Tobias Engl and the HCE brought Varese to his knees. © M. Bordin/HCE

Ice hockey spectacle in Überetsch: Eppan and Kaltern are still alive

What kind of wild ice hockey evening was that under Penegal and under Mendel? With emotionally charged performances, HC Eppan and SV Kaltern saved themselves into a decisive fifth game in the IHL semi-finals against Varese and Pergine respectively.

March 23, 2024

From: fop

No fewer than 700 spectators in St. Michael witnessed how the Eppan Pirates were already on summer vacation with one foot, but then Varese completely lost his nerve and the HCE secured the 4-3 victory in the final minute.

This memorable ice hockey game deserves a closer look: The reigning champions from Lombardy were ahead 2-0 at half of the game, then again 3-2 in the final third. But the Pirates never gave up, first equalizing to 2-2 through Daniel Erlacher and Martin Graf, and later to 3-3 through William Mäkinen. While the guests completely blew their fuses in the final minutes and clashed with opponents and referees, one person in the yellow and blue dress stayed cool: Andreas Radin. The defender from Meran scored the celebrated 33:4 with 3 seconds to go with a double advantage and turned the Eppan ice stadium into a madhouse.

Varese collects 45 penalty minutes

What was curious about this game was not only the 45 minute penalty that was assessed against Varese (Eppan had 17 minutes), but also the fact that all seven goals were scored with special teams. For example, the Pirates had the advantage on all of their goals.

The semi-final in the Raiffeisen Arena in Kaltern/Altenburg, a few kilometers away, was unexpectedly one-sided. The Hechte brought Pergine to its knees 6-1 and celebrated their first ever home win against the Trentino team this season.

The many spectators in Kaltern celebrated a vital home win for the Hechte. © KSV

Similar to Eppan, the people of Kaltern were also up to their necks before this duel. Accordingly, they got started with commitment. Jonas Oberrauch and Max Oberrauch made it 2-0 early, Teemu Virtala, Marko Virtala and again Jonas Oberrauch increased the score in the second third. After Marko Virtala made it 6-0 with his personal brace in the final period, the game was effectively over. Pergine then only operated cosmetic results.

So the big showdown will take place in both semi-final series next Tuesday. The games in Pergine and Varese start at 20.30 p.m. The motto for Eppan and Kaltern remains the same: a win is necessary!

Italian Hockey League, 4th semi-final game

HC Eppan Anet – HCMV Varese Hockey 4:3

Gates: 0:1 Massimo Pietroniro (24.13), 0:2 Gianluca Tilaro (28.40), 1:2 Daniel Erlacher (31.12), 2:2 Martin Graf (34.42), 2:3 Hector Majul (43.16), 3:3 William Mäkinen (54.08), 4:3 Andreas Radin (59.27)

Viewers: 694

Best of 5 series: 2:2


SV Kaltern rothoblaas – Hockey Pergine Sapiens 6:2

Gates: 1:0 Jonas Oberrauch (6.11), 2:0 Max Oberrauch (6.37), 3:0 Teemu Virtala (20.17), 4:0 Marko Virtala (23.44), 5:0 Jonas Oberrauch (39.10), 6:0 Marko Virtala (43.27), 6:1 Mattia Micellin (52.34), 6:2 William Lemay (56.47)

Viewers: approx. 500

Best of 5 series: 2:2