Captain Paul Eisendle (left) led Sterzing to victory against the reigning champions on December 26th. Now the Broncos are visiting Zell am See again. © EK Zeller Eisbären

The dates for the intermediate round have been set.

The regular season of the Alps Hockey League ended on Sunday evening. The dates for the intermediate round were announced the following day.

February 02, 2026

From: pm/dl

The top five teams from the regular season have already secured their spot in the quarterfinals. In the Master Round, they will compete from Thursday, February 5th, to Saturday, March 7th (one home and one away game each day) for the playoff pick and home-court advantage.

The Red Bull Hockey Juniors, having won the regular season with four bonus points, enter the Master Round as the top seed, followed by defending champions Zeller Eisbären (3 bonus points), KHL Sisak (2 bonus points), HC Asiago (1 bonus point), and the Wipptal Broncos (0 bonus points). The Wildpferde (Wild Horses) secured their Master Round spot in the very last game. The opening game on Thursday will be between Zell am See and the Wipptal Broncos.

The Qualification Round kicks off on Wednesday with one match, followed by two matches on Thursday. Divided into two groups of four teams each, the top three teams from each group will qualify for the Pre-Playoffs. The Qualification Round will also consist of a home-and-away format. The final matchday takes place on Thursday, February 26th, after which the Pre-Playoffs will begin. Simultaneously, the teams in the Master Round will complete their remaining matches.

Ritten starts as early as Wednesday

In Qualification Round A, the Kitzbühel Eagles are the top seed. The North Tyrolean team will face HC Meran in their opening game on Thursday. In Qualification Round B, EC Bregenzerwald holds the top spot. The Vorarlberg team will host the Ritten Buam on Wednesday. Cortina and the Unterland Cavaliers will also be in action on Thursday. HC Gröden will enter the intermediate round on Saturday – away against Ritten.

AlpsHL: This week's games

Master round:
Zeller Eisbären – Wipptal Broncos (Thursday, 7:30 pm)
KHL Sisak – Red Bull Juniors
Red Bull Juniors – Wipptal Broncos (Saturday, 7:15 pm)
HC Asiago – Zeller Eisbären (Saturday, 8:00 PM)

The table
1. Red Bull Hockey Juniors – 4 bonus points
2. EK The Zeller Polar Bears – 3
3. KHL Sisak – 2
4. HC Migross Asiago – 1
5. Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan – 0


Qualification Round, Group A:
Adler Kitzbühel – HC Meran (Thursday, 7:30 pm)
SG Cortina – Unterland Cavaliers (Thursday, 8:30 pm)
Unterland Cavaliers – Adler Kitzbühel (Saturday, 7:00 PM)
HC Meran – SG Cortina (Saturday, 7:30 pm)

The table
1. Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel – 3 bonus points
2. SG Cortina Hafro – 2
3. HC Meran Pircher – 1
4. Hockey Unterland Cavaliers – 0


Qualification Round, Group B:
EC Bregenzerwald – Rittner Buam (Wednesday, 19.30 p.m.)
Rittner Buam – HC Gröden (Saturday, 6:00 PM)

The table
1. EC Bregenzerwald – 3 bonus points
2. Rittner Buam SkyAlps – 2
3. HC Gherdeina valgardena.it – 1
4. HDD Jesenice – 0