Master Round opens on Thursday

Alps Hockey League, Master Round:
Th, 13.02.2020, 7.15 pm: HK SZ Olimpija Ljubljana – HDD SIJ Acroni Jesenice
Referees: FICHTNER, RUETZ, Legat, Rinker.
With two days more to rest, the Master Round in the Alps Hockey League opens with the Slovenian derby as the HK SZ Olimpija Ljubljana hosts HDD SIJ Acroni Jesenice. While the reigning champion, which is supported by four bonus points in the race to be top-ranked in the playoffs, had to take the last defeat after regulation on November 30th (3:7 at RBJ), the challenger arrives after ten consecutive wins. The “dragons” won both season encounter, as they booked a tight one after shootout in the first meeting and a clear-cut win in the second (7:0). With 18 (HKO) resp. 19 (JES) powerplay goals against both teams led the charts in phase one of the regular season. In the AHL competition Ljubljana won the past six derbies in a row, as Jesenice grabbed the last victory on March 13th back in 2018.

• Winning-Streak JES: 10
• H2H AHL: 7:9 (JES)

Th, 13.02.2020, 8.00 pm: Rittner Buam – Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey
Referees: LAZZERI, MOSCHEN, Bedana, Piras.
Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey heads into the Master Round after winning the Italian championship for the sixth time in club’s history during the IIHF break. On the first gameday in the race for home advantage in the playoffs and the pick right after the intermediate round, they meet the Rittner Buam, which won the Scudetto in the past four years. Lately, in the semifinals for the Italian championship Asiago turned around the best-of-3 series. Both teams finished the regular season phase one with a three game winning streaks. The season encounters were won by Ritten, with Alex Frei scoring a hat trick each. While Ritten has the best powerplay available (33,6%), Asiago struggled one man down (72,7%).

• Winning-Streak RIT: 3
• Winning-Streak ASH: 3
• H2H AHL: 14:10 (RIT)

Th, 13.02.2020, 8.00 pm: HC Pustertal Wölfe – S.G. Cortina Hafro
Referees: GIACOMOZZI F., WALLNER, Cristeli, Huber J..
After losing the final series in the Italian championship the HC Pustertal Wölfe take on S.G. Cortina Hafro in its Mater Round home opener. They met each other in the semifinal series of the Scudetto with the “wolves” advancing to the final. In both home games Pustertal’s Colin Furlong celebrated a shutout, as he was the best netminder in phase one of the regular season too, saving 93,0%. At home Pustertal has a six-game point streak available, while Cortina celebrated its first road win after regulation on December 23rd, followed by four straight wins after OT resp. SO. Both previous season meetings in the AHL were won by the “wolves” with Max Oberrauch scoring in both games.

• Winning-Streak PUS: 3
• H2H AHL: 15:6 PUS

Alps Hockey League, Qualification Round A:
Th, 13.02.2020, 7.00 pm: Vienna Capitals Silver – Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan
Referees: LESNIAK, LOICHT, Bedynek, Weiss.
The Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan hit the road at Vienna Capitals Silver, after the Sterzing side took the lead in Qualification Round A on the first gameday thanks to a 4:1 win against Klagenfurt. Host Vienna suffered a 2:5 defeat at the Red Bull Hockey Juniors. With the opening win the “Broncos” extended their winning streak to five and announced the contract extension of head coach Dustin Whitecotton, who remains for two more years. The South Tyrolean won both meetings in the regular season phase one against leagues newcomer.

• Losing-Streak VCS: 4
• Winning-Streak WSV: 5
• H2H AHL: 0:2 (WSV)

Th, 13.02.2020, 8.30 pm: HC Gherdeina valgardena.it – Red Bull Hockey Juniors
Referees: FAJDIGA, STEFENELLI, Mantovani, Miklic.
The HC Gherdeina valgardena.it and the Red Bull Hockey Juniors each opened the Qualification Round A with a win. While the South Tyrolean delivered an upset at top-ranked EHC Lustenau, the Salzburg side defended its winning streak on home ice. They faced each other for the last time on the final gameday of regular season phase one, as Salzburg won 4:1 to grab the third consecutive win against Gherdeina.

• Winning-Streak RBJ: 2
• H2H AHL: 4:6 (RBJ)

Fr, 14.02.2020, 7.00 pm: EC-KAC II – EHC Lustenau
Referees: BAJT, PODLESNIK, Bergant, Holzer.
On Friday, the EC-KAC II and the EHC Lustenau each look for the first win in Qualification Round B. The Vorarlberg side, which dropped to fourth place in standings, remains unbeaten in any meeting with the Klagenfurt side, winning all eight previous encounters.

• Losing-Streak KA2: 4
• H2H AHL: 0:8 (EHC)

Alps Hockey League, Qualification Round B:
Th, 13.02.2020, 7.00 pm: Steel Wings Linz – EC “Die Adler” Stadtwerke Kitzbühel
Referees: OREL, WIDMANN, Matthey, Schweighofer.
The second gameday of Qualification Round B opens with two unsuccessful teams facing each other, as league’s newcomer Steel Wings Linz hosts EC “Die Adler” Stadtwerke Kitzbühel. Both had to concede six goals against on Tuesday. While the Upper Austrians remains without a win for 30 games, the Tyrolese lost for the second time in a row.

• Losing-Streak SWL: 30
• Losing-Streak KEC: 2
• H2H AHL: 0:2 (KEC)

Th, 13.02.2020, 7.30 pm: EK Die Zeller Eisbären – VEU Feldkirch
Referees: DURCHNER, KUMMER, Marchardt, Riecken.
In the game between EK Die Zeller Eisbären against the VEU Feldkirch both chaser of leader Fassa in Qualification Round B play each other. Both snatched up wins on the opening gameday to trail one (VEU) resp. two (EKZ) points in standings. Feldkirch won the past three duels against Zell am See, recording a 9:1 in the last meeting with Puschnik and Gehringer scoring a brace. The “polar bears” have a seven game point streak available on home ice, losing for the last time after regulation on December 14th.

• H2H AHL: 3:7 (VEU)

Th, 13.02.2020, 8.15 pm: EC Bregenzerwald – SHC Fassa Falcons
Referees: GAMPER, HUBER A., De Zordo, Slaviero.
Bottom-placed EC Bregenzerwald, which lost the opener without a goal scoring in Feldkirch, hosts leader SHC Fassa Falcons, after the Italians defeated Kitzbühel on Tuesday. Fassa won both season meetings with the “Wälder”, which struggled on the offensive end, scoring only four goals in the last five games. The “falcons” need to step up on the road, as they won only one out of five lately.

• Losing-Streak ECB: 2
• H2H AHL: 4:6 (FAS)