Zell am See continue winning run – Gröden and Bregen­z­er­wald into the pre-play-offs

EC Bregenzerwald celebrated a hard-fought home win over KHL Sisak to conclude Qualification Round B. The Vorarlberg side made a significantly better start to the match and built a 3:0 lead in the opening 20 minutes. Sisak pulled back through two goals from Dostalek Vlastimil in the second period, but Bregenzerwald also struck again.

The game went into the final period at 4:2, in which Bregenzerwald initially restored their three-goal advantage. Sisak, however, rallied once more and fought back to 4:5. They were unable to find the goal that would have forced overtime, though, and Bregenzerwald made it 6:4. The Croatians therefore drop back to third place in the table and will now face HC Meran/o, the winners of Qualification Round A. Bregenzerwald, meanwhile, will take on HC Gherdeina valgardena.it in the best-of-three series.

The pre-play-off match-ups have now been confirmed following the final Qualification Round game:

• HC Meran/o Pircher (1. QRA) vs. KHL Sisak (3. QRB)
• Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan (2. QRA) vs. HK RST Pellet Celje (2. QRB)
• EC Bregenzerwald (1. QRB) vs. HC Gherdeina valgardena.it (3. QRA)

The pre-play-offs will be played in a best-of-three format on 27.02., 02.03. and, if necessary, 04.03.

Alps Hockey League on Saturday

Jesenice started with great pressure and took the lead through Olli Valtola five minutes into the game. Shortly before the end of the period, the visitors levelled the game through Philip Putnik. The second period followed a similar pattern. The Slovenians were the better team, but EKZ goaltender Alois Schultes remained composed. In the 28th minute of play, Nick Huard was in the right place at the right time to turn the game in favour of the visitors.

A few minutes later, however, the Slovenians equalised on the power play through Tjas Lesnicar. In the final period, the decisive goal did not arrive until the 52nd minute of play. Spurred on by several travelling fans from Zell am See, Matt McLeod restored the lead from a Devin Steffler assist, before Robin Johannson extended it in the 54th minute of play to seal the 2:4 final score.

In the second Master Round game, Kitzbühel and Ritten served up an open contest. The visitors took the lead through top scorer Ethan Szypula after 30 minutes, before KEC captain Henrik Hochfilzer equalised shortly afterwards. The Tyroleans turned the game in their favour in the third period, but this time the South Tyroleans found the 2:2 equaliser. The game went to overtime, where Sebastian Christiansen got the decisive goal. Third-placed Kitzbühel are now just one point behind the reigning champions.

In Qualification Round A, Meran secured first place with a 4:2 derby win over Gröden. The home side initially took the lead twice through Daniel Gellon, but “Furie” levelled on both occasions. However, just twelve seconds after 2:2, Chad Pietroniro (38.) put Meran back in front. Massimo Pietroniro eventually sealed the final score. Despite the defeat, Gröden qualified for the pre-playoffs.

That was because the Red Bull Hockey Juniors lost 3:6 at home to Sterzing in the parallel game. The defeat brought the Salzburg side's season to an end. The South Tyroleans, for whom Adam Capannelli scored twice, proved to be the more clinical team on the night. Sterzing therefore finished the intermediate round in second place and await their pre-play-off opponents.

The pre-play-off participants in Qualification Round B have been confirmed since Saturday, although the positions from first to third remain open. Unterland Cavaliers recorded a clear 6:2 win in Celje – with Daniels Murnieks scoring twice – but no longer have any chance of reaching the pre-play-offs.

This was because EC Bregenzerwald prevailed 4:3 after overtime against KHL Sisak in the second game. Both teams held the lead at stages during the game, but neither side was able to pull away. Philipp Pöschmann ultimately scored the decisive goal in overtime. Celje, Sisak and Bregenzerwald are now all on ten points in the group. The final placings will therefore be decided on Sunday, when the Vorarlberg side and the Croatians meet again.

Alps Hockey League:

Master Round:

SIJ Acroni Jesenice vs. EK Die Zeller Eisbären 2:4 (1:1,1:1,0:2)
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Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel vs. Rittner Buam SkyAlps 3:2 n.V. (0:0,1:1,1:1,1:0)
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Qualification Round A:

Red Bull Hockey Juniors vs. Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan 3:6 (1:2,0:2,2:2)
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HC Meran/o Pircher vs. HC Gherdeina valgardena.it 4:2 (1:0,2:2,1:0)
>> Goalscorers and statistics

Qualification Round B:

HK RST Pellet Celje vs. Hockey Unterland Cavaliers 2:6 (0:1,0:3,2:2)
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EC Bregenzerwald vs. KHL Sisak 4:3 after overtime (1:1,2:1,0:1,1:0)
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EC Bregenzerwald vs. KHL Sisak 6:4 (3:0,2:3,1:1)
>> Goalscorers and statistics