Release from 06.03.2023

Three quarterfinal series start on Tuesday

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Today, the quarterfinal opener will take place between the Red Bull Hockey Juniors and Hockey Unterland Cavaliers. The other three series will start on Tuesday with EC Die Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel making their playoff debut.

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Alps Hockey League, 1st Quarterfinal:
Tue, 07.03.2023, 19:00: HDD SIJ Acroni Jesenice - Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan
Referees: LAZZERI, REZEK, Bergant, Fleischmann | >> PPV-LIVESTREAM <<

After the superior victory in regular season, Jesenice really struggled in the Masterround. In the end, the Slovenians finished the intermediate round in second place and chose Sterzing as their opponent. The Broncos only qualified for the quarterfinals on Saturday via the pre-playoffs. The two duels this season were clearly decided by Jesenice with 5:1 and 5:2. The Slovenians even won the last four games. Last season, the Steelers made it to the final for the first time, but were narrowly defeated by Asiago. Sterzing has never advanced beyond the quarterfinals in its AHL history. The two teams even met in the 2019 pre-playoffs, with Jesenice taking the series 2:0.

Tue, 07.03.2023, 20:00: Rittner Buam SkyAlps - EC Die Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel
Referees: HOLZER, PINIE, Cristeli, Eisl | >> PPV-LIVESTREAM <<

The Rittner Buam still had the chance to go on top of the standings on the last game day of the Masterround, but they ended the intermediate round on the third place. At the pick, the first AHL champion chose Kitzbühel. The Tyroleans were in the race for the top-6 for a long time in the regular season. After missing the direct quarterfinal qualification, the Eagles defeated the team from Fassa in the pre-playoff. Thus, Kitzbühel is in the AHL playoffs for the first time in the club's history. Looking at the league history, Ritten won 13 of 16 direct duels, but this season the Tyroleans kept the upper hand in both encounters. Stefan Quinz is fit again and will help the Rittner Buam in the playoffs. Thus, coach Santeri Heiskanen will only have to do without Manuel Öhler, Leonhard Hasler and Simon Kostner.

Tue, 07.03.2023, 20:30: S.G. Cortina Hafro - EHC Lustenau
Referees: MOSCHEN, RUETZ, De Zordo, J. Seewald | >> PPV-LIVESTREAM <<

The pre-playoff duel of EHC Lustenau against EK Zell am See was not for the faint-hearted. With a strong team performance, the team around captain Max Wilfan turned the series around and thus qualified for the quarterfinals. The Vorarlberg team was not picked by the top three teams, leaving them for Cortina. The Italian AHL champions were even at the top of the Masterround, but lately head coach Giorgio De Bettin's team slipped to fourth place due to three losses. The teams met twice in the regular season, both games were won by the Italians. The two teams already reached the semi-finals (1x Cortina, 3x Lustenau), but neither the Italians nor the Vorarlberg side managed to reach the final.

Juniors and Cavaliers open playoffs
The first quarterfinal series of the Alps Hockey League starts already on Monday. The top-seeded Red Bull Hockey Juniors took the Hockey Unterland Cavaliers with the first pick. Game 1 of the "best-of-seven" series will be played on Monday at 20:30  – FREE LIVE STREAM.

Photo: Max Pattis