Graz 99ers end 46-year drought with historic ice hockey semifinal win
Graz Fans Know the Joy of Spoiling Salzburg's Party—Now It's Hockey's Turn
In Graz, at least the football fans are familiar with the thrill of ruining Salzburg's celebrations. Sturm Graz ended Red Bull Salzburg's championship streak, and now the 99ers have put a stop to the hockey dominance of the Salzburg Bulls. After four straight titles for Salzburg, Wednesday's elimination of KAC confirmed that the Austrian ice hockey championship is heading to the Mur River. The other ICEHL semifinalists hail from Italy (Pustertal), Slovenia (Ljubljana), and Hungary (Fehérvár).
"It's already pretty amazing to see how much hockey means to Graz again all of a sudden. But of course, we want more," says forward Paul Huber. The first Austrian title since 1978? No one's settling for that.
The story, it seems, is far from over. "Now we're going for the league title," declares a fan in an orange 99ers jersey. Eight wins stand between them and glory—and the first came in Game 1 of the best-of-seven series against Fehérvár, a 3–2 victory for Daniel Lacroix's squad.
Tickets Gone in Three Minutes
The moment the championship was sealed and Fehérvár's visit to Styria was confirmed, tickets sold out in just three minutes. Over 4,000 fans pack the Liebenau Ice Stadium—and they were roaring an hour before puck drop. Backed by familiar anthems (the same ones that fire up Sturm Graz's footballers), the 99ers warmed up to the sounds of the Steiermarklied.
Among the spectators were Styrian Governor Mario Kunasek and Herbert Jerich, the Gleisdorf-based logistics magnate and sports patron (whose birthday greetings come from the likes of Dieter Bohlen and Jürgen Klopp). In his second season with the 99ers, Jerich has overseen a transformation—turning decline into a fresh start.
The ice in Liebenau cracked early: just four minutes in, Huber finished off a setup from Lukas Haudum to put Graz ahead. Wave after wave—well, slide after slide—of attacks crashed toward the Hungarian net. A Fehérvár power-play goal evened the score at 1–1 after the first period, much to Kunasek's displeasure. "We should be up by more."
The fans barely had time to catch their breath. Fehérvár, as clinical as they were against the Vienna Capitals and KAC, quickly answered Nick Swaney's go-ahead goal to make it 2–2. After a second disallowed Graz tally, the arena erupted when Michael Schiechl struck with five minutes left, sealing the 3–2 win.
With the series shifting to Fehérvár, another raucous celebration awaits in Graz on Thursday.
