Release from 30.12.2019
On the last gameday of 2019 the top-4 teams in standings won their games in regulation, with second Rittner Buam and third HC Pustertal Wolves cheering clear-cut wins. While S.G. Cortina Hafro jumped from eighth to fifth spot after a shootout win at Asiago, the Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan are finally back in the race to the top-6, trailing only two points. Further, the three duels between bottom-eight teams ended tight.
Clear wins for the top-4
The HK SZ Olimpija Ljubljana, the Rittner Buam, the HC Pustertal Wölfe and the EHC Lustenau underpinned their spot in the top-4. The leader and reigning champion eked out a 3:2 road-win at SHC Fassa Falcons to make it six in a row, while Fassa had to take the fourth straight defeat, dropping out of the top-6. After a non-goal opening frame, Ljubljana went up 2:0 thanks to Zan Jezovsek and Gal Koren. But the hosts stroke back, halved it in the 31st minute and tied it right at the beginning of the last, where the home-team enhanced the pressure. But the guests scored after a breakaway, as Kristjan Cepon netted the game-winner 8,5 minutes left.
2nd-ranked Rittner Buam came back on winning street, after past gameday’s tight overtime loss in Klagenfurt, as they took revenge on HC Gherdeina valgardena.it for the defeat in the first season-meeting, winning 8:2. After a high-scoring first, with 18-year-old Lois Fink scoring his first Alps Hockey League goal ever, Ritten got the preliminary decision in the middle frame. Alexander Frei, Simon Kosnter and Ryan Obuchowski gave the “Buam” a comfortable 6:2 lead. With eight different players scoring, the former champions grabbed a 8:2 victory.
3rd-ranked HC Pustertal Wölfe remain unbeaten under interim coach Matej Hocevar, getting a 9:3 clear-cut win at home against the VEU Feldkirch to grab the third win in a row. It was Pustertal’s thirteenth victory over Feldkirch in AHL history. John Lewis and Davide Conci managed to give the hosts a 3:0 lead after six minutes. After the VEU, which had new arrival Saari Santeri as an injury replacement for Robin Soudek on the team, pulled two back in the first three more unanswered gave the home-team the preliminary decision till halfway of the game. Lewis, Conci and Yuri Cristellon each had a brace in the end.
4th-ranked EHC Lustenau grabbed a 5:3 derby win over EC Bregenzerwald to snatch up the second win in a row. After Tobias Fender tied it at one in the 9th minute in front of more than 1.500 spectators, the hosts becoming more effective in front of the net. With his second of the night Lucas Haberl retook the lead shorthanded. Two goals of Colin Long and one of Frederik Rasmussen got the home-team up to 5:1. In the last two minutes the road-team rounded off the score with two more goals, one on double powerplay.
Cortina jumps to fifth place, Broncos narrow gap to top-6
With a hard-fought 2:1 win after shootout at Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey, the S.G. Cortina Hafro jumped from eight to fifth place in standings. Cortina’s top-scorer Remy Giftopoulos was responsible for the huge road-win, as he got them on the scoreboard on powerplay (35th) and hit the game-winner in the shootout. With his first Alps Hockey League goal ever, Luigi Caporusso managed to get the interim equalizer.
The Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan, which led the standings at the beginning of the season, are back in the race to the top-6. After a 2:1 home-win against a further top-6 chaser Red Bull Hockey Juniors, the South Tyrolean trails only two points to Cortina (5th) and Asiago (6th), each having 44 points. Mathieu Lemay and Paolo Bustreo gave the home-team a 2:0 lead after 25 minutes. With clearing five out of six powerplay occasions of Salzburg and Jason Bacashihua saving 28, the Bronocos had to concede only one goal to remain successful in the second season-encounter too.
Tight results in the bottom-eight duels
Tight results dominated the bottom-eight duels on Monday: 3rd-last EC-KAC II turned around a 0:3 deficit at Vienna Capitals Silver with Valentin Hammerle scoring three unanswered in the middle frame within 6,5 minutes to get a 6:5 overtime win on the road, extending Vienna’s losing streak to ten. Despite Jure Sotlar, who scored one goal, of the EK Die Zeller Eisbären enlarged his scoring streak to 15, the Austrian side lost to HDD SIJ Acroni Jesenice 3:4 after overtime. Blaz Tomazevic hit the game winner for the Slovenes, which had Jaka Sodja with a brace. Moreover, the EC “Die Adler” Stadtwerke Kitzbühel get an expected home-win against last-placed Steel Wings Linz. A good start into the middle frame with three unanswered – including a brace of Johan Schreiber, who finished the game with a hat trick after an empty netter – got the “eagles” on winning ways, snatching up a 5:2 win in the end.
