer
Rk	player	team	GP	G	A.	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
1	Toni Saarinen	Lustenau	11	8th	13	21st	8th	2	0	2
2	Daniel Gauthier	Feldkirch	8th	9	10	19th	16	3	1	2
3	Mike Harder	Feldkirch	8th	7th	9	16	6th	2	1	0
4th	Juha-Matti Vanhanen	Lustenau	11	5	10	15th	6th	0	0	0
5	Carlo Grünn	Dornbirn	12	4th	10	14th	18th	2	0	1
6th	Thomas Auer	Dornbirn	11	6th	5	11	85	2	1	1
7th	Chris Peyton	Lustenau	11	4th	7th	11	22nd	3	0	1
8th	Ryan Foster	Lustenau	11	6th	4th	10	6th	2	0	1
9	Jari Suorsa	Cell	8th	6th	4th	10	18th	4th	2	1
10	Marc Schönberger	Lustenau	10	5	4th	9	32	1	0	1

goalkeeper
Rk	player	team	GP	MIP	SO-CALLED	SVS	GA	SVS%	ATM	SO	W.	L.	OTL
1	Patrick Machreich	Lustenau	11	665: 04	378	359	19th	94.97	1.71	2	9	1	1
2	Bernhard Bock	Dornbirn	12	729: 34	332	301	31	90.66	2.55	1	7th	5	0
3	Florian Weißkircher	Cell	8th	498: 57	230	207	23	90.00	2.77	1	4th	2	2
4th	Walter Bartholomew	Feldkirch	8th	499: 49	233	208	25th	89.27	3.00	0	4th	2	2
5	Michael Mayer	Kapfenberg	4th	237: 10	169	150	19th	88.76	4.81	0	1	3	0
6th	Rickard Nilsson	Zeltweg	4th	226: 39	135	119	16	88.15	4.24	0	1	2	1
7th	Martin Iberer	Bregenzerwald	3	180: 00	118	104	14th	88.14	4.67	0	0	3	0
8th	Thomas Höneckl	Salzburg	4th	244: 32	120	100	20th	83.33	4.91	0	1	3	0

Squad of the national league champions

National league champion EHC Lustenau	Goalkeepers: Patrick Machreich , Matthias Fritz Defenders: Thomas Alfare, Christoph Eiler, Michael Lissek, Florian Martin, Gerald Penker, Chris Peyton , Florian Schönberger Canada Attackers: Ryan Foster , Martin Grabher-Meyer , Pascal Kainz, Daniel König, Markus Kosnjak, Alexander Paul, Pirmin Riedmann, Toni Saarinen , Roman Scheiber, Marc Schönberger, Benjamin Staudach, Klaus Tschermernjak, Juha-Matti Vanhanen , Martin Zeilinger Finland Finland Head coach: Mark Nussbaumer

Championship final result

spectator

		At home		Away		total
rank	team	Games	average	Games	average	Games	spectator	average
1	EC-TREND Dornbirn	20th	2,059	20th	1,411	40	58,395	1,735
2	EHC Lustenau	20th	1,517	19th	1,892	39	66,285	1,700
3	VEU Feldkirch	18th	1,828	18th	1,393	36	57,977	1,610
4th	EK Zell am See	18th	1,778	18th	947	36	49,064	1,363
5	EV Zeltweg	16	964	16	1,020	32	31,756	992
6th	KSV ice hockey club	16	701	16	901	32	25,635	801
7th	EC Red Bull Salzburg	16	252	16	1,256	32	24,121	754
8th	EHC Bregenzerwald	15th	311	16	916	31	19,329	624

swell

↑ eishockey.at: Archive link ( Memento of the original from November 4, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed June 21, 2008 @1@ 2

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[2] yfans.at: slowed down ! TeamWien not in the national league! , accessed June 21, 2008

[3] yfans.at: Forests surprise with point in Kapfenberg

[4] yfans.at: Forests get 3 points on the green table

[5] rse-express.com: Goalie Markus Seidl leaves the EK Zell am See ( memento of the original from January 30th, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2