The Rittner Buam want to strike back. © Max Pattis

Ritten and Sterzing chase first semi-final victory

The semifinal opening match in the Alps Hockey League didn't go as planned for the Rittner Buam and the Wipptal Broncos. They're looking for revenge in Game 2 on Thursday.

March 26, 2025

From: det

The Wipptal Broncos suffered a 1-3 defeat away at Zell am See, while the Rittner Buam suffered a 1-2 overtime defeat to Jesenice. These were two bitter defeats for South Tyrol's AlpsHL teams at the start of the semifinals on Tuesday. They'll be looking for revenge on Thursday.

The Broncos face a Herculean task in front of their home crowd. Zell am See is not only the Master Round champion, but is also undefeated in the current playoffs. Overall, Zell am See has lost only one of its last 18 games. Tuesday's defeat was the Broncos' first after six consecutive wins.

Szypula has the 100-point mark in his sights

Regarding the Rittner Buam: It took until the 83rd minute of Tuesday's game for Luc Slivnik to score Jesenice's hard-fought 2-1 away win against the Buam. It was the Slovenians' third victory in their sixth match of the season, and their first in South Tyrol.

Now the series moves to Jesenice, where Ritten aims to reclaim home advantage. Star striker Ethan Szypula is just three points away from breaking the 100-point mark. No other player in the Alps Hockey League has ever achieved this feat.

AlpsHL Semifinal, Game 2 (Best-of-7 Series)

Thursday, March 27th

Jesenice – Rittner Buam (19 p.m.)
Score in the series: 1:0

Wipptal Broncos – Zeller Eisbären (20 p.m.)
Score in the series: 0:1