Adler Kitzbühel or Zeller Eisbären: Who will be crowned Austrian champions in the AHL?

EC Die Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel and EK Die Zeller Eisbären will contest the final for the Austrian Championship in the Alps Hockey League. The first leg of the final takes place on Thursday at the KE KELIT Arena in Zell am See, with the return leg to be played at Sportpark Kitzbühel on Saturday. The tie will be decided in Champions Hockey League format: the team leading on aggregate after Saturday's return leg will be crowned champions.

05 February 20252 min read

Both clubs – EC Die Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel and EK Die Zeller Eisbären – are eagerly anticipating the first major showdown of the current season – the final for the Austrian Championship in the Alps Hockey League. Ice hockey has a long tradition in both towns, and the two teams share a fierce derby rivalry and a long red-white-red ice hockey history. The players from the Gamsstadt, who finished top of the all-Austrian regular-season standings, will play the away game first and travel to the sold-out KE KELIT Arena in the Pinzgau region on Thursday.

Kitzbühel head coach Marco Pewal is looking forward to a tough and high-stakes two-leg playoff battle: "This is, of course, a very special tie for all of us. Everyone at the club knows what is at stake and is eager for it!" The Villach native is preparing his team for the final in aggregate-score format: "Of course, we will make some adjustments and focus even more than usual on the opposition. But we do want to bring our game onto the ice. That has been quite successful throughout the season and has already shown against Zell am See that it can work."

The Adler won both regular-season meetings against the Eisbären. They claimed a 5:2 home win at the end of September. A 3:2 shoot-out victory in Zell am See followed at the beginning of January.

For the third consecutive season, the Salzburg side are competing for the Austrian championship title in the Alps Hockey League, which they secured in the 2022/023 season after a thriller against the Red Bull Hockey Juniors, following a 0:3 home defeat and a 4:0 away win – only in overtime. Last year, the Hockey Juniors gained their revenge with a 4:3 aggregate score after the two final ties.

Eisbären forward Philip Putnik promises the fans that the team will leave everything on the ice: "We are highly motivated and ready for a tough fight! Kitzbühel are a strong team and we will give everything. You train all year for games like these, and the atmosphere in front of the best fans in the league will be incredible. Small details will decide it; we have to stay focused from the first to the last second and play our game. We are hugely excited and will give everything to win the title!"