Release from 13.09.2019

Nine games to start the fourth AHL-season

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With a record number of nine games the fourth Alps Hockey League season will be started on Saturday. The first puck of the new season will be dropped at defending Champion HK SZ Olimpja Ljubljana against the EC-KAC II. The two new teams Vienna Capitals Silver and Steel Wings Linz will open their first AHL-season at home.

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18 teams go in the title race as nine Austrian, seven Italian and the two Slovenian clubs of last season confirmed their participation for the 2019-20 Alps Hockey League campaign. With Steel Wings Linz and Vienna Capitals Silver two new teams in the east joined the league. The defending champ opens the Season in the home rink against KAC II. Recently the Slovenians showed, that they already hot again, winning the Slovenian Cup. The KAC II ended the last season on the 15th place.

The Vienna Capitals Silver will have their first ever AHL-game at home against the WSV Sterzing Broncos. The new team of the Caps is a composition of well experienced players and young talents, which had already their first successes in preseason. The Broncos ended last season on the 10th place and aim to have a positive start against the new team.

The second new team has a tough opponent to start the new challenge. The Steel Wings Linz are hosting HDD SIJ Acroni Jesenice, who reached the semifinals in every year of Alps Hockey League. The Steel Wings Linz are the youngest team of the league but also Jesenice made a cut in this summer, focusing on young Slovenian players.

Talking about young teams there is to mention the Red Bull Hockey Juniors. The Juniors ended the past season on the fifths place having their best season in AHL. The Juniors have their opener in a Salzburg-Derby against EK Zeller Eisbären. Salzburg won the past five duels against Zell, the last one was in March, when the Hockey Juniors celebrated a 11:1 success. This is the only Austrian duel at the season start.

The only Italian duel will be played between Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey and SHC Fassa Falcons. Asiago is heading with new head coach Barry Smith into the new season. The US-American is already NHL experienced as assistant coach of the Vancouver Canucks. The Falcons rely on their recent head coach Teppo Kivelä

Another experienced head coach is Christian Weber, who will go in his second full season with Lustenau. His first full season was the most successful for Lustenau. With Ritten as season opener it will be tough start. Ritten didn’t change much this summer. The last years Assistant Coach took the duties of the former head coach and will go with the same core players into the new season.

The VEU Feldkirch is going with a mixture of experienced and young players into the new season hosting the vice champ in their first game. The HC Pustertal dominated the regular season but had to take tough finals defeat last season. The wolves aim to start another successful regular season.

The EC Stadtwerke Kitzbühel and the HC Gherdeina played on even level past season ending on the places 12th and 11th. But in direct duels Kitzbühel won the last five duels. Gherdeina is aiming to book their first win since 2016 against the Adler. In preseason the team of Neo-Headcoach Erwin Kostner struggled a bit with no win in seven games. Kostner won already the AHL-trophy in the premiere season with the Rittner Buam.

The EC Bregenzerwald and the S.G. Cortina Hafro make the first round full. The last four duels of these two teams went to Cortina.

Alps Hockey League:

Saturday, 14.09.2019, first round regular season:
17:30 HK SZ Olimpija Ljubljana - EC KAC II
Referees: LESNIAK, OREL, Holzner, Miklic

18:30 Vienna Capitals Silver - WSV Sterzing Broncos Weihenstephan
Referees: FICHTNER, LOICHT, Marchadt, Riecken

19:00 Steel Wings Linz - HDD SIJ Acroni Jesenice
Referees: LENDL, WIDMANN, Bedynek, Moidl

19:30 EHC Lustenau - Rittner Buam
Referees: SUPPER, WALLNER, Martin, Wimmler

19:30 VEU Feldkirch - HC Pustertal Wölfe
Referees: FAJDIGA, RUETZ, Rinker, Snoj

19:30 EC 'Die Adler' Stadtwerke Kitzbühel - HC Gherdeina valgardena.it
Referees: BRUNNER, KELLNER, Kainberger, Riesinger

19:30 EK Die Zeller Eisbären - Red Bull Hockey Juniors
Referees: BULOVEC, REZEK, Legat, Weiss

19:30 EC Bregenzerwald - S.G. Cortina Hafro
Referees: BAJT, SCHAUER, Bergant, Javornik

19:30 Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey - SHC Fassa Falcons
Referees: LAZZERI, PINIE, Basso, De Zordo