Paul Hofer saved 26 shots. © BK Photos

Contested derby victory: HC Gröden strikes back

After the bitter home defeat against Celje on Thursday, the Ladins hit back on Saturday and defeated HC Meran in their own four walls. HC Gröden was back in the fight for second place in Qualification Round A.

27 January 2024

From: none

The South Tyrolean duel between HC Meran and HC Gröden promised a lot of excitement. This promise was definitely kept. After the Ladins had already won both duels in the regular season, they also retained the upper hand this evening with 4:3.

The game started very evenly with chances on both sides. After 11 minutes, the guests took advantage of their first big opportunity and took the lead 1-0 thanks to Yuri Cristellon. The 23-year-old took advantage of a coordination error by the Meran defense team and hit the near corner to make it 1-0. Four minutes later, however, the hosts struck back and equalized to 1-1 thanks to Calder Anderson. The Canadian, for his part, punished a mistake by the guests and scored ice-coldly.

Meran presses, Hofer holds

In the middle section, the Kurstadt team found their way into the game perfectly and were able to take the lead for the first time after a few seconds. After a great combination via Nolan Ritchie and Anderson, the 21-year-old scored for the second time of the evening. Less than 40 seconds later, the Furies struck back. Matteo Luisetti made his way along the boards, played the puck into the slot, where Diego Glück was in the right place and hit the mark again. Although Meran became increasingly stronger, the hosts were unable to score again in the middle third. This was due, on the one hand, to the lack of accuracy and, on the other hand, to Paul Hofer, who was in a great mood and confidently parried shot after shot.

Meran and Val Gardena had a real fight © BK Photos

The lack of efficiency took its toll in the final third. The HCG fought its way back into the encounter and made the final section very even. Adler goalie Andrei Makarov was also able to prove himself several times, but he was also defeated 11 minutes before the end. After an attempt by Val Gardena, the 30-year-old parried a follow-up shot, but on the second attempt Anthony DeLuca put the puck into the goal. Meran didn't give up and was rewarded with a power play goal from Brandon McNally 2 minutes before the end, but 75 seconds before the end De Nardin decided the game in favor of the guests with a shot into the far corner of the cross.

A dozen goals in Neumarkt

However, they celebrated a crazy victory Underland Cavaliers. At home, the South Tyroleans beat Fassa 7:5. The Cavs completely botched the start and were already 3-0 behind after 2 minutes. First Defrancesco scored from the slot to make it 1-0 for Fassa and a little later Biondi made it 2-0 after a great combination in front of the goal. The hosts scored for the first time in the 12th minute. Michael Sullmann grabbed the puck in his own zone and, after a wonderful individual action, put the hard rubber disc right into the net. However, the final point in the first 20 minutes belonged to the guests, who made it 3-1 in the majority.

The Cavs scored seven goals on the night. © Vanna Antonello

After Brighenti & Co. completely missed the start of the starting third, they did much better in the middle section. Moritz Kaufmann and Luka Nyman equalized the match within the first minute and made it 3:3. The hosts took the lead for the first time after 27 minutes. With the advantage, Florian Wieser completed a beautiful passing relay to make it 4:3. However, the lead only lasted 16 seconds before Sebastian Selin equalized. With 75 seconds left in the second period, Aleksi Kayra gave the Cavaliers the lead again.

In the final third, Diego Iori initially took advantage of Cavs goalie Simone Peiti's carelessness to make it 5:5, but less than 90 seconds after another equalizer, the Unterland Cavaliers were already leading 7:5. Tobias Brighenti and Kaufmann hit the mark. In the last 15 minutes, the hosts were able to defend their lead and thus kept Fassa at bay in the rankings.

AlpsHL, the results from Saturday:

Master round:

Zell am See - Bregenzerwald 5:2
1:0 Lahoda (19.46), 2:0 Unterluggauer (34.18), 3:0 Huard (40.24), 3:1 Schlogl (41.03), 3:2 Lipsbergs (42.50), 4:2 Wallner (46.59), 5: 2 Huards (55.13)
Audience: 1967

Qualification Round Group A:

Celje - Jesenice 1:2
1:0 Sotlar (09.41), 1:1 Seckar (14.44), 1:2 Jezovsek (38.07)
Audience: 700

Merano - Val Gardena 3:4
0:1 Cristellon (11.02), 1:1 Anderson (15.26), 2:1 Anderson (20.22), 2:2 Glück (20.51), 2:3 DeLuca (49.45), 3:3 McNally, 3:4 De Nardin (58.47)
Audience: 910

Qualification Round Group B:

Klagenfurt - Lustenau 3:1
1:0 Klassek (44.26), 1:1 Wennlund (47.57), 2:1 Gomboc (51.56), 3:1 Gomboc (54.59)
Audience: 265

Underland - Fassa 7:5
0:1 De Francesco (02.02), 0:2 Biondi (02.52), 1:2 Sullmann (11.33), 1:3 Selin (15.51), 2:3 Kaufmann (20.21), 3:3 Nyman (20.56), 4 :3 Wieser (27.00), 4:4 Selin (27.16), 5:4 Kayra (38.43), 5:5 Iori (43.02), 6:5 Brighenti (43.35), 7:5 Kaufmann (44.31)
Audience: 550