Scott Valentine (left) achieved a first in the history of HC Bozen. © Vanna Antonello

This has never happened before in Bolzano ice hockey

HC Bozen concluded their ice hockey year on Tuesday with a resounding victory that was by no means memorable – and yet, all involved will remember something truly unforgettable from that evening: an absolute novelty in the captaincy election, a dream debut and a special goal.

30 December 2025

From the Sparkasse Arena in Bolzano

HCB Südtirol Alperia defeated the struggling Vorarlberg Pioneers 5-0 on Tuesday evening. With their third consecutive victory, the Foxes – just four days before the big derby – overtook their arch-rivals Pustertal for fourth place in the standings.

Bolzano needed just one third, or rather twelve minutes, to put five goals past their opponents and secure their third clear victory against Vorarlberg (the previous encounters ended 6-0 and 7-1). In their fourth win in five games under new coach Doug Shedden, the game on the ice was by no means a spectacle – and yet the nearly 3.000 spectators will remember this evening for a long time.

For the first time, a foreign captain

For on this evening, a tradition was broken: Since HC Bozen was founded back in 1933, an Italian player had always worn the "C" on his jersey – until December 30, 2025, when veteran Scott Valentine replaced the injured Daniel Frank as captain. Shedden gave the charismatic Canadian the nod over the regular assistant captain, Luca Frigo. Even former Bozen captains Martin Pavlu and Alexander Egger, watching from the stands, were quite astonished.

For Frigo, however, it turned out to be a day of celebration, as the 32-year-old from Piedmont, who has been playing in Bolzano for nine years, scored his 100th goal in white and red. Following the home victory, Frigo was also voted Man of the Match – and duly celebrated by the fans.

Gibson's perfect debut

Christopher Gibson would have deserved this award as well. The new backup goalie played his first game for Bolzano and also his first competitive game in exactly 263 days. The 33-year-old Finn, with NHL experience, last played in April for Kassel in the second German league. Gibson capped his debut with a shutout. Although he only had to stop 17 shots, he did so with some phenomenal reflexes.

In this game, HC Bozen certainly warmed up for the upcoming challenges – and they are truly demanding. On New Year's Day, the Foxes travel to league leaders Klagenfurt, and on January 3rd, the derby in Bruneck awaits. The Puster Valley team, who have a bye this Tuesday, can boost their confidence at home against Vorarlberg on Thursday and thus prepare for the clash with HCB. Daniel Frank should also be fit again in time for the derby – thus restoring the hierarchy in the Bozen captaincy.

HCB Südtirol Alperia – Pioneers Vorarlberg 5:0

HSBC: Gibson (Harvey); Samuelsson-Valentine, Gildon-Seed, Miglioranzi-DiPerna, Larcher; DiGiacinto-Gersich-Gazley, Schneider-Pollock-McClure, Frigo-Mantenuto-Bradley, Brunner-Misley-Marchetti.
Coach: Shedden

Vorarlberg: Caffi (Madlener); Schnetzer-Roehl, Reini-Kernberger, Korecky-Wempe, Bukarts-Dornbach-Adams, Maier-Gallant-Florchuk, Macierzynski-Tschofen-Metzler, Woborsky-Lebeda-Summer.
Coach: Nygard

Gates: 1-0 Max Gildon (21.59), 2-0 Luca Frigo (26.40), 3-0 Brad McClure (28.26), 4-0 Dustin Gazley (30.54), 5-0 Dustin Gazley (33.30)

Viewers: 2.901

The other results from Tuesday:

Olimpija Ljubljana – Klagenfurter AC 3:2
Goals: 0:1 Dobrovolny (8.41), 1:1 Boychuk (26.33), 1:2 Herburger (28.11), 2:2 Boychuk (30.13), 3:2 Petan (31.54)
Audience: 3.921

Villacher SV – Graz 99ers 1:4
Goals: 0:1 Vela (3.30), 0:2 Koch (6.17), 1:2 Ritchie (30.15), 1:3 Huber (53.06), 1:4 Roy (56.28)
Audience: 3.465

Black Wings Linz – Fehervar AV 7:0
Goals: 1:0 St-Amant (7.46), 2:0 Barron (17.04), 3:0 Barron (22.43), 4:0 Pusnik (24.41), 5:0 Oschgan (33.02), 6:0 Knott (51.19), 7:0 Oschgan (54.35)
Audience: 4.205

HC Innsbruck – RB Salzburg 0:4
Goals: 0:1 Coe (13:09), 0:2 Nissner (24:08), 0:3 Hochkofler (44:11), 0:4 Huber (54:45)
Audience: 2.000

Ferencvaros – Vienna Capitals 2:3 aet
Goals: 0:1 Kosmachuk (32.13), 1:1 Shaw (32.47), 2:1 Coulter (37.11), 2:2 Vey (56.19), 2:3 Cole Hults (63.27)
Audience: 1.818