The Underland Cavaliers experienced a complicated season © Vana Antonella

Underland Cavaliers | Dark season, bright prospects

The Alps Hockey League (AlpsHL) pre-playoffs began this week, and four of the five South Tyrolean teams are still vying for the title of the cross-border championship. One team, however, is missing: the Unterland Cavaliers. SportNews spoke with club president Karl Pichler to look back on the past season.

March 05, 2026

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Spring 2025 was a nerve-wracking time for Unterland Cavaliers fans. Initially, everything pointed to a return to the Italian Hockey League (IHL). However, with new leadership around President Karl Pichler, the club ultimately decided to remain in the AlpsHL.

Pichler explains the final decision as follows: “A central point of our considerations was the promotion of our young players. The players who are trained in the Hockey Juniorteam Unterland should have a clear perspective in order to play for their home club in the senior team, to develop further athletically and ideally to take the next step in their career.”

Most of the time, it was the opponents who ended up celebrating with the Cavs © social

The fresh start proved very difficult for the Cavaliers. In their first nine games of the season, the Cavs suffered a staggering eight defeats, placing them at the bottom of the standings from the outset. Although Tobias Brighenti and his teammates consistently delivered strong performances and managed to defeat every South Tyrolean team at least once, it was clear early on that Unterland would finish the preliminary round in last place. Ironically, the Cavaliers' two biggest wins of the season came against two top-five teams: the Wipptal Broncos (4-0) and EK Zell am See (5-1).

In the intermediate round, Tuomo Harjula's team stepped up their game and were evenly matched with their opponents, but in the do-or-die game against HC Meran, they were narrowly defeated 3-6 after a hard-fought battle. "From a sporting perspective, the season wasn't easy. The numerous injuries hit us particularly hard; some players even had to end their season prematurely. Nevertheless, the team showed great character and secured some important victories," said the Cavaliers' president.

Positive outlook

After the back and forth last summer, fans can look forward to a calmer summer this time around. The Cavs have registered for the new championship on time and will participate in the AlpsHL again next season.

Karl Pichler (left) is optimistic about the future of the Cavaliers. © social

Pichler commented on the near future as follows: "The club has now financially stabilized, and our focus is on assembling a competitive and balanced team for the upcoming season. At the same time, we place great importance on continuing to integrate our young players and specifically supporting their development so that they can gradually take on more responsibility within the team."