Leaders Zell am See lose to Meran – Bregen­z­er­wald give Gröden no chance

League leaders EK Die Zeller Eisbären suffered a surprise 2:4 defeat to HC Meran/o Pircher in their first game after the international break. In front of 2.109 fans at the KE KELIT Arena Zell am See, the visitors took the lead as early as the seventh minute. The scorer was Skate Skalde, the son of former head coach Jarrod Skalde, who stepped down from his role as head coach during the break.

Christian Borgatello is currently the interim head coach of the “Adler” and was able to celebrate the 2:0 as early as the twelfth minute. 21 seconds after the restart, the new ninth-placed side even took a 3:0 lead. The score remained unchanged until five and a half minutes from the end, when Philip Putnik made the game exciting again with his goal for 1:3. Just 40 seconds later, Fabio Artner even reduced the deficit to 2:3, but the comeback went unrewarded and Massimo Pietroniro sealed the result with his second goal of the evening 85 seconds from the end. It was Meran’s second consecutive win, while Zell am See suffered their first defeat after three straight victories. Overall, it was only their third defeat in the leaders’ last 16 games.


S.G. Cortina Hafro defeated KHL Sisak 4:3 and consequently overtook the Croatians in the standings. With 37 points, the finalists of the previous two seasons now hold a three-point lead over the league newcomers in fifth place. Fifth place is the final position that qualifies for the Master Round and therefore guarantees a play-off spot. In a game that remained evenly balanced for a long time, the Italians pulled away decisively in the final period. The teams went to the dressing rooms level after both 20 and 40 minutes. Cortina initially took the lead in the first period, before Sisak made it 2:1 in the second.

In the 43rd minute, Cortina took the lead for the second time that evening through Andrea DeLuca. Luca Barnabo made it 4:2 in the 47th minute. Sisak pulled back to 3:4 with seven minutes remaining, but could not find an equaliser and suffered their first defeat after two consecutive wins. Cortina, meanwhile, celebrated their third straight victory and their second win over Sisak in the third and provisionally final meeting of the season.


For EC Bregenzerwald, the 7:3 home win over HC Gherdeina valgardena.it was their first success after three consecutive defeats. They overtook the Red Bull Hockey Juniors in the standings and now sit in eleventh place. The visitors from South Tyrol, meanwhile, suffered their third straight defeat and remain bottom of the table. ECB held a 2:0 lead after the first period. In the middle period, the Vorarlberg side extended their advantage to 4:1 through two goals from Ievgen Fadieiev. The Ukrainian was the only player to score twice.

They were his tenth and eleventh goals of the season as a 27-year-old. Bregenzerwald added three further goals in the final period, while Gröden also scored twice. In the first meeting of the season, the “Furie” had prevailed 4:2 at home.


SIJ Acroni Jesenice won 5:2 at Hockey Unterland Cavaliers and overtook idle defending champions Ritten in the standings. The new third-placed side were already 3:0 up after 22 minutes. The home side also got on the scoresheet for the first time in the 30th minute. The score remained unchanged until eight minutes from the end, when the Slovenians, who celebrated one of three wins from their last five games, extended their lead to 4:1. They eventually prevailed 5:2. Luc Slivnik was the only player to score twice. For the 21-year-old forward, it was his second consecutive brace. For eighth-placed Unterland, it was one of four defeats in their last five games.

Alps Hockey League:

EC Bregenzerwald vs. HC Gherdeina valgardena.it 7:3 (2:0,2:1,3:2)
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EK Die Zeller Eisbären vs. HC Meran/o Pircher 2:4 (0:2,0:1,2:1)
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Hockey Unterland Cavaliers vs. SIJ Acroni Jesenice 2:5 (0:2,1:1, 1:2)
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S.G. Cortina Hafro vs. KHL Sisak 4:3 (1:1, 1:1, 2:1)
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