HC Gröden celebrated an important away win. © Oskar Brunner / BRUNNER 2022-23

Small curse broken: Val Gardena clings to the top

HC Gherdëina prevailed in a thrilling local derby with the Wipptal Broncos. The Rittner Buam, on the other hand, suffered a heavy home defeat.

09 October 2025

From: never

On Thursday evening, the 497 spectators at the Weihenstephan Arena in Sterzing were treated to a local derby with top-of-the-table appeal. The Wipptal Broncos, tied on points with KHL Sisak at the top of the table, hosted HC Gherdëina, who were only two points behind. With three wins from five matches, the latter had a strong start to the season, only failing to impress on the road. With a 2-1 victory in Sterzing, they broke this curse – and simultaneously overtook their South Tyrolean rivals.

After surviving an initial period of pressure from the hosts, the Val Gardena team took the lead. Behind the net, Simon Pitschieler had the vision and played the puck into the slot, where Sacha Guimond slotted it home to make it 1-0. Just three minutes later, the Broncos' net rang again. This time, Guimond provided the assist, and Stephan Deluca coolly finished it off in the middle. Both Deluca and Davide Schiavone subsequently came close to scoring the third goal of the night.

Wipptal's connection comes too late

In the second period, both teams missed promising opportunities. Deluca and Schiavone found themselves alone in front of WSV goalie Dominik Groh, who kept his Broncos in the game. At the other end, Schiavone had to save on the line just seconds before the siren after Matthias Rindone had already been beaten. Bryan Cianfrone finally had a great chance to tie the game at the beginning of the third period, but he missed the empty net from a tight angle.

A short time later, however, Cianfrone redeemed himself: During a counterattack in the 49th minute, he laid off Franco Sproviero, who broke the deadlock from close range to make it 1-2. Rindone's goal was subsequently under constant fire, but the Broncos woke up too late in the end – Val Gardena held on to their lead until the end.

Ritten loses to leader

The Rittner Buam also had a big game ahead of them. The South Tyroleans were one point behind the league leaders before their match against Sisak – but they couldn't surpass the Croatians. Instead, they suffered a 1-3 home defeat against the league's best offense. Matko Idzan (3:47) and Danila Larionovs (5:23) put the visitors on the road to victory early on, and Jacob Crespi tied the score for the home side shortly before the end of the first period. Despite numerous chances (30:23), Ritten failed to score another goal. At the other end, Marijus Dumcius extended Sisak's lead and sealed the final score in the 42nd minute.

The Rittner Buam suffered a home defeat. © Max Pattis

HC Merano, on the other hand, pulled off a truly remarkable feat. The Eagles twice fell behind on the road against Cortina due to a man down, but both times they came back thanks to David Trivellato. When the double goal-scorer made it 2-2 in the 59th minute, it almost smelled like overtime at the Stadio Olimpico – but Brayden Sherbinin had something to stop it. Just seconds after the equalizer, the Canadian finished off the game to make it 3-2 to much acclaim.

Alps Hockey League – the results

Red Bull Hockey Juniors – EK Die Zeller Eisbären 5:1
Goals: 0:1 Szypula (6.35), 1:1 Schreiner (7.20), 2:1 Maul (29.49), 3:1 Lanzinger (33.27), 4:1 Eliseev (39.50), 5:1 Eliseev (56.02)

Wipptal Broncos – HC Val Gardena 1:2
Goals: 0:1 Guimond (11.11), 0:2 Deluca (14.29), 1:2 Sproviero (57.39)

Rittner Buam – KHL Sisak 1:3
Goals: 0:1 Idzan (3.47), 0:2 Larionovs (5.23), 1:2 Crespi (19.07), 1:3 Dumcius (41.33)

Cortina – HC Merano 2:3
Goals: 1:0 Kalajanniska (13.46), 1:1 Trivellato (26.36), 2:1 Pietroniro (44.43), 2:2 Trivellato (58.26), Sherbinin (58.53)