Release from 21.02.2025

Showdown in the Qualification Round: The last pre-playoff spots will be awarded

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The last games of the Alps Hockey League qualification round are scheduled for this weekend. After that, it will be clear which six teams will fight for the remaining three quarter-final tickets in the pre-playoffs. With HC Meran/o Pircher, Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan, HK RST Pellet Celje and KHL Sisak, four teams have already qualified for the pre-playoffs. In the Master Round, meanwhile, third-placed SIJ Acroni Jesenice will face leaders EK Die Zeller Eisbären, while Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel will take on Rittner Buam SkyAlps.

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In the Master Round, undefeated league leaders EK Die Zeller Eisbären will play at third-placed SIJ Acroni Jesenice. The two teams are separated by seven points. Zell am See has been unbeaten in nine league games, while Jesenice has won two of its last five games. On Thursday, the Slovenians prevailed 3:2/SO in Kitzbühel, while the “Polar Bears” were free from play. In the first meeting of the Master Round, Salzburg celebrated a 4:3/SO home win. In the first phase of the regular season, they won in two of three duels against Jesenice.

In the second game of the Master Round, fourth-placed Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel face second-placed Rittner Buam SkyAlps. The visitors from South Tyrol are currently two points ahead of the Tyroleans with eight points and are seven points behind leaders Zell am See. On Thursday, Kitzbühel narrowly lost to Jesenice 2:3/SO - their second defeat in a row. Ritten, on the other hand, clearly beat Cortina 5:1 and celebrated their first victory after two defeats in a row. In the last head-to-head duel, the “Buam” kept the upper hand in a high-scoring game with 6:5/OT. However, Kitzbühel won in two of the other three duels this season.

Long-distance duels for first and third place in Qualification Round A
In Qualification Round A, HC Meran/o Pircher leads the table ahead of the final matchday with a two-point advantage over the Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan. Merano will face HC Gherdeina valgardena.it at home, while Vipiteno will play at the Red Bull Hockey Juniors. The battle for the final pre-playoff spot is also still wide open. Both Val Gardena and the Juniors are currently on four points. If they were tied on points, Val Gardena would finish the qualification round ahead of Salzburg and qualify for the pre-playoffs, as they won the direct duel.

In the race for first place, the Broncos need to pick up three points more than Meran to take over the top spot. However, the “Eagles” are in outstanding form and have won all five games so far. Opponents Val Gardena, on the other hand, have only won their opening game and have lost all of their four matches against Merano this season.

The Juniors, on the other hand, celebrated their first win on Thursday after four defeats in a row. Although the Broncos were beaten twice by Merano, they won all their other games. They have won all four duels against the Juniors so far this season.

Doubleheader between Bregenzerwald and Sisak in Qualification Round B
In Qualification Round B, two teams - HK RST Pellet Celje and KHL Sisak - have also already qualified for the pre-playoffs. The Slovenians are currently one point ahead of the Croatians with ten points. However, Sisak still has two games to play, while Celje will conclude the qualification round with a home game against the Hockey Unterland Cavaliers on Saturday.

The Cavaliers currently occupy fourth place and are two points behind third-placed EC Bregenzerwald. The South Tyroleans therefore urgently need a win to keep their chances of reaching the pre-playoffs alive. They have won two out of four encounters against Celje this season, but most recently lost 1:2/SO at home.

EC Bregenzerwald will face Sisak twice this weekend. In the first phase of the Regular Season, they lost two out of three encounters against the Croatians. Should Unterland celebrate a complete success against Celje on Saturday, the Vorarlberg team would have to pick up at least two points from their two games against Sisak in order to qualify for the pre-playoffs. If Unterland wins after overtime/penalty shootout, ECB will need one point from both games.

Alps Hockey League:
Samstag, 22.02.2025:
Master Round:
18:00 Uhr: SIJ Acroni Jesenice – EK Die Zeller Eisbären
Referees: BROCK, RUETZ, Rinker, Wendner. | >> valcome.tv <<

19:30 Uhr: Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel – Rittner Buam SkyAlps
Referees: KAINBERGER, SNOJ, Jeram, Seewald J. | >> valcome.tv <<

Qualification Round A:
19:15 Uhr: Red Bull Hockey Juniors – Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan
Referees: HOLZER, SPIEGEL, Divis, Jäger. | >> valcome.tv <<

19:30 Uhr: HC Meran/o Pircher – HC Gherdeina valgardena.it
Referees: MOSCHEN, RIVIS, Fecchio, Formaioni. | >> valcome.tv <<

Qualification Round B:
18:00 Uhr: HK RST Pellet Celje – Hockey Unterland Cavaliers
Referees: LEBEN, LESNIAK, Javornik, Knez. | >> valcome.tv <<

19:30 Uhr: EC Bregenzerwald – KHL Sisak
Referees: HUBER R., OREL, Strimitzer, Wucherer. | >> valcome.tv <<

Sonntag, 23.02.2025:
Qualification Round B:
17:30 Uhr: EC Bregenzerwald – KHL Sisak
Referees: LAZZERI, LEGA, Cusin, Grisenti. | >> valcome.tv <<