League leaders Adler Kitzbühel win away at cham­pions Rittner Buam in top-of-the-table clash

League leaders Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel could not be stopped by defending champions Rittner Buam SkyAlps either. The Tyroleans won 6:2 away from home to celebrate their eighth victory in nine games. With 24 points, they now hold a nine-point lead over the “Buam”, who suffered their first defeat across all competitions after six consecutive wins and slipped to fifth place in the table.

In a game that was evenly balanced for long stretches, the score was level at 2:2 until eleven minutes before the end, when the visitors from Kitzbühel took the lead for the third time that evening. This time, however, the home side had no response, and Kitzbühel sealed the result with two quick goals in the 52nd minute. For the “Adler”, it was their first victory over the “Buam” following five successive defeats.

In the South Tyrol derby between Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan and HC Gherdeina valgardena.it, the visitors from Val Gardena prevailed 3:1. It was a third successive victory for the new third-placed side, while the Broncos suffered their seventh defeat in the past eight games and remain twelfth in the table.

All the goals in the game were scored in the middle period. Leo Messner initially put the visitors ahead in the 25th minute, before Alessio Niccolai equalised just a minute and a half later. The score did not remain 1:1 for long, however, as Yuri Cristellon restored the “Furie” lead six minutes before the end of the second period, before Leo Messner made it 3:1 with his second goal of the evening two seconds before the end of the period. They were the first goals of the season for the 21-year-old forward.

Before the game, Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan announced the signing of Canadian Nick Campoli. The transfer became necessary following the departure of Philippe Sanche. The Broncos are Campoli’s first club in Europe. The centre had been under contract with the Iowa Heartlanders in the ECHL for the past two seasons.

In their ninth game of the season, Hockey Unterland Cavaliers went to overtime for the sixth time, suffering their fourth defeat in the extra period. Overall, it was their seventh game decided by a single goal. This time, second-placed EK Die Zeller Eisbären proved too strong for the tenth-placed side.

Zell am See narrowly prevailed 3:2/OT. Robin Johansson scored the winner in the 62nd minute. Three of the four goals in regulation were scored in the first period. The home side initially took the lead before the “Eisbären” turned the game around towards the end of the period. The equaliser eventually came on the power play in the 32nd minute. There were no further goals in regulation. Zell am See are now five points behind leaders Kitzbühel in the table. Tenth-placed Unterland are eight points behind the Pinzgau side.

In the fourth game of the day, SIJ Acroni Jesenice recorded a convincing 9:0 home victory over HC Meran/o Pircher. The Slovenians scored four goals in both the first and second periods. Olli Valtola netted the ninth and final goal of the game for the Slovenians 68 seconds before the end. The Finn was the only player to score twice. Bor Glavic, in goal for the 2023 AHL champions, stopped all 23 shots he faced to celebrate his first shutout in the Alps Hockey League. Jesenice moved up to fourth place in the table with their sixth victory in seven games. For eleventh-placed Meran, it was a fourth defeat.

Defeats for Bregenzerwald and Red Bull Junior Hockeys

KHL Sisak quickly put their overtime defeat in their previous league game and their mixed performance in the Continental Cup behind them, picking up where they had left off in the Alps Hockey League: comprehensive victories. The 7:1 win over Gherdeina, the 10:2 victory over Zell and the 8:4 result against Cortina were followed by a 6:0 win over EC Bregenzerwald. For the Wälder, who remain bottom of the table, it was already a sixth consecutive defeat.

S.G. Cortina Hafro ended their losing streak away to Red Bull Hockey Juniors on Wednesday evening. After five consecutive defeats, Cortina returned to winning ways with a shutout. However, Cortina’s offence only got going late on. Following a scoreless opening period, the first goal of the game did not arrive until the 35th minute. Cortina eventually beat Red Bull Hockey Juniors 3:0. For the young Salzburg side, it was already their fifth defeat in the past six games.

Alps Hockey League:

SIJ Acroni Jesenice vs HC Meran/o Pircher 9:0 (4:0,4:0,1:0)
>> Goalscorers and statistics

Hockey Unterland Cavaliers vs. EK Die Zeller Eisbären 2:3 after overtime (1:2,1:0,0:0,0:1)
>> Goalscorers and statistics

Rittner Buam SkyAlps vs. Die Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel 2:6 (1:2,0:0,1:4)
>> Goalscorers and statistics

Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan vs. HC Gherdeina 1:3 (0:0,1:3,0:0)
>> Goalscorers and statistics

Red Bull Hockey Juniors vs. S.G. Cortina Hafro 0:3 (0:0,0:1,0:2)
>> Goalscorers and statistics

EC Bregenzerwald vs. KHL Sisak 0:6 (0:2,0:1,0:3)
>> Goalscorers and statistics