Juniors, Ritten and Cortina complete the semifinals

Red Bull Hockey Juniors are in the semifinals again
The Red Bull Hockey Juniors beat the Hockey Unterland Cavaliers 4:0 in game five to reach the semifinals of the Alps Hockey League for the second time in a row. Last season, the Juniors narrowly lost 3:4 to Cortina in the semifinals, and they will face the Italians in the semifinals again this year. It was their third home win in the series against Unterland. Vasily Zelenov put the Young Bulls ahead in the 19th minute. In the second period, Daniels Murnieks and Julius Ramoser increased the lead to 3:0 for the home side. Philipp Krening provided the final decision and the final score in the 48th minute. Juniors goalkeeper Simon Wolf celebrated his first shutout in the series. It was the fifth time he has kept a clean sheet this season.

Ritten defeats Bregenzerwald and advances to the semifinals
Regular season champion Rittner Buam SkyAlps also punched their ticket to the semifinals in game five. The South Tyroleans narrowly beat the EC Bregenzerwald 4:3 in an entertaining game. The visitors from Vorarlberg were 2:1 and 3:2 ahead in the meantime. In the end, it was Robert Öhler who scored the game-winner for the "Buam" seven minutes before the end of the game, putting the AHL premiere champion in the semifinals for the third time in a row. The player of the game besides the golden goal scorer was Ethan Szypula, who scored both the 1:0 and the 2:2. In the semifinals, Ritten will face semifinal newcomer Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan, who beat Zell am See 4:0.

Cortina completes semifinals
The favorites also prevailed in the third game of the day. S.G. Cortina turned a 1:2 at home against HC Meran/o Pircher into a 3:2 victory and is therefore the fourth and last team to reach the semifinals. As in the previous season, the Italians will face the Red Bull Hockey Juniors in the semifinals. On their way to the final, they only defeated the Austrians in the deciding game. Cortina first took the lead against Merano in the seventh minute, but the "Eagles" promptly equalized just a minute and a half later. After the visitors scored in the 32nd minute to make it 2:1, Diego Cuglietta equalized the game in the 38th minute in the power play. Cortina's first goal was also in the powerplay. Riccardo Lacedelli scored the game-winner in the 47th minute.

Semifinals start on Tuesday, March 19
The semifinals kick off on Tuesday, March 19. The Rittner Buam SkyAlps open the "best-of-7" series against the Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan with a home game. Last year's finalists S.G. Cortina Hafro will also open against the Red Bull Hockey Juniors in front of the home crowd.

Alps Hockey League | 14.03.2024 | Viertelfinale 5:
Red Bull Hockey Juniors – Hockey Unterland Cavaliers 4:0 (1:0, 2:0, 1:0)
Schiedsrichter: BAJT, HLAVATY, Arlic, Eisl | Spectators: 120
„best-of-7“: 4:1
Goals RBJ: 1:0 Zelenov V. (19. Myllymaa K. – Steffler D.), 2:0 Murnieks D. (32. Zelenov V. – Ramoser J.), 3:0 Ramoser J. (37. Wimmer P. – Krening P.), 4:0 Krening P. (48. Ramoser J. – Murnieks D.)

Rittner Buam SkyAlps – EC Bregenzerwald 4:3 (1:1, 1:2, 2:0)
Schiedsrichter: SCHAUER, VIRTA, Fleischmann, Rinker | Spectators: 382
„best-of-7“: 4:1
Goals RIT: 1:0 Szypula E. (1. Amorosa T. – Insam M.), 2:2 Szypula E. (34. Marzolini M. – Coatta M.), 3:3 Hjorth E. (48./PP1 Amorosa T. – Szypula E.), 4:3 Öhler R. (54. Prast J. – Amorosa T.)
Goals ECB: 1:1 Pöschmann P. (16. Wempe L. – Erne L.), 1:2 Metzler M. (22. Pöschmann P.), 2:3 Tschofen M. (38. Embrich E. – Lipsbergs R.)

S.G. Cortina Hafro – HC Meran/o Pircher 3:2 (1:1, 1:1, 1:0)
Schiedsrichter: OREL, REZEK, Bergant, Puff | Spectators: 600
„best-of-7“: 4:1
Goals SGC: 1:0 Juhola J. (7./PP1 Zanatta L. – Cuglietta D.), 2:2 Cuglietta D. (38./PP1 Di Tomaso G. – Lacedelli R.), 3:2 Lacedelli R. (47. Doherty D. – Parini G.)
Goals HCM: 1:1 Thaler S. (8. Bogatello C. – Beber P.), 1:2 Garreffa J. (32. Bogatello C.)