Top 6 decisions adjourned to "Super-Saturday"

Lustenau holds its ground in the race for top-6
EHC Lustenau is back in the race for the top 6 and the Vorarlbergers finished their six-game losing streak against the leader of the standings. Although Ljubljana seemed to control the game and found more chances, it was the Austrians who stroke twice in the first period. But Ljubljana fought back and forced extra time. Ryan Glenn kept his team in the race for the top 6 with the game winner. For Ljubljana it was the first defeat after twelve wins in a row. Nevertheless, they can't be denied the first place after the regular season phase 1.

Rittner Buam fight for victory in Overtime
The Red Bull Hockey Juniors had to bury their last theoretical chance for the top 6. The Rittner Buam celebrated a hard-fought victory after extra time and remain in second place for the time being. In a balanced first period, the Buam had the much more successful end and finished 2-0 with a brace. After a goalless middle period, the Juniors fought their way back in the final section and ensured extra time. There Daniel Tudin brought the decision.

Jesenice celebrates shutout victory in top 6 duel
In the duel of the two top 6 teams HDD SIJ Acroni Jesenice won the shootout against VEU Feldkirch. After a goalless third at the start the Slovenians took the lead early in the second period. Feldkirch managed to equalize in the third. After a scoreless overtime Erik Svetina made the decision. This was already the ninth victory in a row for the Slovenians.

Kitzbühel messes up Cortina's playoff party
S.G. Cortina Hafro misses the big chance to qualify for the early playoffs. At the beginning it seemed to be a clear matter for Cortina. After 38 minutes, the visitors were already leading 3-0, but in the final seconds of the second period, the hosts from Kitzbühel started to catch up. By the 47th minute, the Eagles had reduced the gap to 2:3 and with two goals in the final five minutes, the Eagles turned the game around and celebrated a 4:3 victory.

Bregenzerwald celebrates victory over Gherdeina
EC Bregenzerwald celebrated a 6:1 victory over HC Gherdeina. Already before the match both teams had no chance to reach the top 6, but Gherdeina had to accept a small setback in the fight for bonus points. The Austrians laid the foundation for success in a brilliant middle third, which they won 4-1. Daniel Ban and Johan Lorraine scored twice in the match.

Pustertal closes gap to Ritten
The HC Pustertal celebrated a 4:2 success over the KAC 2 and thus draw level with the second placed Rittner Buam. But the young Austrian cracks had a better start and were leading 1-0 after the first period, Pustertal shifted up a gear from the second period and finally celebrated a 4:2 success.

Falcons climb in Top-6
The SHC Falcons celebrated an enormously important victory over the EK Zeller Eisbären and climbed into the top 6, but the Falcons had to work hard to earn these three points. After a goalless third at the start, Fassa was the first to score before Zell equalized. In the final section the Falcons acted much more efficiently and finally provided a good starting position for the "Super Saturday" with two more goals. However, the Falcons' lead on seventh place is only one point.

Broncos with clear success
Despite a clear success of the Wipptal Sterzing Broncos over the Steel Wings Linz, the last theoretical chances for the top 6 had to be buried. The Broncos started fast, but soon had to accept the equalizer. Afterwards, the match was played on an inclined plane. In the first period, the guests increased to 5:1, but the superiority did not change and the Broncos finally celebrated a 10:2 victory.

Asiago climbs to rank 6 after a hard-fought success
Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey celebrated a hard-fought 5:2 victory over the Vienna Capitals Silver. The guests from Asigao put in the first period, the Capitals followed suit in the second period. In the final period Asiago was again the first to write in, but once again the Viennese had the right touch.

Six teams have already taken their places for the Qualiround
Definitively in Qualification Group A:

• Red Bull Hockey Juniors (11th place)
• EC KAC 2 (15th place)
• Vienna Capitals Silver (17th place)

Definitively in Qualification Group B:

• EC Stadtwerke Kitzbühel (14th place)
• EC Bregenzerwald (16th place)
• Steel Wings Linz (18th place)

Alps Hockey League:

HK SZ Olimpija Ljubljana – EHC Lustenau 2:3 OT (0:2, 1:0, 1:0)
Referees: PAHOR, WIDMANN, Bergant, Schweighofer
Goals EHC: 0:1 Pfennich J. (07:52 / Wilfan M. ,Long C. / PP), 0:2 Oberscheider D. (17:22 / Haberl D. ,Wilfan M. / EQ), 2:3 Glenn R. (60:42 / D'Alvise C. ,Hurtubise M. / EQ)
Goals HKO: 1:2 Rajsar S. (36:11 / Pesut Z. ,Brus N. / EQ), 2:2 Jezovsek Z. (40:35 / Logar M. ,Ropret A. / PP) 

Red Bull Hockey Juniors – Rittner Buam 2:3 OT (0:2, 0:0, 2:0)
Referees: LAZZERI, WALLNER, Huber, Piras
Goals RBJ: 1:2 Nyman L. (41:01 / Arrak R. ,Eriksson S. / EQ), 2:2 Feldner N. (54:09 / Arrak R. ,Eriksson S. / EQ) 
Goals RIT: 0:1 Lutz A. (17:10 / Spinell T. ,Tudin D. / EQ), 0:2 Kostner J. (19:57 / Spinell T. ,Obuchowski R. / EQ), 2:3 Tudin D. (63:57 / Lutz A. ,Frei A. / EQ)

