Home wins at the start of the Pre-Playoffs

The EK Die Zeller Eisbären prevailed against the EHC Lustenau with 4:1. From the 19th minute and until the 38th minute, the guests from Lustenau were even in the lead thanks to a goal by Kevin Puschnik,. However, Zell am See was able to turn the game around in the middle period. First Aleksi Hämäläinen equalized in the 39th minute in the power play, before Henrik Neubauer scored one second before the end of the period in a double powerplay to make it 2:1. The Swede also increased the lead to 3:1 in the 49th minute, with Fabio Artner providing the final goal in a game that was evenly contested for long stretches with nine minutes remaining. If Lustenau fails to equalize the series on Thursday, the Vorarlberg side would miss the playoffs for only the third time.

Kitzbühel comes first playoff appearance closer
The EC Die Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel prevailed with 4:2 at home against the SHC Fassa Falcons in their Pre-Playoff opener, taking a big step closer to a first-ever quarterfinal appearance. Against the Italians, the Tyroleans set the tone from the start and already led 2:0 after the first period, with goals from Rok Kapel and Patrick Bolterle. After 24 minutes, Jannik Fröwis even increased to 3:0 for the Eagles, before Kris Pietroniro put the visitors on the scoreboard in the 26th minute. Again just five minutes later, Alfeo Deluca even managed to score the 2:3. A now very exciting match was finally decided by Kitzbühel in the 50th minute. Kevin Szabad scored in front of 560 fans to make the final score of 4:2.

Sterzing turns game around
With the Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan, the third home team was also victorious on Tuesday. The South Tyrolean side narrowly edged out the EC Bregenzerwald with 3:2 after trailing 1:2 until the 39th minute. Waltteri Lehtonen put the ECB on the winning track in the 19th minute, Markus Gander finally equalized in the 39th minute in the powerplay, before Shawn McBride provided the game-winner just under five minutes before the end of the game. Sterzing is now only one win away from a fourth playoff participation.

Alps Hockey League | 28.02.2023 |”best-of-3” Pre-Playoffs:
EK Die Zeller Eisbären – EHC Lustenau 4:1 (0:1, 2:0, 2:0)
Standings in the „best-of-three“ series: 1:0
Referees: BULOVEC, HLAVATY, Arlic, Voican. | Spectators: 1608
Goals EKZ: 1:1 Hämäläinen A. (39./PP1 Wilenius T. – Widen F.), 2:1 Neubauer H. (40./PP2 Akerman J. – Wilenius T.), 3:1 Neubauer H. (49. Wilenius T. – Müller L.), 4:1 Artner F. (51. Ban D. – Putnik P.)
Goal EHC: 0:1 Puschnik K. (19. Moosbrugger L. – Koczera P.)

Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan – EC Bregenzerwald 3:2 (1:2, 1:0, 1:0)
Standings in the „best-of-three“ series: 1:0
Referees: RUETZ, VIRTA, De Zordo, Seewald J. | Spectators: 302
Goals WSV: 1:1 Conci D. (17. Zecchetto A. – Jokinen J.), 2:2 Gander M. (39./PP1 Conci D. – Hackhofer F.), 3:2 McBride S. (55. Giftopoulos R. – Mizzi J.)
Goals ECB: 0:1 Tschofen M. (7. Fässler K. – Kandemir A.), 1:2 Lehtonen W. (19. Nyqvist J. – Lipsbergs R.)

EC Die Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel – SHC Fassa Falcons 4:2 (2:0, 1:2, 1:0)
Standings in the „best-of-three“ series: 1:0
Referees: LAZZERI, SCHAUER, Cristeli, Eisl. | Spectators: 560
Goals KEC: 1:0 Kapel R. (4. Urbanek M. – Kuronen J.), 2:0 Bolterle P. (19. Zolmanis S. – Kapel R.), 3:0 Fröwis J. (24./PP1 Bolterle P. – Hochfolzer H.), 4:2 Szabad K. (50. Zolmanis S. – Kapel R.)
Goals FAS: 3:1 Pietroniro K. (26. Pietroniro M.), 3:2 Deluca A. (31.)
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