Release from 21.04.2022

Asiago champion for the second time: Review of a special season

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Tuesday marked the end of the next season that was dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic. But despite numerous organizational challenges, the 2021/22 season was played and concluded almost as planned. Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey was crowned as champion of the Alps Hockey League for the second time in history of the AHL.

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In a dramatic final series, Asiago narrowly beat HDD SIJ Acroni Jesenice with 3:2. In the deciding game, the championship-winning goal was scored just 90 seconds before the end of the game. It was the second title for the Italians after 2018. Overall, it was their fourth appearance in the finals. Jesenice, in turn, reached the finals for the first time in history. The semifinal series also already brought a lot of excitement. Although both series ended with 3:1, in game four both Asiago and Jesenice prevailed only in overtime. In the end, AHL premiere champion Rittner Buam and EHC Lustenau failed to qualify for the finals. While the "Buam" made it into the Top-4 for the first time since 2018, it was the third semifinal appearance in a row for Lustenau.

Regular Season divided into two phases
On September 11th, the Alps Hockey started its sixth season. This was divided into two phases in the Regular Season. At the beginning, Phase 1 of the Regular Season determined six participants for the Master Round, which then played out the first four playoff tickets. After Phase 1 of the Regular Season, the remaining teams played in two Qualification Round groups to determine the remaining participants for the Pre-Playoffs.

Covid-19 forced switch to point average system
But unfortunately, not all games could be played as planned in the 2021/22 season. The Covid-19 pandemic was once again a constant companion. Across the whole season, numerous games had to be postponed and subsequently cancelled due to health precautions, which is why the BOG of the AHL decided to switch the standings from Regular Season 1 to a point average system. This step became necessary in order to continue to ensure the utmost fairness to all teams.

Asiago as top seeded team into the playoffs
Runner-up Jesenice finally finished Phase 1 of the Regular Season at the top, followed by Asiago. In addition, Ritten, Lustenau, Cortina and Fassa made it into the Top-6 and thus at least made the pre-playoff qualification clear. In the subsequent Master Round, Asiago came out on top, which is why the Italians started the playoffs as the top seeded team. In addition to the two-time AHL champion, Jesenice, Ritten and Lustenau also made it to the quarterfinals early. The remaining playoff participants were determined in the Pre-Playoffs.

The individual artists
League top scorer was Eric Pance of runner-up Jesenice with 81 points, followed by last year's MVP Brad McGowan, who scored 72 times for Gherdeina. The new MVP, Anthony Salinitri of champion Asiago, was also the top scorer in the Alps Hockey League. The Canadian scored a total of 32 goals. In the playoffs alone, the 24-year-old was successful eleven times. In goal, Marco De Filippo of quarterfinalist Cortina was most successful, with a save percentage of 93.5%. The 31-year-old kept a clean sheet in four games.

New teams ante portas
By the closing date Friday 15th, 16 active clubs have named for the 2022/23 season. With the Hockey Unterland Cavaliers (ITA) and the Hokejski Klub SLAVIJA Junior (SLO) two new teams have submitted a nomination for the upcoming seventh season. Until May 10th, the national federations from Austria, Italy and Slovenia now have to confirm the clubs' participation.

Copyright: Vito De Romeo