Austrian Cham­pi­onship AHL semi-finals: RB Juniors win away – Lustenau and Eisbären draw

It was a pair of evenly matched semi-finals. The Red Bull Juniors laid the foundations for their away win in the first period, which they won 3:2. Although Bregenzerwald brought all their experience to bear in the middle period and forced the visitors into mistakes with clever plays, it was the visitors who scored again first, extending their lead to 4:2 in the 27th minute. Bregenzerwald kept the game open thanks to Laurin Wempe's goal shortly before the break. Both teams pushed for victory at a high tempo in the final period, but also gave away the puck on numerous occasions. In the 59th minute, Vadim Schreiner sealed the 5:3 result for the Juniors. The Red Bull Juniors have therefore laid the foundations for another place in the final.

Red Bull Juniors Head Coach Teemu Levijoki: “The game was very close and we took too many penalties in the second period. That put us a little out of rhythm. But it was exactly the game we expected: very close and evenly matched. This was our first win in the semi-finals, but now the focus is on the second one, which we have to secure this Saturday. We need to start again from zero and give everything for the full 60 minutes.”

With the draw in the first leg, defending champions EK Die Zeller Eisbären also earned an advantage in the battle to reach the final, as, like the Red Bull Juniors, they will enjoy home advantage at the weekend. However, a lapse in concentration at the start of the final period nearly cost the Eisbären that advantage. Within 24 seconds, Lustenau turned 2:2 into 4:2. But the Eisbären recovered and consistently looked for the route to goal. Max Stiegler reduced the deficit to 3:4 in the 51th minute, before Adis Alagic scored the equaliser for the final score of 4:4 in the 57th minute.

Austrian Championship Alps Hockey League semi-finals

Best-of-2 format

Play-off first leg:

EHC Lustenau vs EK Die Zeller Eisbären 4:4 (1:0, 1:2, 2:2)
Thu, 11 January 2024, 19:30
EHC Lustenau scorers: Max Wennlund (11th, 42th), Frederik Alasaari (32th), Robin Wüstner (42th)
EK Die Zeller Eisbären scorers: Stephan Rossmann (24th), Maximilian Egger (27th), Max Stiegler (51th), Adis Alagic (57th)

EC Bregenzerwald vs. Red Bull Hockey Juniors 3:5 (2:3,1:1,0:1)
Wed, 10 January 2024, 19:30
EC Bregenzerwald scorers: Philipp Pöschmann (6th), Richard Schlögl (20th), Laurin Wempe (38th),
Red Bull Hockey Juniors scorers: Kalle Myllymaa (6th), Maximilian Wurzer (12th), Paul Vinzens (20th), Daniel Assavolyuk (27th), Vadim Schreiner (59th)

Play-off second leg:

Red Bull Hockey Juniors vs. EC Bregenzerwald
Sat, 13 January 2024, 19:15

EK Die Zeller Eisbären vs. EHC Lustenau
Sat., 13 January 2024, 19:30