Release from 18.10.2024

Winning streaks of Kitzbühel and Zell am See put to the test

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On Saturday, league leaders Kitzbühel travel to Meran, Zell am See's winning streak will also be put to the test on the road. While Cortina faces Celje at home in Sunday's lone game, three Alps Hockey League teams are in international action this weekend. In the second round of the IIHF Continental Cup, the Rittner Buam SkyAlps will also face KHL Sisak and HDD SIJ Acroni Jesenice as tournament hosts.

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Kitzbühel defended their lead in the table on Thursday with a clear 6:1 home win over the Juniors. The Tyroleans have thus won six of their seven games so far this season. On Saturday, Pewal's team will travel to Merano. The seventh-placed South Tyroleans have alternated wins and defeats in their last five games, including an overtime victory against Unterland on Thursday. Merano and Kitzbühel have faced each other eleven times in the Alps Hockey League so far, with the Tyroleans winning seven duels.

With three wins in a row recently, Zell am See improved to third place. Sterzing, on the other hand, ended a five-game losing streak with a comeback win in Celje, with the Broncos improving from last place to eleventh. With Max Zimmermann (.945 save percentage), the Pinzgauers have the best goalie in the league so far, while Nick Huard also leads the assists rankings with ten assists. In the 2024 playoffs, the Wipptaler celebrated a quarter-final sweep against Zell am See, winning twice away from home with a goal difference.

Fourth-placed Red Bull Hockey Juniors have a loss of form, picking up just two points from their last four games. Their upcoming opponents from Val Gardena, on the other hand, are on the upswing: the South Tyroleans have won two of their last four games and picked up at least one point in the other two. The teams already faced each other once in October, with the "Furie" coming out on top 3:2 at home.

The two teams at the bottom of the table will face off in Dornbirn on Saturday - although that doesn't say much, as there are just six points between fifth place and bottom-placed Bregenzerwald. The team from Vorarlberg have recently suffered four defeats in a row. Unterland were narrowly beaten in Meran on Thursday after two previous victories. The Cavaliers' games have been particularly exciting so far: five out of seven matches have been decided by just one goal difference, while the other two have been decided by two goals. Last season, Bregenzerwald won both duels.

In Sunday's lone game, two neighbours in the table meet: Cortina (tenth) hosts Celje (ninth). The Italians have recently suffered four defeats in a row and, together with Gröden, have the weakest offence in the league (19 goals). Celje have already scored 26 goals, with Jure Sotlar (eight goals) currently leading the scoring charts. The only two AHL duels between these two teams to date have gone to Cortina

Alps Hockey League:
Sat, 19.10.2024
18:00: Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan - EK Die Zeller Eisbären
Referees: LAZZERI, PINIE, Ilmer, Scalzeri | >> valcome.tv <<

19:15: Red Bull Hockey Juniors - HC Gherdeina valgardena.it
Referees: RUETZ, WIDMANN, Rinker, Telesklav | >> valcome.tv <<

19:30: EC Bregenzerwald - Hockey Unterland Cavaliers
Referees: HUBER, MOSCHEN, Abeltino, Strimitzer | >> valcome.tv <<

19:30: HC Meran/o Pircher - Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel
Referees: PIRAGIC, PIRAS, Cristeli, Fecchio | >> valcome.tv <<

Sun, 20.10.2024
17:30: S.G. Cortina Hafro - HK RST Pellet Celje
Referees: BAJT, BENVEGNU, Cristeli, Markizeti | >> valcome.tv <<


Three AHL teams at the IIHF Continental Cup
Three AHL teams are also in international action this weekend, as the second round of the IIHF Continental Cup takes place in the Ritten Arena. In a round robin, the Rittner Buam SkyAlps will face league rivals KHL Sisak and HDD SIJ Acroni Jesenice as well as the Ukrainian team HK Sokil Kyiv. The four teams will battle it out to win the group and advance to the third round.

>> Continental Cup