Rasmus Nousiainen (right) scored twice. © BK Photo

Val Gardena wins convincingly – Merano stages a furious comeback

Mixed feelings among South Tyrol's teams in the Alps Hockey League (AlpsHL): While HC Meran and HC Gherdëina celebrated a victory at the start of the pre-playoffs, the Ritten Buam suffered a defeat – and that in their own home arena.

March 03, 2026

From: leo

In front of nearly 1.150 fans, HC Gherdëina had to fight against an almost uncanny losing streak. The team, led by newcomer Tobias Brighenti, had not only lost all three league games against EC Kitzbühel, but had also gone over two and a half years without a win. Thanks to a dominant performance that culminated in a 7-2 victory, this curse was finally broken. The Ladin team thus took the lead in the best-of-three series.

Although the Furies dominated the opening minutes and had chances to take a 1-0 lead through Hannes Kasslatter and Luke Moncada (while shorthanded), Kitzbühel took the lead: Lukas Waschnig beat HCG goalie Claes Endre with a clever trick shot. The home team's response, however, was fierce. Just 31 seconds after conceding, Moncada fired a shot in front of the defenseman, catching Markus Gratzer off his shoulder. Shortly afterward, the Italian-Canadian was again in the spotlight, perfectly positioned after a Dostalek deflection and tapping the rebound into the empty net.

Moncada with a three-pack

Those HCG goals that didn't come in the first period were scored in the second. First, Luca Biondi converted a breakaway after Kitzbühel lost possession of the puck at their own blue line. Shortly afterward, Samuel Moroder, positioned in front of the net, increased the lead to 4-1 with a rebound. The momentum then shifted to the other side, as Kitzbühel initially killed off a two-man disadvantage before Jacob Pfeffer scored from distance on the power play. However, Nicolò Esposito, who blocked a shot and then remained composed in front of Gratzer, quickly restored the three-goal advantage.

Simon Pitschieler & Co. left nothing to chance. © Matthäus Kostner

Kitzbühel's resistance was broken, as became evident at the start of the third period. During their own power play, the North Tyroleans once again handled the puck carelessly, and Simon Pitschieler capitalized, assisting Moncada, who completed his hat trick with a spectacular feint. From then on, the home team allowed nothing to get past them until the final buzzer sounded. Biondi sealed the 7-2 victory with a well-placed shot from the slot.

Merano gets going late

The situation was similar in the match between HC Meran and EC Bregenzerwald, as the Austrians had won all three games in the regular season. Roberts Lipsbergs and his teammates were also on course for victory for much of the pre-playoff opener. However, the Borgatello-coached team showed great character and turned a 1-2 deficit into a 4-2 win in the final ten minutes.

After a scoreless first period in which Merano dominated, Jesse Rantanen opened the scoring just nine seconds after the restart. Marlon Tschofen responded to Rasmus Nousiainen's equalizer in the 44th minute. Merano refused to be discouraged, however, and Nick Rein tied the game on the power play before Nousiainen put them ahead for the first time. With about two minutes remaining, Daniel Gellon sealed the victory – again on the power play.

Ritten blunders

The Ritten Buam started the pre-playoffs against Cortina as favorites. However, after a 2-3 defeat, Mike Halmo's team now faces elimination. There were hardly any noteworthy chances at the beginning – but there was a goal: Ritten gave Luca Barnabò too much space after a pass from Alverà, and he fired unchallenged into the near top corner. The Buam started the second period with more pace. This led to the equalizer for the blue-and-reds: Leonardo Felicetti won the puck, Brett Welychka fired a shot, and Simon Kostner converted the rebound. But Ritten's defense made another mistake, as Massimo Pietroniro, left completely unmarked at the far post, had no trouble restoring the Ampezzo team's lead a few minutes later.

Jacob Crespi & Co. lost against Cortina. © Max Pattis

With the goal of closing the gap, the Buam started the final period determined to do so. They were quickly rewarded: Tobias Graf deflected a shot from Patrick Madsen in front of Antti Karjalainen, tying the game at 2-2. This spurred Ritten on, and they dominated for a few minutes, but seemingly out of nowhere, they conceded a third goal, making it 2-3. After a through ball from Fortunato, Oskari Kalajanniska raced alone towards Furlong and calmly slotted the puck home. Ritten threw everything forward once more, pinning Cortina back in their own zone, but despite several good opportunities, they couldn't find the equalizer.

Alps Hockey League:

Pre-playoffs

HC Meran – EC Bregenzerwald 4:2
Goals: 0:1 Rantanen (20.09), 1:1 Nousiainen (33.32), 1:2 Tschofen (43.32), 2:2 Rein (49.22), 3:2 Nousiainen (52.14), 4:2 Gellon (58.17)
Audience: 570
Score in the series: 1:0

Rittner Buam – SG Cortina 2:3
Goals: 0:1 Barnabò (10.14), 1:1 Kostner (26.12), 1:2 Massimo Pietroniro (29.49), 2:2 Graf (48.23), 2:3 Kalajanniska (52.02)
Audience: 476
Score in the series: 0:1

HC Gherdëina – EC Kitzbühel 7:2
Goals: 0:1 Waschnig (13.45), 1:1 Moncada (14.16), 2:1 Moncada (15.52), 3:1 Biondi (23.20), 4:1 Moroder (26.40), 4:2 Pfeffer (30.18), 5:2 Esposito (32.24), 6:2 Moncada (43.14), 7:2 Biondi (58.13)
Audience: 1127
Score in the series: 1:0

Master round

EK Zell am See – Red Bull Juniors 3-1
Goals: 1:0 Coffman (20.32), 2:0 Rappold (29.18), 2:1 Eliseev (54.11), 3:1 Coffman (56.45)
Audience: 2294

KHL Sisak – HC Asiago 4:7
Goals: 0:1 Porco (7.09), 0:2 Rigoni (7.41), 1:2 Idzan (9.05), 1:3 Gios (10.42), 2:3 Dobric (12.43), 3:3 Larionovs (13.49), 3:4 Chiodo (32.19), 3:5 Valentini (36.56), 3:6 Calisti (47.12), 4:6 Larionovs (51.51), 4:7 Porco (59.04)
Audience: 1230