KAC and two-time champion coach Petri Matikainen are going their separate ways after five seasons. Austria’s ice hockey record champion announced on Thursday the termination of the employment contract, which ran until 2023/24. General Manager Oliver Pilloni thanked the 56-year-old Finn extensively and spoke of a “certain degree of wear and tear” that had set in and required new impetus.
“There were several approaches to set this, but since the native tribe of our team will remain largely intact, we are making the changes to the position of the coach,” explained Pilloni.
“Parting as Friends”
In the past season of the win2day ICE Hockey League, the KAC failed in the semi-finals at eventual champions Salzburg. Matikainen’s tenure was the second-longest by a head coach in Klagenfurt and was marked by league titles in 2019 and 2021. Of the 294 games in which the motivator Matikainen stood on the boards, the “Redjackets” won 173.
“We have come to a joint decision over the past few weeks that the club and I should go in different directions going forward,” Matikainen was quoted as saying. “It was a good time and we part as friends.” KAC said Matikainen’s era “will always be looked back on with admiration and respect”.