HC Eppan experienced highs and lows. © Jan Marc Zublasing

Final remains taboo: Eppan fights against strong competition

HC Eppan's Italian Hockey League (IHL) quarterfinal run ended against Feltre. SportNews, along with veteran Daniel Erlacher, reviews the past season and also looks ahead to the future.

March 28, 2025

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After a disastrous 2021/22 season, which saw HC Eppan finish last, the Überetsch team fought its way back up in the two subsequent championships. The Pirates narrowly missed the final last season, losing to Varese only in the fifth game of the semifinal series.

Andreas Radin and his team therefore had legitimate hopes of reaching their ultimate goal – the final – this year. However, this didn't happen. This was due, among other things, to the improved performance of their direct competitors from Varese, Aosta, and Feltre. "In the last two seasons, we have always reached the semifinals, and last year we almost made it to the final. Accordingly, we can't be entirely satisfied with our quarterfinal exit," Daniel Erlacher summarized in an interview with SportNews.

Fabian Dellagiacoma & Co. played a solid season. © Jan Marc Zublasing

The start of the new season didn't go as planned. Although HCE barely dropped any points in their duels against teams from the bottom third of the standings, they mostly left the ice as losers in their direct encounters with teams from the top five. It wasn't until the 5th matchday that they defeated a top team for the first time (13-3 against Feltre). It wouldn't take until the final matchday of the regular season before they achieved this feat again (2-5 against Varese).

“Often the necessary bite was missing”

That the Pirates are not among the top four this season became clear in the Master Round, for which Eppan had qualified quite comfortably as fifth. With just 4 goals scored and a whopping 19 goals conceded in ten matches, as well as just one win, the Überetsch team finished last.

Jagger Williamson and Daniel Eruzione caused a stir. © Jan Marc Zublasing

Although Martin Lacroix's team put in a solid performance against Feltre in the quarterfinals and even led the series 1-0, the Yellow and Blacks were ultimately eliminated. "In many matches this year, we simply lacked the necessary grit. Even small things threw us off our stride here and there. Unfortunately, with this attitude, we dropped a lot of points," Erlacher said.

Due to the young squad, the early elimination is not a big deal, but nevertheless, the team led by captain Radin will have to improve again in the future if the Pirates do not want to lose touch with the top four teams in the league.