Meran reach the quarter-finals – Gröden force a decider against Bregen­z­er­wald

HC Meran/o Pircher also won game two of their pre-playoff series, qualifying for the quarter-finals as the sixth team. The South Tyroleans prevailed 2:0 in Sisak. Jakob Fuchs gave the visitors the lead while shorthanded only in the 47th minute. The 21-year-old also sealed the final score shortly before the end of the game. In goal for the “Adler”, Rudy Rigoni stopped all 28 shots to celebrate his first shutout of the current season. It is Meran's second consecutive quarter-final appearance, while Sisak's very strong debut season, for the most part, has come to an end. Almost 1.700 fans attended Saturday's game.

A goal by Bryson Cianfrone decided game two of the pre-playoff series between HK RST Pellet Celje and Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan. The forward from Sterzing scored the game-winning goal on the power play 40 seconds before the end of the first period. The battle for a quarter-final spot will therefore be decided in South Tyrol on Tuesday. It was WSV goaltender Dominik Groh's third shutout of the season.

HC Gherdeina valgardena.it also forced a deciding game. The South Tyroleans prevailed 4:1 in their home game against EC Bregenzerwald. The visitors from Vorarlberg still led 1:0 after the first period, before the hosts turned the game around in the middle period with goals from Henri Mustonen in the 27th minute and Davide Schiavone in the 39th minute. Gröden added two further goals in the final period in front of almost 1.000 fans. The battle to reach the quarter-finals in this series will therefore also be decided on Tuesday.

Master Round champions EK Die Zeller Eisbären suffered their first defeat in their eighth and final game. The Pinzgau side lost 2:5 to bottom side S.G. Cortina Hafro in front of almost 1.900 fans. It was the Italians' second win in seven games. However, last season's finalists have no chance of improving their position in the standings before the final matchday on Tuesday. Cortina had already built a 3:0 lead in Zell am See after 22 minutes. The hosts fought back, though, cutting the deficit to 2:3 by the 30th minute. They were unable to find an equaliser, however, as Cortina extended their lead to 5:2 in the final nine minutes of the game. Ronny De Zanna was the only player to score twice in the game.

Defending champions Rittner Buam SkyAlps prevailed 2:1 against SIJ Acroni Jesenice. The South Tyroleans are therefore second in the standings ahead of the final Master Round matchday – level on points with third-placed Kitzbühel and only one point ahead of the fourth-placed Slovenians. In the final round, Ritten travel to Cortina, while Jesenice host Kitzbühel. Ritten initially fell behind on Saturday, with Jaka Sturm giving Jesenice the lead in the 31st minute. However, the “Buam” fought their way back into the game. Eric Hjorth equalised in the 37th minute before Adam Giacomuzzi completed the turnaround. It was Ritten's first win after two consecutive defeats, while Jesenice suffered one of three losses from their past five games.

Alps Hockey League:

Master Round:

Rittner Buam SkyAlps vs. SIJ Acroni Jesenice 2:1 (0:0,1:1,1:0)
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EK Die Zeller Eisbären vs. S.G. Cortina Hafro 2:5 (0:2,2:1,0:2)
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Pre-playoff:

HK RST Pellet Celje vs. Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan 0:1 (0:1,0:0,0:0)
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Series standings in the best-of-3 series: 1:1

KHL Sisak vs. HC Meran/o Pircher 0:2 (0:0,0:0,0:2)
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Final score in the best-of-3 series: 0:2

HC Gherdeina valgardena.it vs. EC Bregenzerwald 4:1 (0:1,2:0,2:0)
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Series standings in the best-of-3 series: 1:1