Varsity (LA 1), U17 Austrian Championship

The Varsity team is one of two Academy teams participating in the Austrian U17 Championships and is comprised of 1995 and younger born players who are also primarily attending the 10th grade or 6L (LAIS).

LA 1 is the more experienced of the two U17 teams and benefited from being able to play in the U17 league last season. With new players from many countries joining the program at both the U20 and U17 levels we do expect it may take a little time to get adjusted to one another and our systems. Players from both U17 teams are always able to step up and play U20 if the coaching staff feels the player can handle the speed and size of the older league. There are no limits to what a player can achieve!

Nov 28

Varsity Victorious

Written by AWH.

After gaining some momentum over the past few weeks through hard work and some solid play the Varsity Stars faced a strong challenge on Saturday. The Stars packed up the vans and headed to Klagenfurt to battle the KAC Vikings. The boys had skated hard in practice throughout the week and were looking to extend their modest winning streak. Earlier in the year KAC had defeated the Stars 4-1 so it was time to even the score.

The contest started at a high pace with both teams really skating hard. The game was almost six minutes old before the first whistle. Both teams had chances but it was the Stars who carried the play to KAC. The first period had no scoring and you got the feeling it was a night for the goalies. The Stars looked good in that first frame but couldn’t seem to put the final touch on their offensive attack, missing some quality chances.

The second period saw much of the same as neither team could muster a goal. The Stars remained very positive despite note being rewarded for their hard work. With forty minutes gone and no score it would be a matter of which team could hold up the pace the longest.

Half way through the third KAC had their chance. With the game still scoreless the Vikings went on a five minute power play. Being a good team they took advantage and secured the first lead of the game. Would this one of those games where the Stars let things slip away after putting in a strong effort for the majority of the game? It would be a good teat of team character. The answer came at four minutes later when Daniel Leisser scored with Nikolaus Houben and Alexej Miskovez assisting. Would the Stars be happy with the tie? The clock was ticking down as Varsity made their last push! Alexander Karachun, who had played an outstanding game, worked the puck down the wall after Felix Wagner kept the puck in at the blue line. Sam Antonitsch then moved the puck to Ricco Ratajczyk in the slot. With a quick shot Ratajczyk gave the Stars their only lead of the game with 14 seconds left.

This was a huge win on the road for the Varsity Stars.