Ritten wins goal festival in top game

The fact that the duel between the Rittner Buam (1st) and Sterzing (5th) was not only a South Tyrolean derby, but also a top game in the Alps Hockey League, was clear from the start. Rittner struck in the first power play with a goal from birthday boy Kevin Fink. The hosts were immediately forced to play shorthanded and Sterzing responded with a 1:1 through Topatigh. The lively attacking spectacle continued: Ritten initially pulled away to 3:1, but the Broncos equalised again in the middle period. And so it continued, with Ritten taking a 4:3 and 5:4 lead, but James Livingston - who, like Ritten's Max Coatta, scored a brace - made it 5:5 in the 55th minute. No further goals were scored in the remaining time of regulation or in overtime, meaning the game had to go to a shootout. Only Szypula scored there, while Furlong saved all three attempts and secured the extra point for the Buam.

Victories for Austrian chasing trio
The EK Zeller Eisbären remain close behind Ritten. The Salzburg team had to make do without Philipp Mair, Alexander Lahoda, Max Stiegler, Max Zimmermann and Stephan Rossmann in Celje, but ultimately celebrated a 4:2 victory. Nick Huard opened the scoring in the second minute of the game, and a few moments later the 32-year-old Canadian was able to celebrate again - 0:2. The home side improved in the second period, but Zell am See scored again: Clemens Paulweber extended the lead. Mark Cepon reduced the deficit in double power play, but a second Paulweber goal decided the game.

The Red Bull Hockey Juniors defended third place with an 8:3 home win over Fassa. The Italians took an early two-goal lead in the first period but Salzburger turned it around to their favour with four unanswered first-period goals. In the middle frame, Alexander Rebernig increased the lead to 5:2 with his first goal in the Alps Hockey League, followed immediately by Paul Noll finding the back of the net. In the end, the Red Bulls celebrated their highest home win of the season.

EC Bregenzerwald remain equal on points with the Salzburg side in fourth place. Tupamäki's team clearly won the derby against Lustenau 5:1 in front of over 2,000 spectators. The powerplay was the decisive factor, as the home side scored three goals with a man advantage. Richard Schlögl opened the scoring in the eighth minute, and Erik Embrich even added two goals in numerical superiority. Bregenzerwald thus celebrated their eighth win in a row and took revenge for their defeat in the first derby of the season.

Jesenice and Cortina suffer defeats
In addition to Sterzing, Jesenice and Cortina also suffered defeats in the race for the top six. The reigning champions were beaten 1:6 at home by Val Gardena. The efficient South Tyroleans laid the foundation for victory with four goals in the first period. Anthony DeLuca scored in the 44th minute for the final result and also celebrated a hat-trick. Val Gardena have now won three of their last four away games in Jesenice. The Slovenians also dropped out of the top six, as Cortina picked up at least one point.

The AHL runners-up were beaten 3:4 at home by Unterland after overtime in a turbulent game. The visitors scored the first goal late in the opening period and, after trailing at one stage, regained the lead in the third. Cortina equalised 15 seconds before the end, but Aleksi Käyrä then scored while short-handed to give the Cavaliers the away win.

Kitzbühel holds its nerve, shutout for Steel Wings
EC Die Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel remains unbeaten against HC Meran this season: the Tyroleans snatched a narrow 5:4 victory on Tuesday evening. The visitors let a 4:1 lead slip from their grasp and the South Tyroleans equalised with three unanswered goals. However, the KEC struck again in the powerplay in a heated final phase, with Fritz Schröder scoring the final goal three minutes before the end of regulation.

As in the first game of the season, the Steel Wings also celebrated a shutout at home against the KAC Future Team. The Upper Austrians, who clearly set the tone in the first 40 minutes in particular, quickly took a 2:0 lead through Kilian Rappold and Sebastian Wilding. In the end, Linz won 4:0, with goalie Martin Reder recording 19 saves.

Alps Hockey League, 19.12.2023:
SIJ Acroni Jesenice - HC Gherdeina valgardena.it 1:6 (0:4,1:1,0:1)
Referees: BULOVEC, WIDMANN, Bergant, Puff
Goals 0:1 GHE Luisetti M. (04:12 / Schulze K. ,De Luca A. / PP), 0:2 GHE De Luca A. (12:47 / McGowan B. / EQ), 0:3 GHE Schulze K. (13:42 / Cristellon Y. ,Glück D. / EQ), 0:4 GHE De Luca A. (19:30 / McGowan B. / EQ), 0:5 GHE Schulze K. (23:40 / Moroder S. ,Alessio G. / EQ), 1:5 JES Cimzar T. (39:17 / unassisted / SH), 1:6 GHE De Luca A. (43:35 / McGowan B. / EQ)

HK RST Pellet Celje - EK Die Zeller Eisbären 2:4 (0:2,1:1,1:1)
Referees: MILOVANOVIC, WUNTSCHEK, Markizeti, Telesklav
Goals 0:1 EKZ Huard N. (01:03 / Ban D. ,Wilenius T. / EQ), 0:2 EKZ Huard N. (03:34 / Ban D. / EQ), 0:3 EKZ Paulweber C. (21:30 / Jennes C. ,Egger M. / EQ), 1:3 HKC Cepon M. (30:39 / Panasenko B. ,Sotlar J. / 5:3 PP), 1:4 EKZ Paulweber C. (43:29 / Altmann M. ,Alagic A. / PP), 2:4 HKC Freidenfelds R. (48:08 / Sotlar J. / EQ)

