This is what the expert says: Adolf Insam evaluates South Tyrol's clubs

On Thursday evening there will be a lot of activity in the AlpsHL again. Vipiteno and Ritten want to reinforce their top positions in a duel with Austrian teams, Unterland welcomes table neighbors Cortina. The most interesting game from a domestic perspective takes place in the MeranArena, where HCM and table laggards Val Gardena meet in a trend-setting duel.

Before this happens, we asked Adolf Insam for an assessment. The ice hockey expert, who ended his long-term commitment as Ritten sports director in the spring, analyzes...

...the Wipptal Broncos: “They’re no surprise to me. As far as I know, they started concrete squad planning in February and March and upgraded the team again. At the front, the many Italians are causing quite a stir, while at the back, Derek Topatigh is proving to be a top-class player. I've also had him on my list in the past. Vipiteno plays very, very offensively. In doing so, they entertain the spectators and put all opponents in trouble. For me the Broncos are an absolute candidate for the semi-finals.”

The Broncos delight fans at times. © Oskar Brunner

...the Rittner Buam: “Because of my past and my son Marco, I am of course still very connected to Ritten and I take a closer look there. What is striking is the axis from goalkeeper Colin Furlong to Terrance Amorosa in defense to the strikers Simon Kostner and Max Coatta. The goalie in particular is proving to be a real trump card at Ritten, and Markus Spinell is also gaining momentum. If Amorosa gets the Italian passport, I can imagine that Ritten will add quality. If Ethan Szypula is also fit, the opponents can dress warmly. The only thing I'm a bit skeptical about is Manuel Öhler. The boy is a gifted player, but the constant switching between Ritten and Pustertal, combined with different roles in different performance classes, could prove difficult in the long run.”

Colin Furlong is Ritten's support. © Max Pattis

...the Unterland Cavaliers: “Maybe the first impression is wrong, but I don't see the Cavs acting as aggressively as they did last season. The effort and speed they put in was simply impressive. In my opinion, they are currently approaching everything a little more thoughtfully and carefully - which doesn't have to be a negative thing. Unterland still plays very attractive, passionate ice hockey. This is fueled by the squad density. There is great competition in Neumarkt due to the abundance of talented players, which drives top performance. We were unlucky in some of the games, and we were always missing important players. But if the goalkeepers keep up like they did last season, then the fans in the lower region will have a lot of fun with their team again this year.”

The Cavs are on target so far this year. © Unterland Cavaliers

...the HC Meran: “This is the craziest team in the league! Meran is very inconsistent, but plays better than eleventh place in the table suggests. In my opinion, the squad is not deep enough and the defense is weak at times. A lot still depends on how veterans Luca Ansoldi and Christian Borgatello perform. What impressed me in Meran: Calder Anderson and Nolan Ritchie. They are both very young, come straight from the Canadian junior league, are fast and hungry. Maybe Meran is doing pioneering work with such transfers, but I certainly find this path extremely interesting. If both continue to 'work' like this and goalie Andrei Makarov plays again, things can go up significantly for Meran.”

Luca Ansodi continues to be Meran's key player for Adolf Insam. © BK Photo

...the HC Gherdëina: “For me, this is still just a construction site. The decision to rely on local goalies is a very brave one - especially when we had such strong performers in this position with Jake Smith and Colin Furlong. The young goalies deserve this chance, but in Wolkenstein you have to be patient and support them. In this respect, the failures of defenders Christian Willeit and Kevin Schulze had a serious impact. Offensive star Brad McGowan also needed some warm-up time at the start of the season, the same applies to ex-Bozen players Diego Glück and Hannes Kasslatter, who first have to find their rhythm again. If Val Gardena becomes more compact defensively and the locals also step up their game, things can quickly go up for the Furies. They have the necessary quality.”

On Thursday evening, South Tyrol's ice hockey fans can see for themselves Adolf Insam's assessments in the arenas. The next round in the AlpsHL is scheduled for Saturday. At the same time we go again Kaltern, Eppan, Dobbiaco and Brixen in the IHL hunting for points.

The weekly program of the South Tyrolean teams: AlpsHL Zell am See – Ritten (Thursday, 19.30 p.m.) Vipiteno – Lustenau (Thursday, 20 p.m.) Unterland – Cortina (Thursday, 20 p.m.) Merano – Val Gardena (Thursday, 20.30 p.m.) Kitzbühel – Wipptal (Saturday, 19 p.m.) Val Gardena – Renon (Saturday, 19.30 p.m.) Meran – Jesenice (Saturday, 19.30 p.m.) Bregenzerwald – Unterland (Saturday, 19.30 p.m.)

SP G U V TV P 1. Zell am See 9 8 0 1 47:20 24 2. Jesenice 9 8 0 1 47:23 22 3. Wipptal Broncos 9 6 0 3 36:22 20 4. Rittner Buam 9 6 0 3 28:21 18 5. Bregenzerwald 9 5 0 4 27:25 16 6. Underland Cavaliers 9 4 0 5 36:32 14 7. SG Cortina 8 4 0 4 23:22 13 8. Lustenau 9 5 0 4 35:35 13 9. Kitzbuhel 9 4 0 5 31:28 12 10. HC Fassa 9 4 0 5 30:36 11 11. HC Meran 9 4 0 5 31:43 11 12. Salzburg II 8 3 0 5 20:24 9 13. Klagenfurt II 9 3 0 6 24:37 9 14. Linz II 9 2 0 7 20:31 7 15. HC Gherdëina 9 2 0 7 20:42 6 16. HK Celje 7 2 0 5 11:25 5

IHL Feltre – Brixen (Saturday, 19.30 p.m.) Fiemme – Kaltern (Saturday, 19.30 p.m.) Valpellice – Dobbiaco (Saturday, 20.30 p.m.) Como – Eppan (Sunday, 18.45:XNUMX p.m.)

SP G U V TV P 1. SV Kaltern 6 6 0 0 23:5 18 2. Hockey Pergine 5 5 0 0 19:13 14 3. HC Eppan 5 4 0 1 22:8 12 4. HC Varese 5 4 0 1 19:7 11 5. Valdifiemme HC 6 4 0 2 23:14 11 6. Alleghe Hockey 6 3 0 3 20:13 10 7. HC Feltreghaccio 5 2 0 3 15:17 6 8. HC Valpellice 7 1 0 6 12:23 4 9. Hockey Como 5 1 0 4 12:22 3 10. Falcons Brixen 6 1 0 5 4:27 3 11. 3 Zinnen Dolomites 6 0 0 6 9:29 1

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This is what the expert says: Adolf Insam evaluates South Tyrol's clubs

The beginning has been made, the start of the season in the Alps Hockey League has been checked off. So it's time to draw an initial conclusion. Long-time national player, coach and sports director Adolf Insam does this for SportNews readers. He takes a close look at the five South Tyrolean teams.

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