Kristians Samitis & Co. had a tough time in Cortina. © Vanna Antonello

Cavaliers struggle, Furie have double reason to celebrate

The die has been cast: The Rittner Buam, Cortina, HC Meran and HC Gherdëina will fight for the Italian championship from January 14th. This was the result of the last match day in the IHL Serie A on Saturday evening.

04 January 2025

From: sn

The situation before the match between Cortina and the Unterland Cavaliers was clear: Michael Sullmann & Co. had to win against the runners-up in regular time or in overtime to secure their place in the Final 4. However, Staffan Lundh's team failed to do so in a 1:5 defeat. HC Gherdëina benefited from this, scoring a 6:3 landslide victory against Sisak at the same time.

Unterland started this groundbreaking game weakened, as top scorer Daniel Murnieks was unavailable. Nevertheless, the guests got off to a perfect start, as Davide Girardi took the lead after just four minutes on the power play. Cortina's response through Luca Barnabò was not long in coming, however.

Cortina dominant

The preliminary decision was made at the beginning of the middle period when the home team hit the target twice within 67 seconds. First Filippo Pompanin outwitted Unterland goalie Tizian Giovanelli, then Gabriele Parini was also successful. The Cavaliers were unable to react and conceded the 43:1 through Giovanni Toffoli in the 4rd minute. Mikael Saha wrapped up the game with the 5:1.

Simon Pitschieler was the outstanding player on the ice. © Studio Kostner

Cortina thus gave HCG a helping hand, which had already played all ten Serie A matches and was dependent on an Ampezzo win. The Ladinians had two reasons to celebrate on Saturday evening, as they defeated Sisak 6:3 at home. Captain Simon Pitschieler became the match winner, scoring a hat trick and providing an assist.

For a long time it did not look like the Furie would win clearly, as Vito Idzan put the Croatians on the road to victory in the 4th minute. Gröden pressed, but had trouble beating the strong Vilim Rosandic in the Sisak goal. It was only after a remarkable individual effort by Pitschieler that they finally managed to score. Rosandic kept getting in the way in the second period too. Pitschieler took responsibility again and put the HCG in the lead for the first time with a backhand. Before the second break, Carson Briere made it 2:2 on the power play.

The Pitschieler Show

If the victory for Val Gardena was now in the balance, this changed after Brad McGowan's 3:2. Sisak collapsed like a house of cards, Val Gardena combined confidently. Stephan Deluca's solo, Pitschieler's slap shot into the corner and Davide Schiavone's shot into the empty goal after Pitschieler's preparatory work pushed the score up to 6:2. The HCG could no longer be denied the victory.

Alps Hockey League:

EK Zell am See – EC Kitzbühel 2:3 nP
Goals: 1:0 McLeod (14.50), 1:1 Schmid (26.50), 2:1 Jennes (40.41), 2:2 Södergren (52.44); decisive penalty: Södergren
Audience: 2855

SG Cortina – Unterland Cavaliers 5:1
Goals: 0:1 Girardi (3.56), 1:1 Barnabò (6.08), 2:1 Pompanin (21.49), 3:1 Parini (22.56), 4:1 Toffoli (42.21), 5:1 Saha (56.16)
Audience: 690

HC Gherdëina – KHL Sisak 6:3
Goals: 0:1 Idzan (3.57), 1:1 Pitschieler (13.03), 2:1 Pitschieler (34.47), 2:2 Briere (37.35), 3:2 McGowan (45.09), 4:2 Deluca (49.27), 5:2 Pitschieler (51.25), 6:2 Schiavone (54.38), 6:3 Briere (55.59)
Audience: 1178

The table