Juniors back on top of the standings | Battle for 5th place goes down to the final weekend

The Red Bull Hockey Juniors recorded a 6:2 home win against EC Bregenzerwald, returning to the top of the standings and now needing just one point in their final game against Unterland to secure first place. With one game remaining in the regular season, Bregenzerwald sit in sixth place only one point behind fifth and still have a chance to qualify early for the playoffs. On the final matchday, the Vorarlberg team will host fourth-placed Asiago. Bregenzerwald initially took the lead in Salzburg, but by the 30th minute the hosts had pulled ahead 3:1. Less than 30 seconds later, the visitors cut the deficit to 2:3. The Juniors then added three more goals and celebrated a convincing home victory. Lukas Greil was the only player to score twice. In their third meeting of the season, it was the Juniors’ third win by a margin of four goals.

Clear home defeat for Kitzbühel against Sisak
Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel lost 2:5 at home to KHL Sisak. The Croatians remain in third place, six points behind league leaders Salzburg, and still have a slim chance of finishing the regular season in first place, as they still have two games to play. Kitzbühel remain fifth, with a one-point advantage over Bregenzerwald, two points ahead of Ritten and three points ahead of Sterzing. The latter still have two away games in Sisak to play, while Kitzbühel will travel to Jesenice in their final match, Ritten will host Cortina, and Bregenzerwald will face Asiago. In front of nearly 1,100 spectators, Kitzbühel started well against Sisak. In the third minute, Lukas Waschnig gave the hosts the lead, but just 15 seconds later Sisak equalized. In the 13th minute, the visitors took the lead and never relinquished it. They made it 2:1 in the second period and extended their advantage to 5:1 by the 47th minute of the final period, before Kitzbühel scored a late consolation goal five minutes from the end. In their sixth head-to-head meeting, it was Sisak’s sixth victory.

Sterzing rallies against Ritten and stays in the Top 5 race
Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan claimed a 4:3 overtime home win in the derby against Rittner Buam SkyAlps after trailing 0:2 and 1:3 earlier in the game. In the standings, the Broncos are eighth and now only three points behind fifth-placed Kitzbühel, while still having two games left to play in Sisak. The other teams competing for fifth place will each play only once more. Ritten suffered their third straight defeat and are now seventh, two points behind fifth-placed Kitzbühel, leaving them with slim hopes of reaching the Master Round. The game against Sterzing started perfectly for Ritten: they led 2:0 after eleven minutes and were ahead 3:1 after 28 minutes. However, Sterzing equalized with goals in the 38th and 41st minutes, forcing overtime. There, Bryson Cianfrone scored the game-winning goal after having already netted the 3:3 equalizer earlier.

Meran surprises Zell am See
EK Die Zeller Eisbären suffered a surprising 1:4 defeat at HC Meran/o Pircher, eliminating their chances of finishing the regular season in first place. It was Zell am See’s final game of the regular season, leaving them three points behind league leaders Salzburg. Meran is in eleventh place. Rasmus Nousiainen was named player of the game with two goals, while goaltender Andreas Bernard impressed with 32 saves. After 40 minutes, the South Tyroleans were already leading 3:0, and Zell am See scored their only goal four minutes before the end.

Home wins for Cortina and Gherdëina
Moreover, S.G. Cortina Hafro and HC Gherdeina valgardena.it were victorious in front of their home fans. Cortina defeated HDD Jesenice 4:1, while Gherdëina narrowly beat Hockey Unterland Cavaliers 3:2 in a shootout. Cortina remain ninth in the standings, followed by Gherdëina in tenth place.

Alps Hockey League
Thu, 29.01.2026
Red Bull Hockey Juniors - EC Bregenzerwald 6:2 (2:1, 2:1, 2:0)
Referees: HLAVATY, OREL, Wucherer, Zacherl
Goals RBJ: 1:1 Eliseev M. (11./PP1), 2:1 Greil L. (16.), 3:1 Gesson A. (30.), 4:2 Maul N. (35./PP1), 5:2 Greil L. (43./PP1), 6:2 Korhonen N. (56.)
Goals ECB: 0:1 Lipsbergs R. (4.), 3:2 Posch B. (30.)

Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel - KHL Sisak 2:5 (1:2, 0:1, 1:2)
Referees: HUBER, UNTERWEGER, Rinker, Wendner
Goals KEC: 1:0 Waschnig L. (4.), 2:5 Wetzl N. (55.)
Goals SIS: 1:1 Larionovs D. (4.), 1:2 Cavlovic N. (13.), 1:3 Puzic I. (35.), 1:4 Yeob K. (42.), 1:5 Dumcius M. (47./PP1)

Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan - Rittner Buam SkyAlps 4:3/OT (0:2, 2:1, 1:0, 1:0)
Referees: GIACOMOZZI, RIVIS, Ilmer, Rivis
Goals WSV: 1:2 Rämö J. (26./PP1), 2:3 Soraruf D. (38.), 3:3 Cianfrone B. (41.), 4:3 Cianfrone B. (62./OT)
Goals RIT: 0:1 Fink K. (6.), 0:2 Welychka B. (11./PP1), 1:3 Alderson B. (28./PP2)

HC Gherdeina valgardena.it Hockey Unterland Cavaliers 3:2/SO (1:0, 1:1, 0:1, 0:0)
Referees: LAZZERI, PINIE, Abeltino, Brondi
Goals GHE: 1:0 Guimond S. (8.), 2:1 Moncada L. (25.), 3:2 Dostalek V. (65./PS)
Goals HCU: 1:1 Pisetta V. (22.), 2:2 Galimberti T. (48.)

S.G. Cortina Hafro - HDD Jesenice 4:1 (2:0, 1:1, 1:0)
Referees: LEBEN, MOSCHEN, Cristeli, Cusin
Goals SGC: 1:0 Remolato N. (6.), 2:0 Sanna M. (20.), 3:1 Pietroniro C. (33.), 4:1 Toffoli G. (47.)
Goal JES: 2:1 Koblar G. (27./PP1)

HC Meran/o Pircher - EK Die Zeller Eisbären 4:1 (1:0, 2:0, 1:1)
Referees: BULOVEC, METZINGER, Fleischmann, Markizeti
Goals HCM: 1:0 Nousiainen R. (18.), 2:0 Cruseman F. (36./PP1), 3:0 Nousiainen R. (37.), 4:1 Fuchs J. (58./EN)
Goal EKZ: 3:1 Huard N. (57.)

Copyright: Red Bull Eishockey Akademie / Manuel Mackinge