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Former Bolzano player Adam Helewka (in blue) was one of the most outstanding players at Villacher SV. © VSV/STEFAN
Ex-crack stabs HCB in the back
Although HCB Südtirol Alperia is one of the top teams on paper, coach Kurt Kleinendorst's team too often fails to deliver a good performance on the ice. The Foxes suffered a debacle in the Villach arena on Wednesday. Ironically, a former Bolzano player was primarily responsible.
03 December 2025
From: mv
Oh dear, HC Bozen: The Foxes certainly hadn't envisioned their away game against Villacher SV going this way. A strong final period wasn't enough to defeat the clinical Carinthians – VSV deservedly won 4-1. For HCB, this marked their first defeat after three consecutive wins.
Villach had suffered a 1-4 defeat against Klagenfurt AC in the Carinthian derby on Sunday. Highly motivated to make amends, the Eagles started the game and put Bolzano under pressure from the outset. It was no surprise, then, that the best scoring opportunities in the opening period belonged to the hosts. However, the puck never found its way past HCB goalie Samuel Harvey.
Dustin Gazley (in the air) and his teammates repeatedly ran into trouble with VSV goalkeeper Joe Cannata. © VSV/STEFAN
That finally changed in the second period. Villach went on a scoring spree, while HC Bolzano completely fell apart. Coach Kleinendorst tried to shake his team awake with a timeout, but even that didn't have the desired effect. In the third period, Bolzano increased the pressure and, thanks to an early goal by Matt Bradley, was able to hope for a comeback – but it wasn't to be that long ago.
Particularly bitter from Bolzano's perspective: Former star Adam Helewka had a stellar performance on Wednesday. The 30-year-old donned the HCB jersey last season and racked up an impressive 50 points in 55 games. Against his former team, Helewka contributed three points: He scored two goals himself and played a crucial role in setting up another.
The highlights of the game
| Penalty killing? Not a chance! | Both teams made their biggest impact while shorthanded. Harvey saved his team in the opening period, before Luca Frigo failed to capitalize on a pass from Daniel Mantenuto in the second period. |
| VSV in a goal frenzy | After Brad McClure's shot hit the crossbar, the Villach goal buzzer sounded almost every minute: First, Helewka put his team ahead with a one-timer, and shortly after, he initiated a counterattack that Nick Hutchinson finished clinically. When Elias Wallenta scored Villach's third goal just 42 seconds later, the game seemed all but over for HCB. |
| A glimmer of hope for HCB | The visitors started the final period well and were rewarded for it: McClure left the puck for Bradley, who beat VSV goalie Joe Cannata through his legs. Could they still pull one back? |
| Bad luck and a wall in the VSV goal | The answer is: No! Although HCB increased the pressure in the last few minutes, both Cannata in the VSV goal and the post (after a Mantenuto hammer shot) thwarted the Bolzano comeback. |
The away game against Villach was just the beginning of a long road trip for the HC Bozen players. On Friday, the Foxes will visit the Vienna Capitals, and on Sunday they will travel to Budapest to face league newcomer Ferencvaros. This means the Foxes will cover over 1.700 kilometers in just under five days – a distance not to be underestimated.
Villacher SV – HC Bozen 4:1
VSVCannata (Moser); Raspotnig-MacPherson, Strong-Wall, Katic-Kulda; Rebernig-Hancock-Hughes, Scherbak-Helewka-Hutchinson, van Nes-Maxa-Wallenta, Prodinger-Tschurnig-ErneSilver: Harvey (Vallini); Gildon-Seed, Valentine-Samuelsson, Miglioranzi-Barberio; Schneider-Bradley-McClure, Pollock-Gersich-Gazley, Frigo-Mantenuto-DiGiacinto, Frank-Misley-Marchetti, Brunner
Tore: 1:0 Helewka (29.03), 2:0 Hutchinson (30.32), 3:0 Wallenta (31.14), 3:1 Bradley (44.18), 4:1 Helewka (59.49)
spectator: 3.041
The other games from Wednesday
HC Pustertal – Klagenfurter AC (in progress)Goals: 0:1 Kempe (1.11), 0:2 From (8.20), 0:3 Schwinger (13.55), 0:4 Maier (41.34)
spectator: 2.672
Ferencvaros Budapest – Red Bull Salzburg 2-1
Goals: 1:0 Coulter (7.54), 1:1 Corcoran (25.04), 2:1 Lindgren (38.02)
spectator: 1.481
Graz 99ers – Vienna Capitals 3-1
Goals: 1-0 Currie (27.57), 1-1 Franklin (29.07), 2-1 Roy (44.30), 3-1 Currie (59.42)
spectator: 2.758
Black Wings Linz – HC Innsbruck 5:4 aet
Goals: 1:0 Ograjensek (11.01), 1:1 Coatta (13.08), 2:1 Söllinger (21.09), 3:1 St-Amant (24.17), 3:2 Lajeunesse (35.16), 4:2 Kristler (47.06), 4:3 Lajeunesse (55.37), 4:4 Corbeil (58.35), 5:4 Lebler (61.54)
spectator: 3.511
Fehervar – Olimpija Ljubljana 3:1
Goals: 0:1 Quince (8.46), 1:1 Varga (29.34), 2:1 Hari (45.20), 3:1 Campbell (51.24)
spectator: 3.184
Table
| SP | G | U | V | TV | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Graz99ers | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 81:54 | 50 |
| 2. HC Pustertal | 23 | 16 | 0 | 7 | 82:57 | 47 |
| 3. EC Klagenfurt | 23 | 15 | 0 | 8 | 81:63 | 45 |
| 4. Olimpija Ljubljana | 25 | 16 | 0 | 9 | 103:73 | 45 |
| 5. HCB South Tyrol | 23 | 14 | 0 | 9 | 85:58 | 43 |
| 6. EC Villach | 23 | 12 | 0 | 11 | 77:70 | 38 |
| 7. EC Salzburg | 23 | 12 | 0 | 11 | 67:55 | 36 |
| 8. Ferencvarosi | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 63:76 | 34 |
| 9. Fehervar | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 53:71 | 33 |
| 10. Linz | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 78:81 | 31 |
| 11. Vienna Capitals | 23 | 8 | 0 | 15 | 55:72 | 25 |
| 12. HC Innsbruck | 25 | 7 | 0 | 18 | 65:108 | 19 |
| 13. Vorarlberg | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 47:99 | 16 |
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