Mo, 30.12.2019, 18:30: Vienna Capitals Silver – EC KAC II 5:6 OT (2:0, 1:4, 2:1, 0:1)
Referees: FAJDIGA, OREL, Legat, Schonaklener. | Spectators: 107
Goals VCS: Preiser (12./Akerman-Hermanstad), Böhm (13./Akerman, 22./Mosaad-Rohm), Hermanstad (47./Antal-Preiser, 51./Akerman-Norberg)
Goals KA2: Hammerle V. (26.PP1/Kapel-Würschl, 32.PP1/Kapel-Kreuzer, 33./Hammerle S.-Moser), Patterer (33./Sticha-Kapel), Pirmann (52.PP1/Kreuzer-Hammerle V.), Kreuzer (62./Pirmann-Würschl)
Mo, 30.12.2019, 19:00: HDD SIJ Acroni Jesenice – EK Die Zeller Eisbären 4:3 OT (2:2, 0:1, 1:0, 1:0)
Referees: DURCHNER, SUPPER, Kainberger, Wimmler. | Spectators: 655
Goals JES: Sodja (5., 49.PP1/Hebar), Djumic (7./Stojan), Tomazevic (62.)
Goals EKZ: Lanzinger (4./Oraze-Tschernutter, 24.PP1/Schernthaner-Tschernutter), Sotlar (13./Putnik-Wilenius)
Mo, 30.12.2019, 19:30: EHC Lustenau – EC Bregenzerwald 5:3 (2:1, 2:0, 1:2)
Referees: RUETZ, WALLNER, Moidl, Reisinger. | Spectators: 1.583
Goals EHC: Haberl (2./Demuth-König, 19.SH/Glenn), Long (26./Grabher Meier, 47./Hrdina-Grabher Meier), Rasmussen (39.)
Goal ECB: Fender (9./Vogelaar), Fussenegger (58.PP2/Fässler), Vogelaar (60./Ban D.-Fussenegger)
Mo, 30.12.2019, 20:00: Rittner Buam – HC Gherdeina valgardena.it 8:2 (3:2, 2:0, 3:0)
Referees: PODLESNIK, WIDMANN, Bedana, Giacomozzi P. | Spectators: 671
Goals RIT: Fink (2./Öhler), Lutz (13./Kostner S.), Marzolini (15./Spinell-Kostner J.), Frei (34.), Kostner S. (38./Lutz-Lane), Obuchowski (43./Gabri-Quinz), Spinell (53/Lindskoug), Tudin (60./Pechlaner)
Goals GHE: Wilkins (9./Vinatzer-Nedved), Nedved (20./Wilkins)
Mo, 30.12.2019, 20:00: HC Pustertal Wölfe – VEU Feldkirch 9:3 (4:2, 3:1, 2:0)
Referees: GIACOMOZZI F., VIRTA, De Zordo, Piras.
Goals PUS: Lewis (3./Carozza-Brighenti Moretti, 6./Leitner-Hofer R.), Conci (5./Andergassen-March, 25./Carozza-Traversa), Hofer A. (19./Traversa-MacArthur), Cristellon (29./MacArthur, 48./MacArthur-Hofer A.), Oberrausch (37./Lewis-Carozza), Traversa (50.SH1/Andergassen-Hofer A.)
Goals VEU: Jancar (13./Stanley-Mairitsch), Mairitsch (18./Puschnik), Kyllönen (31./Ratz)
Mo, 30.12.2019, 20:00: Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan – Red Bull Hockey Juniors 2:1 (1:0, 1:0, 0:1)
Referees: HOLZER, MOSCHEN, Huber, Weiss. | Spectators: 859
Goals WSV: Lemay (7./Doggett-Messner), Bustreo (25./Messner-Milam)
Goal RBJ: Englund (59.PP1/Appendino-Luusuaniemi)
Mo, 30.12.2019, 20:00: EC ‚Die Adler‘ Stadtwerke Kitzbühel – Steel Wings Linz 5:2 (1:1, 3:1, 1:0)
Referees: KUMMER, LESNIAK, Schweighofer, Snoj. | Spectators: 798
Goals KEC: Bolterle (18./Schröder), Schreiber (21., 24./Ebner-Bolterle, 59.EN/Bolterle), Uusivirta (28./Echtler)
Goals SWL: Koudelka (17./Ober-Rosenberger, 37.PP1/Ober-Maurer)
Mo, 30.12.2019, 20:30: Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey – S.G. Cortina Hafro 1:2 SO (0:0, 1:1, 0:0, 0:0)
Referees: BAJT, REZEK, Javornik, Miklic. | Spectators: 1.600
Goal ASH: Caporusso (40./Loschiavo)
Goal SGC: Giftopoulos (35./King, 65.)
Mo, 30.12.2019, 20:45: SHC Fassa Falcons – HK SZ Olimpija Ljubljana 2:3 (0:0, 1:2, 1:1)
Referees: LEGA, STEFENELLI, Cristeli, Slaviero. | Spectators: 1.158
Goals FAS: Caletti (31./Iori-Marchetti), Lundstrom (41./Zanet)
Goals HKO: Jezovsek (22./Ropret-Brus), Koren (28./Pesut-Music), Cepon (52./Music)
Fotocredit: (c) HCP / Foppa / Optic Rapid