THE AUSTRIAN WOMEN’S HOCKEY LEAGUE IS ABOUT TO MAKE ITS DEBUT

Excitement is building in Austrian women’s ice hockey as the very first season of the win2day Austrian Women’s Hockey League (AWHL) kicks off on the last weekend of September. In close cooperation between the Austrian Ice Hockey Federation, the win2day ICE Hockey League and win2day, the national championship title will be played for the first time in this new win2day AWHL from the 2024/2025 season. Preparations have been underway since fall 2023 – the anticipation of an exciting inaugural season is palpable.

A special highlight awaits right at the start: The Supercup final at the end of September, in which the best Austrian teams from the previous year will play out an exciting duel. At the end of the season, the first AWHL national champion will be crowned in a Final Four tournament.

But the AWHL has much more to offer: The five teams – SKN Sabres St. Pölten, EC Graz Huskies, DEC Salzburg Eagles, KSV Highlanders and the Lakers Kärnten – not only play for the national title, but also in the prestigious European Women’s Hockey League (EWHL). This means that all AWHL matches also count towards the EWHL standings.

The AWHL game mode is divided into two phases: First, all five teams compete against each other in back-and-forth matches. This phase is also decisive for the EWHL. The top three teams then continue in a placement round, while the other two teams and the best team in the DEBL (German Women’s Ice Hockey League) compete in a qualifying round. The top four teams then move on to the Final Four, which determines the first champion of the win2day Austrian Women’s Hockey League.

This league, which is important at both national and European level, will take Austrian women’s ice hockey to a new level. Fans can look forward to exciting games, top-class duels and, above all, a new era in women’s sport. The season opener will take place at the end of September.

Bericht: PM AWHL