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Spectacular and efficient at the same time: The Foxes with goal scorer Matt Bradley. © Vanna Antonello
League leaders! This HC Bozen is a poem
HCB Südtirol Alperia kicked off derby week with another furious performance. The Foxes took down league leaders Olimpija Ljubljana with such style, as if the work had been penned by an ice hockey-loving poet.
05 October 2025
From the Sparkasse Arena in Bolzano
From:
Alexander Foppa
This HC Bozen is like a poem. One that expresses great emotions, has a tactful rhythm, and captivates its nearly 3.000 readers—sorry, viewers—for a full three verses. A poem with a fitting ending: a 4-2 victory over Olimpija Ljubljana. With that, the league leader has been toppled and first place has been taken, as the drama dictates.
After their gala performance in Salzburg, the Foxes initially appeared completely drained. Sam Harvey couldn't match the performance of regular backup Jonny Vallini, lacking grit and focus. But that was about to change.
McClure with dream comeback
In the second and third periods, Bolzano practically overran the league leaders. Ljubljana, with its pale former NHL star Zach Boychuk, knew only how to save themselves, if at all, by unfair means. For HCB, Harvey now held everything tight at the back, the defenders cleared everything away, and the attackers pulled off one dream combination after another up front.
Two players stood out from the strong Bolzano team that evening. First, goal-scorer Cole Schneider, who excelled as both a finisher and assist provider, and second, Brad McClure, who celebrated a legendary comeback after a three-week injury layoff, immediately becoming the match-winner with two goals.
The Bozen poem in 3 verses
| The introduction: A shock | HCB was off track in the opening period. Goalie Harvey didn't look good when Bericic made it 1-0 (6th minute), and the entire defense was out of sorts when former Bolzano champion Pance made it 2-0 (13th minute). |
| The main part: A delight | In the middle period, Bozen completely unraveled Ljubljana. At 1-2, Schneider hammered a blocked Gazley shot from his "living room," the slot, into the net (23rd minute). Immediately afterward, he delivered a dream pass to McClure (25th minute). At 3-2, Miglioranzi sent Bradley on a run, who fired the puck into the top corner (28th minute). |
| The conclusion: A completion | In the final period, tempers flared repeatedly – but one remained icy cool: the player of the match, McClure. He scored a spectacular goal for HCB, giving them a 4-2 victory (43rd minute). Harvey then closed things down, partly because Olimpija was too careless with some great chances. |
For Bozen, it was ultimately the best possible start to an incredibly important week: On Wednesday, the Foxes will host Ingolstadt in a crucial Champions League home game, on Friday the first derby of the season will take place in Bruneck, before Villach will visit the Sparkasse Arena on Sunday.
HCB Südtirol Alperia – HK Olimpija Ljubljana 4-2
HSBC: Harvey (Vallini); Valentine-Barbiero, Gildon-Seed, Miglioranzi-DiPerna, Larcher; Gersich-Bradley-Gazley, Schneider-Pollock-McClure, Frank-Misley-Brunner, Frigo-Mantenuto-DiGiacinto, Marchetti.Coach: Kleinendorst
Olympia: Horak (Kolin); Masic-Brennan, Halbert-Kirichenko, Cosic-Crnovic; Meyer-Boychuk-Mehle, Pance-Petan-Mahkovec, Simsic-Quince-Kapel, Bohinc-Bericic-Komanovic.
Coach: Cooper
Gates: 0:1 Miha Bericic (5.53), 0:2 Ziga Pance (12.52), 1:2 Cole Schneider (22.43), 2:2 Brad McClure (24.54), 3:2 Matt Bradley (27.49), 4:2 Brad McClure (42.01)
Viewers: 2.890
The other results from Sunday:
Linz – Salzburg 3:2 after extra timeGoals: 0:1 St. Denis (19.00), 1:1 Lebler (24.41), 2:1 Roe (45.53), 2:2 Nissner (49.31), 3:2 Barron (64.10)
Audience: 4.154
Klagenfurt – Ferencvaros 3:2
Goals: 1-0 Schwinger (7.03), 2-0 Gomboc (8.52), 2-1 Tammela (43.13), 2-2 Tammela (57.51), 3-2 Petersen (59.35)
Audience: 3.737
Villach – Fehervar 2:4
Goals: 0:1 Bartalis (15.19), 0:2 Erdely (18.24), 1:2 van Nes (31.23), 1:3 Horvath (44.31), 2:3 Scherbak (50.52), 2:4 Kuralt (56.28)
Audience: 3.109
Vorarlberg – Graz 2:3 after extra time
Goals: 0:1 Collins (3.32), 1:1 Burke (32.18), 2:1 Dornbach (40.17), 2:2 Ganahl (48.17), 2:3 Haudum (60.18)
Audience: 1.543
| SP | G | U | V | TV | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. HCB South Tyrol | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 27:10 | 18 |
| 2. Olimpija Ljubljana | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 40:19 | 16 |
| 3. EC Salzburg | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 21:16 | 15 |
| 4. HC Pustertal | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 23:14 | 14 |
| 5. Graz99ers | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 27:19 | 13 |
| 6. EC Villach | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 26:26 | 13 |
| 7. EC Klagenfurt | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 20:18 | 12 |
| 8. Vienna Capitals | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 25:30 | 12 |
| 9. Fehervar | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 17:25 | 10 |
| 10. Ferencvarosi | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 17:22 | 7 |
| 11. Linz | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 21:26 | 5 |
| 12. HC Innsbruck | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 17:36 | 5 |
| 13. Vorarlberg | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 14:34 | 4 |
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