Red Bull Hockey Juniors - SHC Fassa Falcons 8:3 (4:2,2:0,2:1)
Referees: BROCK, MOIDL, Dieber, Matthey
Goals 0:1 FAS Selin S. (00:37 / Schiavone D. ,Biondi L. / EQ), 0:2 FAS Vigl A. (03:04 / Biondi L. ,Selin S. / EQ), 1:2 RBJ Ramoser J. (09:21 / Vinzens P. ,Murnieks D. / PP), 2:2 RBJ Myllymaa K. (13:49 / Zelenov V. ,Helander J. / EQ), 3:2 RBJ Myllymaa K. (15:09 / Hörl L. / PP), 4:2 RBJ Helander J. (17:50 / Kirchebner M. ,Zelenov V. / EQ), 5:2 RBJ Rebernig A. (25:11 / Myllymaa K. ,Zelenov V. / EQ), 6:2 RBJ Noll P. (26:30 / Ramoser J. / EQ), 6:3 FAS Schiavone D. (43:47 / Biondi L. / EQ), 7:3 RBJ Ramoser J. (45:45 / Noll P. / EQ), 8:3 RBJ Hörl L. (52:14 / Pul E. ,Ramoser J. / EQ)

Steel Wings LINZ AG - EC-KAC Future Team 4:0 (2:0,0:0,2:0)
Referees: HLAVATY, VOICAN, Legat, Weiss
Goals 1:0 SWL Rappold K. (06:17 / Sticha T. ,Feldbaumer M. / EQ), 2:0 SWL Wilding S. (13:36 / Maurer P. ,Söllinger P. / EQ), 3:0 SWL Aigner R. (42:24 / Grasser B. ,Mosaad B. / EQ), 4:0 SWL Saha M. (49:20 / Persson W. ,Theirich M. / EQ)

EC Bregenzerwald - EHC Lustenau 5:1 (2:1,1:0,2:0)
Referees: RUETZ, SCHAUER, Jäger, Rinker
Goals 1:0 ECB Schlögl R. (07:47 / Kulintsev D. ,Embrich E. / PP), 1:1 EHC Wilfan M. (10:35 / Alasaari F. ,Öhrvall H. / EQ), 2:1 ECB Erne L. (12:53 / unassisted / EQ), 3:1 ECB Embrich E. (28:47 / Lipsbergs R. ,Kulintsev D. / PP), 4:1 ECB Ranftl F. (47:27 / Wempe L. ,Schlögl R. / EQ), 5:1 ECB Embrich E. (55:36 / Lipsbergs R. ,Tschofen M. / 5:3 PP)

Rittner Buam SkyAlps - Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan 6:5 SO (3:2,2:2,0:1,0:0,1:0)
Referees: MOSCHEN, PINIE, Brondi, De Zordo
Goals 1:0 RIT Fink K. (01:39 / Coatta M. / PP), 1:1 WSV Topatigh D. (03:08 / Gschliesser F. / PP), 2:1 RIT Kostner J. (06:51 / Lobis A. ,Spinell M. / EQ), 3:1 RIT Coatta M. (07:00 / Szypula E. ,Tauferer D. / EQ), 3:2 WSV Soraruf D. (08:29 / Capannelli A. ,Gschliesser F. / EQ), 3:3 WSV Livingston J. (24:44 / Topatigh D. ,Cianfrone B. / PP), 4:3 RIT Coatta M. (26:29 / Amorosa T. ,Lobis A. / 5:3 PP), 4:4 WSV Cianfrone B. (29:17 / Topatigh D. ,Niccolai A. / EQ), 5:4 RIT Lobis A. (39:44 / Szypula E. / 5:3 PP), 5:5 WSV Livingston J. (54:24 / Capannelli A. ,Niccolai A. / PP), 6:5 RIT Szypula E. (65:00 / GWS)

S.G. Cortina Hafro - Hockey Unterland Cavaliers 3:4 OT (0:1,2:1,1:1,0:1)
Referees: BENVEGNU, GIACOMOZZI, Cristeli, Formaioni
Goals 0:1 HCU Nyman L. (19:22 / Hällfors E. ,Käyrä A. / PP), 1:1 SGC Lacedelli R. (23:12 / Lacedelli G. ,Di Tomaso G. / EQ), 2:1 SGC De Zanna R. (28:47 / Adami F. ,Traversa T. / PP), 2:2 HCU Galassiti G. (38:02 / Zerbetto G. / EQ), 2:3 HCU Girardi D. (51:45 / Hällfors E. ,Nyman L. / PP), 3:3 SGC Carozza M. (59:45 / Juhola J. ,Seed J. / EQ), 3:4 HCU Käyrä A. (60:34 / Sullmann A. / SH)

HC Meran/o Pircher - EC Die Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel 4:5 (1:2,1:2,2:1)
Referees: LEGA, F. RIVIS, A. Rivis, Vignolo
Goals 0:1 KEC Seto C. (15:48 / Maxa A. ,Rotter R. / EQ), 0:2 KEC Lehtonen W. (16:35 / Niemelä J. ,Urbanek M. / PP), 1:2 HCM Ritchie N. (18:39 / Anderson C. ,Borgatello C. / PP), 1:3 KEC Seto C. (27:34 / Rotter R. ,Matzka M. / EQ), 1:4 KEC Maxa A. (32:26 / Seto C. ,Rotter R. / EQ), 2:4 HCM Garreffa J. (38:28 / Ritchie N. ,Borgatello C. / EQ), 3:4 HCM Anderson C. (43:01 / Gellon D. ,Ritchie N. / EQ), 4:4 HCM Thaler S. (53:46 / Borgatello C. ,Ghiglione D. / EQ), 4:5 KEC Schröder F. (56:58 / Lehtonen W. ,Podlipnik M. / EQ)

Photo: Max Pattis