Zeller Eisbären secure regular-season title in the Alps Hockey League

EK Die Zeller Eisbären secured the regular-season title with a commanding 5:0 home win over HC Gherdeina valgardena.it. The Pinzgau side played their final game and now sit six points clear of nearest challengers Ritten, who still have two games in hand but lost the head-to-head meeting against Zell am See.

Against the bottom side from Val Gardena, Timo Pallierer put the home side ahead in the sixth minute in front of almost 2.000 fans. Matt McLeod made it 2:0 in the 18th minute, before the forward added another shortly before the end of the second period to make it 3:0. It was the Canadian's third two-goal game of the season. The league leaders added two more goals in the final period. For EKZ goaltender Alois Schultes, it was his third shutout of the season. Zell am See therefore celebrated their fifth consecutive win and their second successive shutout victory. Val Gardena, meanwhile, suffered their fifth defeat in a row.

Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel claimed a narrow 4:3 overtime win at HK RST Pellet Celje. The Slovenian home side were still leading 3:2 with 143 seconds remaining in the third period, but then Anthony DeLuca struck. The forward first equalised on the power play before capping his strong display by scoring the game-winner on the power play again after just 18 seconds of overtime. It was already DeLuca's second two-goal game in his sixth game of the season. With this victory, the fourth-placed Tyroleans celebrated their third straight win, while tenth-placed Celje suffered their third consecutive defeat.

Hockey Unterland Cavaliers continued their winning run at Red Bull Hockey Juniors. The South Tyroleans prevailed 3:0 to claim their fourth successive victory. For the Juniors, meanwhile, it was a fourth defeat in a row. Eighth-placed Neumarkt took the lead through Davide Girardi in the 13th minute. The score remained 1:0 until the 44th minute, when Kristians Samitis made it 2:0. Moritz Kaufmann sealed the final score shortly afterwards. It was CAV goaltender Laurin Foppa's first shutout of the season.

Third-placed SIJ Acroni Jesenice won 7:2 at HC Meran/o Pircher, celebrating their third consecutive victory and cutting the gap to second-placed Ritten to one point. In a high-scoring game, the visitors took the lead as early as the fifth minute, but Meran, who suffered their third successive league defeat and sit ninth, responded quickly with an equaliser.

However, Jesenice led 3:1 by the end of the first period. The “Adler” quickly pulled one back in the second period. But the visitors then ruthlessly punished errors by the South Tyroleans: Meran were too careless on the power play and conceded two shorthanded goals in the 31th and 39th minutes, allowing Jesenice to pull away to 5:2. The favourites added two more goals in the final period. Santeri Sillanpaa was the only player to score twice.

Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan prevailed 4:3/OT against KHL Sisak and are now only two points behind fifth-placed Cortina in the standings. Next Tuesday, Sterzing and Cortina will face each other in what could be the major showdown for direct playoff qualification. The Broncos had led 3:1 at one stage, before Fabian Hackhofer scored the game-winner in the 64th minute. Overall, it was the South Tyroleans' fourth straight win, while seventh-placed Sisak suffered their third consecutive defeat.

Alps Hockey League:

HK RST Pellet Celje vs. Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel 3:4 OT (1:1,1:0,1:2,0:1)
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Red Bull Hockey Juniors vs. Hockey Unterland Cavaliers 0:3 (0:1,0:0,0:2)
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EK Die Zeller Eisbären vs. HC Gherdeina valgardena.it 5:0 (2:0,1:0,2:0)
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Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan vs. KHL Sisak 4:3 OT (1:0,1:1,1:2,1:0)
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HC Meran/o Pircher vs. SIJ Acroni Jesenice 2:7 (1:3,1:2,0:2)
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