Andreas Bernard & Co. are in the playoffs. © BK Photo

Ecstasy in Merano and Val Gardena – Ritten's glory fades

HC Meran advanced to the Alps Hockey League (AlpsHL) playoffs on Tuesday evening thanks to their second victory in 48 hours against EC Bregenzerwald – marking their third consecutive year in the league. HC Gherdëina also celebrated their qualification for the playoffs.

March 05, 2026

From: sn

The future of HC Meran is more uncertain than ever after their planned withdrawal from the AlpsHL. However, the present is bringing smiles to the faces of the Eagles. In the pre-playoffs, Daniel Gellon and his teammates followed up their 4-2 home win on Tuesday with a decisive 6-2 away victory against EC Bregenzerwald. This secured them a 2-0 win in the best-of-three series.

The game, played before over 1.200 fans, mirrored the match from two days prior: Merano trailed 1-2 in the final period, but then upped the tempo and turned the game on its head. Two goals in the 43rd minute, scored within eleven (!) seconds, proved decisive. First, David Trivellato equalized, before Jakob Fuchs gave the Eagles a 3-2 lead. The Vorarlberg team never recovered from this quickfire double; instead, they were completely outplayed by the South Tyroleans in the final minutes. Filip Cruseman and Nick Rein extended the lead to 6-2.

A curious scene

Without Pascal Brunner, but with Unterland's new signing Alex Egger, the Borgatello team took the lead in the 19th minute. Rasmus Nousiainen fired the puck from the face-off circle past goalie Lorenz Widhalm into the top corner. Nico Kramer and Bernhard Posch had given the home team hope in the second period. In between, Meran scored what appeared to be a 2-1 goal, but it was correctly disallowed: Widhalm had the puck in his glove hand, but at the same time, a second puck rolled into the net. After reviewing the video, the officials determined that the second puck was "hidden" under the goalpost and fell down at the exact moment Giovanni Mandruzzato shot.

In contrast, there's a state of euphoria in Val Gardena: The Furies, with their 4-3 overtime victory against EC Kitzbühel, have opened the playoff door for the first time since 2022. The game started disastrously: Two major errors by HCG within 19 seconds led to Kitzbühel taking a 2-0 lead. First, Niklas Bretschneider broke free behind Julian Senoner's net, assisted Jacob Pfeffer, who was wide open in the slot, and found the top corner. Shortly after, Zdenek Sedlak capitalized on a Buono mistake before calmly finishing the breakaway. The Furies then upped the tempo and pulled one back: Davide Schiavone sent Sacha Guimond through with a cross-ice pass, and Guimond wasted no time firing a slapshot into the top corner.

Things got even better for the visitors at the start of the second period: After Endre miraculously prevented a 1-3 deficit in a one-on-one situation, HCG equalized through a solo effort by Carmine Buono. Adler goalie Thomas McCollum didn't cover himself in glory on Buono's backhand shot. Shortly afterward, McCollum had to pick the puck out of his net again when Dmitri Vozovik fired a shot directly after a pass from Nicolò Esposito. Stephan Deluca and Simon Pitschieler should have extended the lead to 4-2 during one of the numerous power plays, but the Skokan-coached team lacked the finishing touch.

Deluca makes the decision

This proved costly, as Kitzbühel drew courage from the difficult situations they had weathered and equalized in the 47th minute. Endre was powerless to stop a deflection from Fröwis. Fröwis then took center stage: despite the North Tyroleans' relentless pace, the Swede managed to prevent his team from falling behind. He did so again just seconds before the final whistle, using his kneepad to block a Fröwis shot. The game went into overtime, where Gröden once again dictated the play. After Castlunger hit the crossbar, it was Deluca who finally relieved the HCG fans. He slotted a blocked shot into the empty Kitzbühel net.

The contrast to the Ritten Buam could hardly be greater. After their 1-4 defeat in Pieve di Cadore against Cortina, it's certain that the two-time AlpsHL champions will miss the quarterfinals for the first time since 2021. After a scoreless first period, the Halmo-coached team fell behind due to goals from Marco Sanna and Chad Pietroniro (on the power play). Although Simon Kostner rekindled hope in the final period, the comeback wasn't to be. Instead, Pietroniro completed his hat trick with two more goals.

Sisak rejoices, Wipptal laments. © Oskar Brunner

Meanwhile, the Wipptal Broncos finished the Master Round in last place. Despite taking a 2-0 lead, the Sjöquist-coached team suffered a 3-4 defeat against Sisak in their final game. Franco Sproviero and Bryson Cianfrone, who scored twice, put the home team on the path to victory with a strong opening period. However, Sisak responded with three goals and remained composed even when Cianfrone tied the game at 3-3 in the 52nd minute. The game-winning goal was scored by Karlo Marinkovic.

Alps Hockey League:

Pre-playoffs

EC Kitzbühel – HC Gherdëina 3:4 aet
Goals: 1:0 Pfeffer (9.40), 2:0 Sedlak (9.59), 2:1 Guimond (15.16), 2:2 Buono (21.39), 2:3 Vozovik (27.07), 3:3 Fröwis (46.30), 3:4 Deluca (64.01)
Audience: 815
Score in the series: 0:2

EC Bregenzerwald – HC Meran 2:6
Goals: 0:1 Nousiainen (18.35), 1:1 Kramer (22.30), 2:1 Posch (30.12), 2:2 Trivellato (42.45), 2:3 Fuchs (42.56), 2:4 Gellon (47.53), 2:5 Cruseman (52.23), 2:6 Rein (56.41)
Audience: 1234
Final score in the series: 0:2

SG Cortina – Rittner Buam 3:1
Goals: 1:0 Sanna (25.02), 2:0 Chad Pietroniro (36.59), 2:1 Kostner (45.04), 3:1 Chad Pietroniro (51.57), 4:1 Chad Pietroniro (59.19)
Audience: 210
Final score in the series: 2:0

Master round

Red Bull Juniors – HC Asiago 7:4
Goals: 0:1 Traversa (19.19), 0:2 Valentini (22.34), 1:2 Kogler (25.02), 1:3 Chiodo (32.01), 2:3 Kogler (41.53), 3:3 Maul (42.07), 4:3 Maul (44.43), 5:3 Schuster (47.06), 6:3 Juhola (48.28), 6:4 Garau (52.06), 7:4 Juhola (59.41)
Audience: 57

Wipptal Broncos – KHL Sisak 3:4
Goals: 1:0 Cianfrone (9.04), 2:0 Sproviero (12.48), 2:1 Juric (24.09), 2:2 Zavrski (24.42), 2:3 Yeob (40.51), 3:3 Cianfrone (51.41), 3:4 Marinkovic (52.38)
Audience: 302