HC Meran secured three important points against the Unterland Cavaliers © BK Photos

Merano fights its way into the pre-playoffs

On Saturday evening, the South Tyrolean derby between HC Meran and the Unterland Cavaliers took place. The Eagles narrowly prevailed 4-2 and thus qualified early for the pre-playoffs.

February 21, 2026

From: none

In the first period, the Bad Merano team seemed a bit sluggish and made a lot of mistakes, especially on defense. This was punished after just two minutes. Villi Pisetta capitalized on a Merano error in the slot and fired home to give the visitors the lead. However, the visitors weren't without their own defensive lapses. In the 18th minute, David Trivellato took advantage of the chaos in the opposing defense. Just 90 seconds later, Thomas Galimberti broke away on goal and put the visitors back in front.

From the second period onward, the home team dominated the game, creating scoring chances almost every minute. Tizian Giovanelli was kept busy, keeping his team in the game. However, after 29 minutes, even the Cavs' number 29 was helpless. On the power play, Daniel Gellon passed to the wide-open Reid Stefanson, who simply had to tap it in. The decisive goal came in the 47th minute. A screened shot from Daniel Gellon at the blue line found its way directly into the net. The Cavaliers battled back afterward, but the final goal of the evening also belonged to HCM. Daniel Gellon scored into the empty net in the final minute.

Ritten lets victory slip away

Fans at the Ritten Arena witnessed a spectacular evening. The South Tyrolean team lost 5-6 in overtime against EC Bregenzerwald, having initially erased a three-goal deficit and then squandered a two-goal lead. Bregenzerwald was clearly the stronger team at first, especially at even strength. However, Ritten's power play, a particular strength of the Buam (Ritten's nickname), was a force to be reckoned with. They scored on all three of their first power plays. First, Alderson scored with a powerful one-timer (26th minute), then Kostner after a beautifully executed passing sequence (29th minute), and finally Kostner again, this time after a rebound (33rd minute). Within seven minutes, the Buam had turned the game around, tying it at 3-3 and thus getting back into contention.

Ritten experienced a crazy evening © Max Pattis

The Buam capitalized on their momentum in the final period, turning the game on its head. First, Robert Öhler was on hand when a puck landed in front of his stick from behind the net, and he made no mistake (42nd minute). Then, Alderson added a fifth with a clean wrist shot from the slot (46th minute). However, Ritten then incurred several penalties, and the momentum shifted back in favor of the Vorarlberg team. They scored twice through Rantanen, first on a five-on-three (50th minute), then on a power play (52nd minute). No further goals were scored in the tense final minutes, sending the game to overtime, where Bregenzerwald quickly sealed the victory. Without Ritten even getting possession, Kauppila scored with a shot into the near corner to make it 5-3 (61st minute).

Val Gardena wins and wins

The Wipptal Broncos came away empty-handed. Playing at their home arena, the Weihenstephan Arena, the Wild Horses suffered a 1-3 defeat against the Red Bull Juniors, although Bryson Cianfrone brought the Broncos back into the game with a goal five minutes before the end, making it 1-2.

Carmine Buono & Co. won. © Matias Demsar

HC Gröden was significantly more successful. The Ladin team secured a 2-0 away victory in Jesenice. After 48 goalless minutes, Davide Schiavone finally broke the deadlock for the HCG fans. Five minutes later, Simon Pitschieler sealed the 2-0 final score.

Master round: Saturday's results

Wipptal - Salzburg 1:3
0:1 Eliseev (12.00), 0:2 Juhola (49.51), 1:2 Cianfrone (55.41), 1:3 Auer (59.59)
Audience: No information

Zell am See - Asiago 5:2
1:0 Wilfan (03.12), 2:0 Putnik (12.16), 3:0 Putnik (29.02), 3:1 Magnabosco (31.07), 3:2 Garau (41.56), 4:2 Jennes (48.28), 5:2 Huard (51.10)
Audience: 2008

Qualifying Round Gr. A: Saturday's results

Meran - Unterland 4:2
0:1 Pisetta (02.06), 1:1 Trivellato (17.12), 1:2 Galimberti (18.46), 2:2 Stefanson (29.20), 3:2 Gellon (46.20), 4:2 Gellon (59.33)
Audience: 473

Kitzbühel - Cortina 6:3
0:1 Pietroniro (02:53), 0:2 Kalajanniska (13:47), 1:2 Ketonen (18:47), 2:2 Bretschneider (34:37), 3:2 Losching (36:33), 4:2 Engelhart (41:51), 5:2 Hochfilzer (50:17), 6:2 Wetzl (51:55), 6:3 Kalajanniska (55.50)
Audience: 1250

Qualifying Round Gr. B: Saturday's results

Jesenice - Val Gardena 0:2
0:1 Schiavone (48.51), 0:2 Pitschieler (53.13)
Audience: 350

Ritten - Bregenzerwald 5:6 aet
0:1 Grasser (01:23), 0:2 Metzler-Wagner (02:03), 0:3 Laaksonen (14:59), 1:3 Alderson (25:03), 2:3 Kostner (28:22), 3:3 Kostner (32:09), 4:3 Öhler (41:21), 5:3 Alderson (45:55), 5:4 Rantanen (49:33), 5:5 Rantanen (51:58), 5:6 Kauppila (60:50)
Audience: 362