Asiago and Ljubljana win quarterfinal opener

Asiago keeps the upper hand
The "Derby Veneto" kicked off the playoffs of the Alps Hockey League 2020/21 on Saturday. Stefano Marchetti had to go to the penalty box after only 16 seconds, but Cortina could not take advantage of the early power play. The home side did better when they were with a man advantage for the first time after seven minutes - and Alexander Frei immediately made it 1:0. In the following minutes, an open exchange of blows developed. At the beginning of the middle period, Cortina goalie Marco De Filippo Roia stood out, and a little later Remy Giftopoulos even managed to equalise. The Canadian let Asiago goalkeeper Gianluca Vallini no chance with a nice move. In the further course of the period, the visitors missed two more powerplay occasions, and Asiago had more of the play at even strength. Despite good chances on both sides, the score remained 1:1 after 40 minutes. The start into the final period was more restrained, the decision was made in the 50th minute. Shortly after Steven McParland missed, Enrico Miglioranzi scored with a great shot into the far corner. The home side managed to hold on to this narrow lead, with Cortina taking two late penalties. The second game of the "best-of-5" series will take place in Cortina on Tuesday.

Clear Olimpija victory to open series
Ljubljana quickly lived up to their role as favourites in the first game against Sterzing. Already in the regular season, the Slovenians celebrated two clear victories. On Saturday, Juuso Pulli scored the first goal from an acute angle in the fourth minute. Olimpija, who clearly set the tone with 21:7 shots in the first period, then increased their lead in the 17th minute with a brace. First, Ales Music completed a solo effort, only 24 seconds later Ziga Pesut scored after a good play with Nik Simsic to make it 3:0 - with this result they went into the first break. Ziga Pance (29th) scored the first goal after the restart. Shortly afterwards, Dante Hannoun got the guests on the scoreboard. Nevertheless, Olimpija won the second period as well, Anze Ropret brought the puck to the goal and off the skate of Broncos defender Hackhofer the puck went over the line - 5:1. In the final period Markus Gander scored two goals for Sterzing, for Ljubljana two more players - Marc-Olivier Vallerand and Simsic - got on the scoresheet. Thus, the Slovenians won the opener clearly with 7:3, the second game will take place on Tuesday in Brixen.

Alps Hockey League, 1st quarterfinal:
Sat, 27.03.021: Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey - S.G. Cortina Hafro 2:1 (1:0,0:1,1:0)
Referees: LEGA, VIRTA, Basso, Rigoni.
Standings in the "best-of-5" quarterfinal series: 1:0
Goals Asiago: 1:0 ASH Frei A. (07:24 / Rosa M. ,McParland S. / PP), 2:1 ASH Miglioranzi E. (49:42 / McParland S. ,Magnabosco J. / EQ)
Goal Cortina: 1:1 SGC Giftopoulos R. (23:04 / Pietroniro P. ,Cordiano M. / EQ)

Sat, 27.03.2021: HK SZ Olimpija Ljubljana - Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan 7:3 (3:0,2:1,2:2)
Referees: PAHOR, REZEK, Bergant, Miklic.
Standings in the "best-of-5" quarterfinal series: 1:0
Goals Ljubljana: 1:0 HKO Pulli J. (03:25 / Logar M. ,Music A. / EQ), 2:0 HKO Music A. (16:02 / Ropret A. ,Pulli J. / EQ), 3:0 HKO Pesut Z. (16:26 / Simsic N. ,Vidmar L. / EQ), 4:0 HKO Pance Z. (28:16 / Pulli J. ,Holsa P. / EQ), 5:1 HKO Ropret A. (37:10 / Pance Z. ,Music A. / EQ), 6:2 HKO Simsic N. (51:09 / Pesut Z. / EQ), 7:3 HKO Vallerand M. (55:20 / Magovac A. ,Simsic N. / PP)
Goals Sterzing: 4:1 WSV Hannoun D. (28:46 / unassisted / EQ), 5:2 WSV Gander M. (44:34 / Mantinger M. ,Hackhofer F. / PP), 6:3 WSV Gander M. (54:15 / Gschnitzer T. / SH)

Photo: Vito De Romeo