Gröden knocked out the champions from Zell am See. © Matthaeus Kostner

Memorable: Val Gardena and Merano win for history

What an incredible night of hockey! HC Gröden secured their first-ever semifinal victory in the Alps Hockey League, absolutely thrashing the reigning champions. Around 1.300 fans went wild. Shortly afterward, HC Meran followed suit with a crazy win in Croatia.

March 28, 2026

From the Pranives in Wolkenstein

For ten long years, the Val Gardena ice hockey fans had to wait for this moment – ​​and now it's finally here! Their HCG has reached the semifinals for the first time since the Alps Hockey League was founded, and now they have their first victory to celebrate. Val Gardena handed Zell am See a 5-0 defeat on Saturday, tying the best-of-seven series at 1-1.

After narrowly missing out on their first win in Thursday's overtime loss, HC Gröden finally secured all three points. The undisputed match-winner was Claes Endre. The Swedish newcomer, who joined the team in January, stopped all 28 shots on goal, boosting his save percentage in his 19 appearances for HCG to an incredible 94 percent. He received a standing ovation from the fans after the final buzzer, earning him the title of Player of the Game.

Even the goalie scores

Initially, however, the spotlight at Pranives belonged to Endre's defenders. Birthday boy Sacha Guimond finished off a quick counter-attack to make it 1-0, giving himself the best possible present for his 35th birthday (17th minute). Before the first break, Gröden increased their lead to 2-0: A shot from Dmitry Vozovik was parried by Zell defender Kele Staffler, who inadvertently put it into his own net (19th minute).

Those expecting a response from the champions from Salzburg were disappointed. Instead, the Fury continued their unbridled onslaught. Carmine Buono and Vlastimil Dostalek both hit the post before Vozovik, who had already scored twice, netted a well-deserved third goal from the blue line (37').

In the final period, the Zell am See Polar Bears seemed to have finally run out of ideas against the deep-lying Val Gardena defense. And the home team? They simply kept counter-attacking. In the closing stages, Hannes Kasslatter increased the lead to 4-0 with an empty-net goal (55th minute). Goaltender Endre had set him up with a brilliant through ball – thus crowning his legendary evening. Captain Simon Pitschieler then added the final goal (56th minute). Naturally, after a counter-attack.

Merano's incredible comeback

In the second Alps Hockey League semi-final series between Sisak and Meran, the South Tyrolean team also came out on top. Meran won 4-2 in the packed home arena of KHL Sisak (2.400 spectators) – scoring four goals in the final ten minutes of the game.

Jakob Fuchs and HCM have taken the lead in the semi-final series against Sisak. (BK Photo)

Sisak and Merano, two complete semifinal novices, faced off, with the favored home side clearly the better team for the first 50 minutes. Vito Idzan deservedly put them 2-0 up with a brace. But in the final stages, Merano came roaring back! Bolzano's on-loan Pascal Brunner and Rasmus Nousiainen leveled the score at 2-2 within four minutes. In the 58th minute, Reid Stefanson secured the unexpected lead for Merano, before Daniel Gellon added a fourth goal with an empty-net strike to make it 4-2. The historic victory for the spa town team was thus sealed.

HC Meran's next game is already on Sunday (7:30 p.m.) in Sisak. It's the second meeting of the series. Meanwhile, Val Gardena and Zell am See will meet for the third time on Tuesday in Austria.

The Alps Hockey League semi-finals:

HC Gherdëina – EK Zell am See 5:0
Goals: 1:0 Sacha Guimond (16.41), 2:0 Dmitry Vozovik (18.55), 3:0 Dmitry Vozovik (36.21), 4:0 Hannes Kasslatter (54.16), 5:0 Simon Pitschieler (55.40)
Audience: 1.247
Best-of-7 series: 1:1

KHL Sisak – HC Meran 2:4
Goals: 1:0 Vito Idzan (27.54), 2:0 Vito Idzan (32.13), 2:1 Pascal Brunner (50.04), 2:2 Rasmus Nousiainen (54.22), 2:3 Reid Stefanson (57.55), 2:4 Daniel Gellon (59.46)
Audience: 2.385
Best-of-7 series: 0:1