Asiago celebrates, Wipptal laments. © Serena Fantini

South Tyrolean fiasco at the end of the year

The final matchday of the Alps Hockey League (AlpsHL) in 2025 is now history. The five South Tyrolean clubs experienced a night to forget and all suffered defeats.

30 December 2025

From: none

The only domestic matchup was played in Asiago, with the Wipptal Broncos attempting to extend their winning streak on the road. However, they were unable to secure a third consecutive victory, instead suffering a 2-5 defeat.

The Broncos realized the hosts had other ideas within seconds. With their first attack of the evening, Tomaso Traversa surprised Broncos goalie Dominik Groh and scored to give the Stellati an early lead. In the 14th minute, newcomer Carter Johnson extended the lead on a 5-on-3 power play after converting a wonderful pass from former Broncos player Ryan Valentini.

Bryson Cianfrone and his teammates stood no chance in Asiago. © Serena Fantini

In the second period, the Wild Horses stepped up their game and created more scoring opportunities, but Asiago goaltender Rudy Rigoni remained alert. The home team, in turn, continued to launch targeted attacks, and in the 24th minute, Traversa scored to make it 3-0. Paul Eisendle and his teammates were finally rewarded in the 32nd minute. After a shot by James Livingston, the rebound fell to Alessio Niccolai, who scored to make it 3-1. In the final period, the Wild Horses tried hard, but the Augsburg team's lack of discipline prevented any comeback. Asiago ruthlessly capitalized on their power play opportunities, extending their lead to 5-1. The Wild Horses had the final say, scoring a shorthanded goal by Jerkko Rämo to make the final score 5-2.

Ritten loses late

The Ritten/Renon Buam suffered a bitter defeat away in Zell am See, losing 4-5 in a penalty shootout. The game in the packed KE KELIT Arena began with a shocking moment when Philipp Putnik crashed awkwardly into the boards, but after receiving medical treatment, he was able to leave the ice on his own.

The Ritten boys put up a good fight. © Radlwimmer

While no goals were scored in the first period, it didn't take long for the first goal to come in the second. Brett Welychka struck during the power play, the Ritten Buam's specialty. He fired a shot from the deep slot in off the underside of the top corner and into the net. Ritten then added a second goal with a seemingly harmless shot from Leonardo Felicetti at a sharp angle. Zell am See wobbled initially, but the Eisbären quickly regained their composure and pressed for a goal to get back into the game. The Austrians even managed to tie the game before the end of the second period.

With a beautiful goal from Madsen, who skated from his own zone towards the Zell goal and fired a shot from distance into the bottom left corner, the Buam restored their lead in the final period. Then, however, David Tauferer received a game misconduct penalty. Zell am See didn't manage to equalize during those five minutes, but seconds after the penalty expired, Nick Huard was perfectly set up by Tim Coffman and slotted the puck home. But the severely depleted Ritten team struck back again: Kostner stole the puck at his own blue line, skated in alone on goal, and calmly slotted it past Schmidt. Ritten defended with everything they had in the final minutes, but with 12 seconds remaining, they had to swallow the bitter pill when Tomazevic, after a rebound on the power play, tied the game at 4-4 and forced overtime. After a scoreless overtime period, Salzburg ultimately prevailed in a penalty shootout.

HC Gröden shows character

HC Gröden experienced a crazy evening in Kitzbühel. After trailing for almost the entire game, the South Tyroleans turned things around just before the end. After falling behind 3-5, Carmine Buono narrowed the gap in the 58th minute with a shot from a sharp angle. A minute later, Davide Schiavone deflected a shot past the goalkeeper, sending the game into overtime. There, the visitors almost celebrated the extra point, but after a missed counter-attack, the Tyroleans made the most of their opportunity, with Yoan Loshing scoring the decisive goal for a 6-5 victory.

The Furies were defeated in overtime. © Schwaninger

The Unterland Cavaliers and HC Meran both left empty-handed that evening. The Cavaliers suffered a 1-5 defeat in Sisak. Viktor Eriksson scored the consolation goal for the visitors in the 48th minute. HC Meran had a similar experience. The spa town team found themselves trailing 0-4 against EC Bregenzerwald after just 30 minutes. Then, 17-year-old goalie Christian Gamper, making his AlpsHL debut, replaced Andreas Bernard. The Leifers native put in a decent performance, but couldn't prevent his team's 4-6 loss.

AlpsHL, Tuesday's results:

Salzburg - Cortina 7:1
1:0 Kogler (02:45), 2:0 Kogler (07:59), 2:1 Tolomelli (17:34), 3:1 Schnabl (17:54), 4:1 Schuster (20:59), 5:1 Wurzer (33:17), 6:1 Schuster (46:56), 7:1 Juhola (51:33)
Audience: 107

Bregenzerwald - Merano 6:4
1:0 Lipsbergs (01.10), 2:0 Metzler-Wagner (06.34), 3:0 Ranftl (28.17), 4:0 Flick (29.42), 4:1 Gellon (34.33), 5:1 Kramer (37.17), 5:2 Claesson (40.52), 6:2 Haiböck (47.32), 6:3 Gellon (53.19), 6:4 Rein (54.54)
Audience: 1.345

Kitzbühel - Gröden 6:5 OT
1:0 Cernik (05.45), 2:0 Ketonen (10.36), 2:1 Dostalek (16.00), 3:1 Loshing (39.48), 3:2 Pitschieler (31.50), 4:2 Mußbacher (35.01), 4:3 Deluca (36.30), 5:3 Podlionik (42.51), 5:4 Buono (57.07), 5:5 Schiavone (58.03), 6:5 Loshing (60.51)
Audience: 1.250

Sisak - Unterland 5:1
1:0 Idzan (07.46), 2:0 Lorionovs (31.34), 3:0 Cavlovic (34.30), 4:0 Idzan (46.10), 4:1 Eriksson (47.26), 5:1
Audience: 2.167

Zell am See - Ritten 5:4 nP
0:1 Welychka (22.28), 0:2 Felicetti (29.57), 1:2 Coffman (34.20), 2:2 Wilfan (38.44), 2:3 Madsen (43.14), 3:3 Huard (49.42), 3:4 Kostner (51.07), 4:4 Tomazevic
Audience: 2890

Asiago - Wipptal 5:2
1:0 Traversa (00.15), 2:0 Johnson (13.18), 3:0 Traversa (23.15), 3:1 Niccolai (31.35), 4:1 Rigoni (47.40), 5:1 Valentini (48.47), 5:2 Rämö (57.56)
Audience: 1944