Alps Hockey League, ok the top of the class
The Red Bull Hockey Juniors and KHL Sisak, the teams leading the Alps Hockey League’s top standings, both picked up wins on Saturday. Salzburg defended first place with a convincing home win against Gherdeina, while Sisak picked up three important points on the road in Zell am See. L’EC Bregenzerwald got a crucial win in Collalbo, while Kitzbühel, Cortina and Asiago won at home.
Red Bull Hockey Juniors – HC Gherdeina valgardena.it 5:2
The Juniors got off to a great start and maintained control throughout the game. Jesse Juhola scored twice, including a powerplay goal early on, and added another in the second period. Benedikt Krainer, Vadim Schreiner and Maxim Eliseev also found the net, securing Salzburg’s seventh win in its last eight consecutive home games and keeping it at the top of the standings.
EK Die Zeller Eisbären – KHL Sisak 1:3
KHL Sisak kept pace with the Juniors thanks to a hard-fought victory in Zell am See. Bohdan Panasenko opened the scoring on the powerplay and Marijus Dumcius doubled the lead moments later. Zell’s Paul Schmid shortened the gap to 1:2 in the final third period, but Danila Larionovs closed the game with an empty-goal goal.
Rittner Buam SkyAlps – EC Bregenzerwald 3:5
EC Bregenzerwald won its fourth consecutive victory by beating Ritten on the road. The hosts took the lead through Brandon Alderson, but Roberts Lipsbergs and Markus Mußbacher reversed the result in the second half. Fabian Ranftl scored another goal and Toivo Laaksonen ended the game with an empty-netter.
Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel – Hockey Unterland Cavaliers 5:1
Kitzbühel dominated on home ice, capturing its seventh win of the season. Yoan Loshing led the team with a goal and two assists, while Lukas Waschnig, Jakob Engelhart, Henrik Hochfilzer and Clemens Krainz scored the other goals. Markus Gratzer parried 28 of 29 shots with a 96.6 percent save percentage.
HC Migross Asiago – Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan 7:3
L’Asiago won another victory with a good offensive performance in front of 2,220 fans at the Odegar. Alessandro Parco and Ryan Valentini each collected three points, while Jose Magnabosco Aguirre and Robert Calisti added their goals. Despite a great effort, the Broncos could not keep up with the good performance of the Giallorossi.
S.G. Cortina Hafro – HDD Jesenice 4:1
Cortina also won, beating Jesenice 4:1 in a remake of the 2023 Alps final. Good start of the Ampezzans who around 5′, scored two goals in quick sequence with Massimo Pietroniro and Filippo Pompanin. In the second Panciera and Talamini for Cortina’s poker. The Slovenians manage to score the’only goal of the match 52 seconds before the third siren and thus fouling the possible shutout of Karjalainen (former on duty).
