Alps Hockey League: Zell am See win top clash at Ritten – Kitzbühel also victo­rious

Rittner Buam SkyAlps and EK Zeller Eisbären contested an exciting top-of-the-table clash, with the visitors coming out on top for the third time in a row. The 3:2 victory extended the Pinzgau side's lead at the top of the table. The visitors took the lead late in the first period through Leon Widhalm, who converted his own rebound. Ritten responded immediately, however, as Szypula set up Lobis perfectly on a counter-attack and he fired the puck into the top corner at the near post.

Zell am See's special teams produced further goals in the middle period: Jennes struck first on the power play before Wilfan made it 1:3 following a short-handed counter-attack. The Buam hit back through an Insam goal during the same power play. The score remained 2:3 until the final buzzer, also thanks to EKZ goaltender Max Zimmermann making 45 saves in total.

Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel secured their first Master Round victory, with head coach Marco Pewal's team prevailing 6:4 in a spectacular game against Cortina. Sebastian Labori gave them a 1:0 lead after just over ten minutes, but it lasted only a few seconds. Mikael Saha then put the puck over the line to level the score at 1:1 shortly afterwards.

Labori restored the lead for the home side in the middle period before the Sportpark really came alive: Jakob Lippitsch, Lukas Waschnig and leading scorer Anthony DeLuca all found the net in the 34th minute, within 45 seconds, to extend the lead to 5:1. The Italians responded with two quick goals of their own, and the final period became tense again when former Adler player Waltteri Lehtonen (58th minute) reduced the deficit to 5:4 late on. Matic Podlipnik sealed the 6:4 final score with an empty-net goal, moving Kitzbühel up to second place.

In Qualification Round A, Meran secured their second win from two games. The South Tyroleans prevailed 3:1 at Red Bull Hockey Juniors. David Trivellato gave the visitors a short-handed lead in the seventh minute. Both teams scored once in the middle period, with the “Eagles” regaining the lead after the equaliser. Skate Skalde ultimately sealed the win with a power-play goal.

In the other game in the group, Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan beat Gröden 4:0. Paul Eisendle scored the only goal of the first period, and the score remained 1:0 until the 43rd minute, when Zandegiacomo extended the lead. Two more goals within three and a half minutes sealed the result, while goaltender Dominik Groh recorded his second shutout of the season. The win moved the Sterzing side up to second place.

In the only Qualification Round B game, Celje won 2:1 on penalties at Unterland. Ahmet Jakupovic gave the visitors the lead in the first period, while Daniels Murnieks equalised during a two-man advantage in the middle period. The Cavaliers had several chances, but Celje goaltender Heiskanen made 47 saves in total. The game eventually went to a shootout, where Bohdan Panasenko secured the away win. Their second victory extended the Slovenians' lead at the top of the table.

Alps Hockey League:

Master Round:

Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel vs. S.G. Cortina Hafro 6:4 (1:1,4:2,1:1)
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Rittner Buam SkyAlps vs. EK Zeller Eisbären 2:3 (1:1,1:2,0:0)
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Qualification Round A:

Red Bull Hockey Juniors - HC Meran/o Pircher 1:3 (0:1,1:1,0:1)
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Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan vs. HC Gherdeina valgardena.it 4:0 (1:0,0:0,3:0)
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Qualification Round B:

Hockey Unterland Cavaliers vs. HK RST Pellet Celje 1:2 after penalties (0:1,1:0,0:0,0:0,0:1)
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