The HCG defeated the Cavaliers. © Vanna Antonello

Exciting derbies: Val Gardena and Wipptal celebrate

The Alps Hockey League (AlpsHL) was dominated by the South Tyrolean derbies on Saturday evening. HC Gherdëina and the Wipptal Broncos prevailed after tough battles.

30 November 2024

From: leo

The duel between the Unterland Cavaliers and HC Gherdëina was groundbreaking in view of the league table situation in the IHL Serie A, as the teams were only two points apart before the game. Thanks to a 3:2 victory after a penalty shootout, the Furies have reduced this gap to one point. The two remaining games are now about reaching the semi-finals.

In front of almost 500 spectators in Neumarkt, the Furie quickly took control of the game and rewarded themselves with a 1-0 lead. Stephan Deluca served Vili Laitinen, who took advantage of the large open spaces and took the lead with a shot at the near post. The home team quickly recovered from the early shock. But Michael Sullmann & Co. were denied any major scoring opportunities. That didn't change in the second period, but the equalizer came in the 31st minute. 19-year-old Patrick Cont scored his first goal in the AlpsHL with a follow-up shot. Shortly afterwards, Unterland had the opportunity to make it 2-1 in the power play. Instead, Kristians Samitis pulled the emergency brake on the escaping Stephan Deluca, which resulted in a penalty. The Fassan player converted this with ice-cold precision.

Unterland picked up the pace in the last third and repeatedly pinned the HCG in their zone. The equalizer in the 53rd minute was well deserved: When Michele Forte was sitting in the penalty box, Samitis put a well-placed shot into the net. There was nothing on the scoreboard after that in regular time or in overtime. The game went to a penalty shootout, which was nothing short of dramatic: After Murnieks scored, the third HCG shooter, Stephan Deluca, had his back to the wall. The 24-year-old withstood the pressure and scored before he was successful on his third attempt. Murnieks, however, was stopped by goalkeeper Paul Hofer, who thus gave his team the extra point.

Livingston leads Broncos to victory

The derby between HC Meran and the Wipptal Broncos took place 50 kilometers to the north. Because the clubs currently occupy the last two places in the table, a lot was at stake. After 60 intense minutes, Fabian Hackhofer & Co. celebrated a spectacular 7:3 away victory.

The match began with a goal from Merano, to the delight of the 480 spectators: Daniel Gellon shot from the blue line during the power play, Wipptal goalie Dominik Groh's view was obscured and the puck was in the net. The guests turned the result on its head before the end of the third: After Merano missed a 2-on-0 situation, Adam Capannelli, Lukas De Lorenzo Meo and goal scorer Connor Sanvido combined to score. Capannelli danced around the entire defensive line to make it 2-1 and scored with a shot from the left face-off point.

Dominik Groh repeatedly took the Eagles' teeth out. © BK Photo

In the second period, the home team gained a clear advantage on the field, which they converted into a goal: Giovanni Mandruzzato had an easy game after a cross pass. Exactly four minutes later, Johan Sjöquist's men restored the old gap: Nick Campoli played a pass into the high slot, where James Livingston was in the right place.

Skate Skalde & Co. found the right answer again in the final third through Riku Ishida. But Merano's joy lasted just 64 seconds. Then Livingston Adler goalie Rudy Rigoni was defeated for the fourth time that evening. The outstanding Livingston and Capannelli, who scored four points that evening, sealed the 7:3 final score in the final minutes.

Alps Hockey League:

Unterland Cavaliers – HC Gherdëina 2:3 nP
Goals: 0:1 Laitinen (2.38), 1:1 Cont (30.51), 1:2 Deluca (34.15), 2:2 Samitis (52.34), decisive penalty: Deluca
Audience: 487

HC Meran – Wipptal Broncos 3:7
Goals: 1:0 Gellon (3.01), 1:1 Sanvido (7.57), 1:2 Capannelli (17.04), 2:2 Mandruazzato (29.17), 2:3 Livingston (33.17), 3:3 Ishida (49.16), 3:4 Livingston (50.20), 3:5 Galimberti (54.00), 3:6 Livingston (57.21), 3:7 Capannelli (59.45)
Audience: 480

HK Celje – SG Cortina 4:3
Goals: 0:1 Adami (2.00), 1:1 Mintautiskis (10.33), 2:1 Jakupovic (13.25), 3:1 Bukovec (14.00), 3:2 Di Tomaso (23.17), 4:2 Sojer (32.45) , 4:3 Lehtonen (43.51)
Audience: 200

Red Bull Juniors – HDD Jesenice 5:6 nP
Goals: 0:1 Baloh (4.47), 0:2 Silanpaa (8.05), 0:3 Lyons (11.41), 1:3 Gesson (15.15), 2:3 Vinzens (20.10), 3:3 Sinn (21.17), 3:4 Cimzar (44.31), 3:5 Bohinc (51.08), 4:5 Vinzens (56.27), 5:5 Geson (59.40), 5:6 Koblar (63.21)
Audience: 79

EC Bregenzerwald – EC Kitzbühel 4:6
Goals: 1:0 Fadieiev (2.49), 2:0 Urbanek (3.57), 2:1 Wetzl (6.21), 2:2 Podlipnik (10.36), 2:3 Lipptisch (12.08), 3:3 Metzler (19.34), 3:4 Podlipnik (19.55), 3:5 Podlipnik (30.33), 4:5 Ranftl (43.12), 4:6 Ren (54.30)
Audience: 1404

EK Zell am See – KHL Sisak 3:0
Goals: 1:0 McLeod (20.12), 2:0 Egger (30.02), 3:0 Huard (32.08)
Audience: 1822

The table

	SP	G	U	V	TV	P
1. Zell am See	18	13	0	5	61:46	38
2. Rittner Buam	17	13	0	4	71:50	37
3. Kitzbuhel	18	12	0	6	77:44	36
4. Jesenice	17	12	0	5	68:42	33
5. HK Celje	19	10	0	9	68:72	29
6. KHL Sisak	17	9	0	8	67:48	28
7. SG Cortina	19	8	0	11	58:56	28
8. Salzburg II	25	9	0	16	61:98	26
9. Underland Cavaliers	18	7	0	11	52:62	25
10. HC Gherdëina	19	7	0	12	47:71	23
11. Bregenzerwald	20	7	0	13	54:69	23
12. HC Meran	18	8	0	10	50:71	20
13. Wipptal Broncos	19	7	0	12	60:65	20