VEU Feldkirch – HDD SIJ Acroni Jesenice 1:2 SO (0:0, 0:1, 1:0)
Referees: MOSCHEN, RUETZ, Bedana, Rinker
Goals VEU: 1:1 Stanley D. (46:55 / Scholz F. ,Ratz P. / EQ) 
Goals JES: 0:1 Hebar A. (20:33 / Svetina E. ,Tomazevic B. / EQ), 1:2 Svetina E. (65:00 / GWS)

EC ‚Die Adler‘ Stadtwerke Kitzbühel – S.G. Cortina Hafro 4:3 (0:2, 1:1, 3:0)
Referees: BENVEGNU, HOLZER, Cristeli, Martin
Goals SGC:0:1 Giftopoulos R. (09:48 / Lacedelli R. ,Trecapelli N. / EQ), 0:2 Trecapelli N. (12:24 / Giftopoulos R. ,Zanatta L. / EQ), 0:3 Giftopoulos R. (37:43 / Lacedelli R. / EQ)
Goals KEC:1:3 Havlik A. (39:28 / Schreiber J. ,Ebner M. / EQ), 2:3 Rosenlechner M. (46:41 / Schreiber J. ,Havlik A. / EQ), 3:3 Havlik A. (55:17 / Schreiber J. / EQ), 4:3 Schreiber J. (57:38 / Havlik A. ,Uusivirta L. / EQ)

EC Bregenzerwald – HC Gherdeina valgardena.it 6:1 (1:0, 4:1, 1:0)
Referees: GAMPER, PINIE, De Zordo, Eisl
Goals ECB:1:0 Ban D. (19:43 / Haidinger C. ,Zwerger J. / EQ), 2:0 Ban D. (25:47 / Haidinger C. ,Zwerger J. / EQ), 3:1 Lorraine J. (33:22 / Söder S. ,Haidinger C. / PP), 4:1 Lorraine J. (37:17 / Rainer M. ,Söder S. / EQ), 5:1 Söder S. (39:51 / VOGELAAR G. ,Kutzer J. / EQ), 6:1 Zwerger J. (41:15 / Wolf S. ,Haidinger C. / EQ)
Goals GHE: 2:1 McGowan B. (26:33 / Schweitzer V. ,Wilkins M. / EQ) 

EC-KAC II – HC Pustertal Wölfe 2:4 (1:0, 0:1, 1:3)
Referees: FAJDIGA, OREL, Holzer, Miklic
Goals KA2: 1:0 Kompain M. (13:22 / Pirmann M. ,Kapel R. / EQ), 2:3 Kasper M. (52:31 / Kapel R. / EQ) 
Goals PUS: 1:1 Leitner M. (32:42 / McNally B. ,MacArthur P. / EQ), 1:2 Lewis J. (45:23 / McNally B. ,Hofer R. / EQ), 1:3 McNally B. (48:20 / MacArthur P. ,Lewis J. / EQ), 2:4 MacArthur P. (57:05 / Lewis J. ,Hofer A. / EQ)

SHC Fassa Falcons – EK Die Zeller Eisbären 3:1 (0:0, 1:1, 2:0)
Referees: GIACOMOZZI, SCHAUER, Mantovani, Rigoni
Goals FAS: 1:0 Chiodo L. (30:58 / Eastman D. ,Caletti E. / EQ), 2:1 Lundstrom L. (52:04 / Roupec D. ,Castlunger M. / EQ), 3:1 Chiodo L. (57:23 / Roupec D. ,Castlunger M. / PP)
Goals EKZ: 1:1 Selan M. (38:24 / Putnik P. ,Hansson M. / PP) 

Steel Wings Linz – Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan 2:10 (1:5, 1:3, 0:2)
Referees: FICHTNER, LOICHT, Marchardt, Matthey
Goals WSV: 0:1 Lemay M. (03:16 / Doggett S. / EQ), 1:2 Doggett S. (09:23 / Lemay M. / EQ), 1:3 Lemay M. (12:51 / Doggett S. ,Bustreo P. / EQ), 1:4 Doggett S. (15:12 / Lemay M. / EQ), 1:5 Lemay M. (18:46 / Milam J. ,Doggett S. / EQ), 1:6 Lemay M. (20:19 / Doggett S. ,Milam J. / EQ), 2:7 Bustreo P. (29:30 / unassisted / EQ), 2:8 Doggett S. (31:54 / Lemay M. / EQ), 2:9 Kofler T. (41:02 / Mantinger M. / EQ), 2:10 Oberdorfer H. (50:17 / Mantinger M. ,Hackhofer F. / PP)
Goals SWL: 1:1 Ober L. (08:51 / Koudelka P. ,Gaffal P. / PP), 2:6 Sinzinger F. (29:08 / Mitsch J. ,Konya K. / EQ) 

Vienna Capitals Silver – Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey 2:5 (0:1, 1:0, 1:4)
Referees: DURCHNER, LEHNER, Moidl, Riecken
Goals VCS: 1:1 Anderson Löfquist H. (36:56 / Neubauer H. ,Akerman J. / PP), 2:2 Neubauer H. (44:48 / Winkler D. ,Hermanstad M. / EQ) 
Goals ASH: 0:1 Magnabosco J. (02:58 / Dal sasso D. ,Miglioranzi E. / EQ), 1:2 Loschiavo V. (44:00 / Magnabosco J. ,Miglioranzi E. / PP), 2:3 Rosa M. (46:12 / McParland S. ,Pietroniro P. / EQ), 2:4 Caporusso L. (50:11 / Ginnetti C. ,Pietroniro C. / EQ), 2:5 Ginnetti C. (59:05 / Caporusso L. ,Benetti F. / EQ)

Picture: Doriano Brunel