Meran is turning on the lights, Val Gardena is completely in the dark

One positive message first: The HC Meran lives! The Eagles, who were badly plucked in the first two rounds, made up for a 0:3, then a 2:4 defeat against Fassa and ultimately won the penalty shootout with 5:4. And that was without offensive whirlwind Calder Anderson, who had to take a shower halfway through the game because of a crosscheck.

But first things first: Meran acted in the same way in the starting phase as it did in the first two unsuccessful games of the season. Namely, completely without assignment, without cohesion, without access to the game. As a result, the HCM was behind 0-3 after just ten minutes after goals from Sebastian Selin, Andrè Vigl and Edgar De Toni. Merano's defense looked bad when they conceded the first two goals, and the third goal went through Freddy Cloutier's saver.

With David Trivellato's goal, who scored after a perfect pass from Marco Franchini, the Merano team was shaken. What followed was by far the best performance of the season to date. The completely free Nolan Ritchie took advantage of a Fassa mistake to make it 2:3. Although Patrick Parmesani Abbott quickly restored the Falcons' old two-goal lead in the power play, there was no stopping the Kurstadt team in the final third - especially Daniel Gellon. The 22-year-old from Merano first sent Joseph Garreffa on his way, who reduced the score to 3:4 after a wonderful solo, then he saw the onrushing Franchini in the power play. He scored with a powerful shot to make it 4:4 and sent both teams into overtime. After this passed goalless, Gellon definitely became the match winner. As the only penalty shooter, he hit the mark and Meran achieved its longed-for first win of the season.

Polar bears dismantle Val Gardena He can win from the first point HC Gherdëina only dreaming in this condition. The red-blues slipped into a 1:9 debacle against title contenders Zell am See. The Ladins started off strong again and left like they did two days ago in the 4:8 against Unterland, early lead. Matteo Luisetti scored from a pass from Simon Pitschieler to make it 1-0. However, it was to be the only home goal that evening. In the starting third, Daniel Ban and Alexander Lahoda scored through Hannes Stoll's braces to make it 2-1 for the guests. Even in his second appearance of the season, the former Pustertal goalie was unable to give his front men the support they needed and adequately replace the ailing Pauli Hofer. In the second third break, Stoll had to make way for Val Gardena's regular number three, Leo Kostner. At this point it was already 6:1 for Zell am See.

HCG coach John Miner (l.) and his assistant Christian Piccolruaz (r.) seemed perplexed. © Matthäus Kostner

However, it would be wrong to pin the debacle on Stoll. On the one hand, because the 23-year-old lacks the necessary match practice after a year's break, and on the other hand, because he was repeatedly left in a losing position by his teammates. The Furies seemed completely unsettled, disoriented in terms of concept and at times. In fact, the game was already over after Ban's second goal in the 21st minute. As a result, scoring goals was made easy for the Eisbären - especially in the final third, when double goalscorer Christian Jennes and former Neumarkt player Tomi Wilenius increased the result from 6:1 to 9:1 with three power play goals.

Unterland greets you from the top While Val Gardena suffered its third defeat of the season and plunged its almost 500 fans into a valley of tears in Pranives, they are returning Underland Cavaliers returned from the away trip to Celje with a big grin on his face. The Hällfors team won 3-2 after a strong final third and continued to storm ahead at the top of the table without losing any points.

The Cavs initially had a hard time with the eight-hour bus ride to Slovenia. Celje initially dictated the game and deservedly took a 1-0 lead. Miro Markkula was able to equalize halfway through the game, but long-time ICE crack Mark Cepon put the league newcomer in front again. In the final third, the Unterlanders really turned up the heat! First, 19-year-old Alex Egger equalized 2-2 with his third goal in the third game of the season, before Moritz Kaufmann secured the 3-2 victory eight minutes before the end. The only downer for the Cavaliers: striker Luka Nyman had to leave the ice early with an injury.

Ritten and Wipptal are following suit The Rittner Buam and the Broncos from Vipiteno were not in action on Saturday. Marco Insam and Co. will be playing in Cortina on Sunday (17.30 p.m.), the Wipptalers will be playing in Klagenfurt on Tuesday (19 p.m.).

Saturday's results: HK Celje - Unterland Cavaliers 2:3 Goals: 1:0 Mintautiskis (17.08), 1:1 Markkula (30.34), 2:1 Cepon (39.53), 2:2 Egger (46.46), 3:2 Kaufmann (51.51) Audience: 450

HC Meran - Fassa Falcons 5:4 nP Goals: 0:1 Selin (5.44), 0:2 Vigl (7.41), 0:3 De Toni (10.49), 1:3 Trivellato (13.13), 2:3 Ritchie (29.29), 2:4 Parmesani Abbott (35.18 ), 3:4 Garreffa (42.10), 4:4 Franchini (49.09), 5:4 Gellon (decisive penalty) Audience: 311

HC Gherdëina - EK Zeller Eisbären 1:9 Goals: 1:0 Luisetti (3.53), 1:1 Ban (10.53), 1:2 Lahoda (15.22), 1:3 Ban (20.15), 1:4 Lahoda (24.39), 1:5 Altuhov (31.05), 1:6 Fechtig (33.05), 1:7 Jennes (47.59), 1:8 Jennes (53.14), 1:9 Wilenius (55.44) Audience: 467

EHC Lustenau - EC Kitzbühel 4:3 aet Goals: 1:0 Wilfan (1.55), 1:1 Bolterle (14.15), 1:2 Seto (23.24), 2:2 Puschnik (30.38), 3:2 Johansson (42.08), 3:3 Tröthan (45.45), 4:3 Alassari (64.07) Audience: 572

Silver Wings Linz - EC Bregenzerwald 3:5 Goals: 0:1 Schlögl (7.29), 1:1 Theirich (12.19), 1:2 Fässler (22.30), 1:3 Schlögl (35.54), 2:3 Mosaad (43.53), 2:4 Pöschmann (45.35), 3:4 Saha (47.19), 3:5 Lipsbergs (47.58) Audience: 137

The table: Pos Team Points 1. Underland Cavaliers 9 2. EK Zeller polar bears 8 3. EC Kitzbühel 7 4. HDD Jesenice 6 5. Rittner Buam 6 6. Wipptal Broncos 6 7. EC Bregenzerwald 6 8. EHC Lustenau 5 9. SG Cortina 4 10. Fassa Falcons 3 11. KAC Future Team 3 12. HC Meran 2 13. Steel Wings Linz 1 14. RB Juniors 0 15. HK Celje 0 16. HC Gherdëina 0

AlpsHL Austria	SP	TV	P
1. Salzburg II	23	92:53	52
2. KHL Sisak	24	85:58	49
3. Zell am See	22	75:57	45
4. Kitzbuhel	23	84:61	43
5. HC Asiago	23	87:81	38
6. Rittner Buam	24	73:65	37
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Meran is turning on the lights, Val Gardena is completely in the dark

Party at the Unterland Cavaliers, a sigh of relief in Meran, horror in Val Gardena. This is how Saturday in the Alps Hockey League can be summed up. The fiasco in Val Gardena in particular is likely to be a topic of conversation long after this evening.

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