Release from 07.04.2023

Finals opener between Jesenice and Cortina

Short text 252 CharactersPlain text

The first final game in the Alps Hockey League between HDD SIJ Acroni Jesenice and Hafro Cortina Hockey will take place on Saturday. The Slovenians are still undefeated in the playoffs. The teams have met four times this season with both winning twice.

Press release 1509 CharactersPlain text

Alps Hockey League, 1st final game:
Sat, 08.04.2023, 18:00: HDD SIJ Acroni Jesenice - S.G. Cortina Hafro
Referees: BULOVEC, LAZZERI, Arlic, Fleischmann | >> PPV-LIVESTREAM <<

Jesenice had to wait over a week for their opponent in the final. The Slovenians fixed their promotion with a win at Rittner Buam on March 28, it was already their second "sweep" in the current playoffs. Cortina earned the final ticket on Thursday with a 4:3 victory at Red Bull Hockey Juniors - it was the fifth away win en suite in this series. While the Italians are in the AHL final for the first time, it is the second appearance for head coach Gaber Glavic's team. Last year, the Slovenians were narrowly defeated by Asiago, losing 1:4 in the first game. This time the "Steelers" start with the home advantage in the "best-of-7" series. And especially at home Jesenice presented itself strong this season, winning 19 of 22 games. However, they did suffer one home defeat against Cortina, and in the four duels so far this season, they have won two each. The Italian champions have won four of their last five road games. With Diego Cuglietta (16 points), Tommaso Traversa, Riccardo Lacedelli and Mikael Saha, four Cortina players are at the top of the playoff scorer rankings. They face the strongest defense of the season, in eight playoff games the Slovenians conceded only six goals. Goalie Antti Karjalainen, who was voted MVP, has a .977 save percentage in the postseason.