Not an easy season for Colin Furlong & Co. © Max Pattis

Rittner Buam | Home weakness prevents more

While the Alps Hockey League playoffs are already underway, the Ritten Buam had to start their vacation after the pre-playoffs. SportNews, together with Alexander Eisath, takes a look back at the Buam's season.

March 16, 2026

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For the second time in the history of the Alps Hockey League, the Ritten Buam missed out on the quarterfinals and thus the final eight. It was clear after just a few weeks that the season wouldn't be a walk in the park for the team from Klobenstein. Strong performances away from home were repeatedly followed by unnecessary slip-ups. As a result, the team from the high plateau repeatedly slipped out of the top five and had to fight for a spot in the Master Round until the very end.

Right at the crucial stage of the preliminary round, Simon Kostner and his teammates faltered. In their last four regular season games, the team only managed a meager single point against the Wipptal Broncos. Ironically, their rivals from the far north of South Tyrol secured their place in the quarterfinals on the final matchday. "We knew how tight the competition would be this year and how important it would have been to finish in the top five after the regular season to qualify directly for the playoffs," the team's sporting director explained when asked. SportNews.

The Ritten Buam experienced a season of ups and downs. © Max Pattis

In the intermediate round, the Ritten team played decent hockey again, but it was already clear beforehand that they would have to qualify via the pre-playoffs. There they faced the tough opponent from Cortina and lost 0-2. Eisath added: "Once you have to go into the qualification round and thus also into a pre-playoff with a short best-of-three series, anything can happen."

Analysis follows

Due to the disappointing 2025/26 season, the club's management wants to take sufficient time to analyze the past season. Discussions will also be held with various players and coaches to analyze the championship. Planning for the new season will then begin.