Ritten trainer since the beginning of February: Mike Halmo. © Max Pattis

Ritten has its back to the wall

The Ritten/Ritten/Ritten/SkyAlps have had a mixed season so far in the Alps Hockey League. Now, Mike Halmo's team faces a must-win situation on Thursday.

March 04, 2026

From: dl

The Ritten Buam started the pre-playoffs against Cortina as favorites. However, after their 2-3 defeat, the Halmo-coached team now faces elimination. Cortina snatched away the Buam's home-ice advantage, meaning Thursday's game in Pieve di Cadore is already a do-or-die situation for Ritten. An early end to the season would be a bitter disappointment.

HC Meran defeated EC Bregenzerwald in the opening game of the best-of-three series. Andy Bernard and his teammates can now clinch the series on Thursday in Vorarlberg. Besides Meran, HC Gröden also started their pre-playoff campaign with a home win. However, EC Kitzbühel has won both of their home games against Meran this season, scoring six goals in each.

Sterzing's conclusion of the Master Round

In the Master Round, the Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan will face KHL Sisak. For the home team from Sterzing, this will be their eighth and final appearance in the intermediate round. The bottom-ranked team has only managed one win so far – a 6-5 shootout victory in Sisak.

The Croatians are currently fifth, three points ahead of the Broncos. If the South Tyroleans win in regulation time on Thursday, they would overtake Sisak. However, Sisak still has to play Asiago on Saturday to conclude the season.

Eppan is fighting in the IHL

Just like the Ritten Buam in the AlpsHL, HC Eppan is also fighting to avoid relegation on Thursday. On Tuesday, the Trentino team celebrated a convincing victory against the Pirates. Therefore, the Überetsch team is now under pressure to significantly improve their performance.

HC Eppan (in yellow) has its back against the wall. © Jan Marc Zublasing

While Eppan fights against elimination in game 3 of the playoff quarter-final series on Thursday, local rival SV Kaltern can simultaneously secure their place in the semi-finals against Union Feltre in the best-of-5 series just a few kilometers away.

AlpsHL: This week's games

Master round:
Red Bull Juniors – HC Asiago (Thursday, 7:15 PM)
Wipptal Broncos – KHL Sisak (Thursday, 8:00 PM)
Red Bull Juniors – Zeller Eisbären (Saturday, 7:15 pm)
HC Asiago – KHL Sisak (Saturday, 20.00 p.m.)

Pre-Playoffs (Best-of-3):
Adler Kitzbühel – HC Gröden (Thursday, 7:30 pm)
EC Bregenzerwald – HC Meran (Thursday, 7:30 pm)
SG Cortina – Rittner Buam (Thursday, 8:30 pm)

Possibly:
Rittner Buam – SG Cortina (Saturday, 6:00 PM)
HC Meran – EC Bregenzerwald (Saturday, 8:00 PM)
HC Gröden – Adler Kitzbühel (Saturday, 8:30 pm)

IHL: This week's games

Playoffs:
HC Aosta – Fassa Falcons (Thursday, 8:00 PM)
HC Eppan – Hockey Pergine (Thursday, 8:00 PM)
SV Kaltern – Union Feltre (Thursday, 8:30 pm)
HC Varese – Alleghe Hockey (Thursday, 8:30 pm)
Alleghe Hockey – HC Varese (Saturday, 8:30 pm)

Possibly:
Hockey Pergine – HC Eppan (Saturday, 6:45 PM)
Union Feltre – SV Kaltern (Saturday, 7:30 pm)
Fassa Falcons – HC Aosta (Saturday, 8:45 p.m.)