Franco Sproviero had several reasons to celebrate. © Daniele Frusone

Is this Sterzing's new ice hockey hero?

The Wipptal Broncos secured a celebrated home victory against the Rittner Buam in the Alps Hockey League. A completely unknown player made his debut. The hockey stars from Val Gardena and Merano were also in a celebratory, goal-scoring mood on Thursday evening.

September 25, 2025

From: fop

Franco Sproviero is the man who will lead the eagerly awaited duel between the Wipptal Broncos and the Rittner Buam He literally single-handedly decided the game. He shot Sterzing to a 2-1 victory in overtime.

The 27-year-old Italian-Canadian joined Wipptal in the summer as a replacement for the supposedly irreplaceable league top scorer Adam Capannelli. After an inconspicuous opening game against Unterland, he made his first major impact this Thursday – scoring his first two goals in Europe. In a game that had been disjointed for a long time, he provided the first highlight in the 35th minute: after a wonderful cross from Connor Sanvido, he slotted home the 1-0 lead.

And Ritten? The boys had been rather lackluster up until then – aside from one dangerous counterattack. It wasn't until the final period that they had their first chance to celebrate, when Tobias Graf stepped up to level the score at 1-1 after a blocked Madsen shot. In the ensuing overtime, Sproviero stepped up again. On the power play, he fired a powerful shot under the crossbar – 2-1 and Wipptal's second win of the season! Ritten, on the other hand, suffered their first setback.

Val Gardena Shooting Festival against Cortina

The HC Gherdëina made a clear statement in its first home game – against their neighbors from Cortina, of all places. The Furies overran the former Italian champions 6-1 in front of around 500 spectators.

Notably, four of the six goals were scored by Val Gardena's new signings. Adam Brady scored a brace, one of which was denied by the post. Cortina goalkeeper Antti Karjalainen assisted on his goal to make it 2-0, and the Canadian slotted home the decisive goal for the 4-1. There had been a hint of tension earlier when Nicolò Remolato reduced the deficit to 1-3 following a Pitschieler misplaced pass. After Brady's 4-1, Val Gardena stepped up the pace: Carmine Buono and Stephan Deluca boosted the score in the final period.

Traversa makes Merano rejoice

The first points are for the HC Meran The Eagles flew to a 3-2 extra-time victory away at Salzburg's second team.

There were two match winners for the spa town team: One was goalie Andy Bernard, who saved 45 of 47 shots and finished the night with a save percentage of almost 96%. The second key to victory was another new signing, Tommaso Traversa. After Salzburg equalized Merano's first lead through David Trivellato shortly before the final whistle, the former Pustertal striker stepped up in overtime to secure HCM's first points of the season.

Meanwhile, the next pack was given to the Underland Cavaliers After the 3:5 defeat in the opening game against Wipptal, they also conceded five goals in their second home game, losing 0:5 to Sisak.

Although Cavs goalie Laurin Foppa was able to save a whopping 39 shots, the home team was still miles away from scoring their first point. The Croatians laid the groundwork for victory in the opening period, then steadily extended their 2-0 lead in the final period.

Thursday's results:

Wipptal Broncos – Rittner Buam 2:1nV
Goals: Sproviero (34.52), 1:1 Graf (42.26), 2:1 Sproviero (61.53)
Audience: 421

HC Gherdëina – SG Cortina 6:1
Goals: 1:0 Moncada (1.12), 2:0 Brady (2.58), 3:0 Biondi (11.46), 3:1 Remolato (29.52), 4:1 Brady (33.10), 5:1 Buono (48.30), 6:1 Deluca (54.26)
Audience: 487

Unterland Cavaliers – KHL Sisak 0:5
Goals: 0:1 Dobric (6.25), 0:2 Malenica (16.34), 0:3 Dumcius (44.39), 0:4 Panasenko (45.37), 0:5 Bodiroga (53.32)
Audience: 187

RB Juniors – HC Meran 2:3 nV
Goals: 1-0 Krainer (23.08), 1-1 Gellon (27.12), 1-2 Trivellato (32.20), 2-2 Baumann (57.42), 2-3 Traversa (63.54)
Audience: 66

EC Kitzbühel – HC Asiago 6:3
Goals: 1:0 Loshing (4.34), 2:0 Matzka (8.11), 3:0 Krainz (21.31), 4:0 Maxa (22.03), 4:1 Chiodo (23.22), 4:2 Chiodo (34.21), 5:2 Maxa (39.22), 6:2 Maxa (46.34), 6:3 Porco (49.35)
Audience: 587