Release from 29.03.2025

Jesenice and Zell am See secure match pucks

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HDD SIJ Acroni Jesenice also won the third game of the semi-final series against the Rittner Buam SkyAlps. The Slovenians prevailed 4:3 away from home after overtime on Saturday. The EK Zeller Eisbären also made it 3:0 with a 4:1 home win over the Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan. The two teams from Slovenia and Austria can advance to the final on Tuesday.

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Jesenice got off to the better start and were able to celebrate for the first time in the fourth minute. Urukalo set up Valtola, who had no trouble slotting into the Ritten goal from an acute angle. The game remained hard-fought from then on, with Jesenice having a slight advantage. However, the hosts equalised in the 12th minute. In the first powerplay of the encounter, Szypula fed the free-standing Insam, who netted to make it 1:1. The pace remained high in the second period. Robert Öhler scored from one of the few opportunities to make it 2:1 (32') when he deflected a Madsen shot unstoppably. The Rittner Buam thus took the lead for the first time in this series against Jesenice. In the 48th minute, the fans in the Ritten Arena were delighted to see Ethan Szypula make ice hockey history by scoring 3:1. It was his 100th point in the current season in the Alps Hockey League. The visitors reduced the deficit to 2:3 six minutes before the end of the third period when Prostor converted a rebound. It got even better for the Slovenians, as they equalised through Brus 106 seconds before the siren. So, as in Game 1 of the semi-final series, the match went into overtime. Both teams tried their luck with offensive hockey - and Jesenice had the better end. After 65.20 minutes, Slibar scored the goal to make it 4:3; game 4 will be played in Jesenice on Tuesday.

The home side also celebrated their third win in front of over 2,500 fans in Zell am See. The Pinzgau team took the lead in the seventh minute when Hubert Berger finished off a nice combination on power play with a shot into the corner. The Polar Bears went into the first break with this narrow lead. After the restart, the visitors had more of the play but were unable to capitalise on their chances. Zell am See proved to be more efficient and made it 2:0 in the 33rd minute, with Aljaz Predan scoring with a precise shot shortly after winning a face-off. The preliminary decision followed early in the third period, with Max Wilfan scoring the next goal in double power play - he kept his nerve in front of Sterzing goalie Groh. In the final minutes, Bryson Cianfrone reduced the deficit with a powerplay goal, but it was no longer enough for a comeback. Predan scored an empty netter to make the final score 4:1. The Austrians remain unbeaten in the current playoffs and can advance to the final in Sterzing on Tuesday.

Alps Hockey League:
Saturday, 29.03.2025:
Rittner Buam SkyAlps - SIJ Acroni Jesenice 3:4 OT (1:1,1:0,1:2,0:1)
Referees: OREL, SNOJ, Fleischmann, Wucherer.
Goals 0:1 JES Valtola O. (03:15 / Urukalo Z. ,Sturm J. / EQ), 1:1 RIT Insam M. (11:38 / Szypula E. ,Öhler M. / PP), 2:1 RIT Öhler R. (31:41 / Larsen M. / EQ), 3:1 RIT Szypula E. (47:27 / Kostner S. / EQ), 3:2 JES Prostor A. (53:56 / Selan M. ,Sturm J. / EQ), 3:3 JES Brus N. (58:14 / Slivnik L. ,Sturm J. / PP), 3:4 JES Slibar O. (65:20 / Svetina E. ,Selan M. / EQ)
Score in the "best-of-7" series 0:3

EK Die Zeller Eisbären - Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan 4:1 (1:0,1:0,2:1)
Referees: BULOVEC, HLAVATY, Markizeti, Rinker.
Goals 1:0 EKZ Berger H. (06:13 / Huard N. ,Rappold K. / PP), 2:0 EKZ Predan A. (32:50 / Wilfan M. ,Cuma T. / EQ), 3:0 EKZ Wilfan M. (43:43 / Berger H. ,Predan A. / 5:3 PP), 3:1 WSV Cianfrone B. (56:16 / Capannelli A. ,Hackhofer F. / PP), 4:1 EKZ Predan A. (57:24 / Wilfan M. ,Widhalm L. / EN)
Score in the "best-of-7" series 3:0

Photo: Max Pattis