The Ritten Buam beat the Wipptal Broncos. © Max Pattis

Fourth win in a row: Ritten is gaining momentum

The Ritten Buam are slowly but surely reaching their top form in the Alps Hockey League (AlpsHL). On Thursday, they celebrated their fourth consecutive victory thanks to a hard-fought overtime win against the Wipptal Broncos. HC Meran and the Unterland Cavaliers also had reason to celebrate.

18 December 2025

From: leo

The South Tyrolean derby between Ritten and Sterzing promised excitement for several reasons: firstly, it was about second place in the IHL Serie A, and secondly, both teams still had a chance to reach the Master Round. This was evident in the Ritten Arena, as neither team gave an inch. Ultimately, the home team had the greater stamina, winning 4-3 in overtime.

The game started with good opportunities for both sides. Initially, however, there was no getting past the strong goaltenders, Colin Furlong for Ritten and Dominik Groh for Sterzing. Then Ritten had a power play but couldn't take the lead. But just seconds after Sterzing's Gschliesser returned from the penalty box, Leonardo Felicetti set up Marco Insam perfectly, who scored from the slot to make it 1-0.

Madsen lands the lucky punch

Just minutes after the restart, Ritten had a 5-on-3 opportunity. The Broncos capitalized on this chance, with Brett Welychka finding himself alone in front of the net and firing into the near corner. Wipptal then narrowed the gap somewhat fortuitously: a pass from Conci deflected off Marco Marzolini's skate and into the back of the net. The Broncos then gained the upper hand, dominating the remainder of the second period and tying the game with a rebound put into the empty net by Bryson Cianfrone.

Brandon Alderson & Co. are on a roll. © Max Pattis

For the traveling Broncos fans, things got even better, because barely had the final period begun when Franco Sproviero scored – again on a rebound. Ritten, however, didn't give up and forced overtime thanks to Graf, who capitalized on a strong assist from Robert Öhler. Just 76 seconds into overtime, Patrick Madsen fired a shot into the top corner.

Unterland rejoices

Led by hat-trick hero Marek Potsinok, the Unterland Cavaliers secured a resounding 5-2 victory against Jesenice. It was Unterland's first win against the Slovenians in over two years. Thomas Galimberti and Vili Pisetta put the home team on the path to victory with two goals within 69 seconds. Nejc Burgar's goal to make it 2-1 was answered by Potsinok with a brace of his own. Although Jesenice narrowed the gap before the end of the second period, the Harjula-coached team held on for the win. With five minutes remaining, Potsinok completed his hat trick.

Artur Seniut & Co. prevailed against Jesenice. © Vanna Antonello

Not only the Cavaliers had reason to celebrate, but also HC Meran, who secured a 4-1 away victory against HC Asiago. Newcomer Reid Stefanson became the match-winner, scoring his fourth, fifth, and sixth goals in just his fourth game. After opening the scoring in the 11th minute, league top scorer Nick Porco equalized in the second period. Giovanni Mandruzzato, Jakob Fuchs, and Stefanson then extended the lead to 4-1 before Porco scored to make it 4-2 while the team was down two men (!). That was as close as the relegated team could get, as Stefanson struck again shortly afterward.

HC Gherdëina's crisis had already deepened with their tenth consecutive away defeat. They lost 1-7 to reigning champions Zell am See. Of note: 18-year-old goalie Arik Plancker made his AlpsHL debut for HCG, but was replaced by Paul Hofer after 40 minutes. At that point, the home team was leading 5-1, and they extended their lead further in the final period. Luke Moncada scored the consolation goal for the visitors, who conceded four power-play goals.

Alps Hockey League:

EC Kitzbühel – EC Bregenzerwald 7:3
Goals: 1-0 Pfeffer (4:44), 1-1 Pöschmann (18:06), 2-1 Crnkic (25:01), 3-1 Krainz (25:54), 3-2 Pöschmann (30:22), 4-2 Podlipnik (37:32), 5-2 Losching (41:52), 5-3 Toivo Laaksonen (51:36), 6-3 Hanl (55:18), 7-3 Krainz (58:27)
Audience: 654

EK Zell am See – HC Gherdëina 7:1
Goals: 1-0 Coffman (1.08), 2-0 Wilfan (5.52), 2-1 Moncada (23.50), 3-1 Coffman (37.07), 4-1 Wilfan (37.59), 5-1 Lahoda (39.54), 6-1 Coffman (40.13), 7-1 Huard (53.40)
Audience: 1988

KHL Sisak – SG Cortina 2:3 nP
Goals: 1-0 Yeob (10:47), 2-0 Idzan (15:22), 2-1 Remolato (38:40), 2-2 Kalajanniska (58:04); decisive penalty: Kris Pietroniro
Spectators: 1774

HC Asiago – HC Meran 2:5
Goals: 0:1 Stefanson (10.52), 1:1 Porco (32.51), 1:2 Mandruzzato (33.58), 1:3 Fuchs (45.40), 1:4 Stefanson (50.41), 2:4 Porco (56.22), 2:5 Stefanson (56.55)
Audience: 920

Rittner Buam – Wipptal Broncos 4:3 OT
Goals: 1:0 Insam (7.25), 2:0 Welychka (24.44), 2:1 Conci (33.57), 2:2 Cianfrone (39.03), 2:3 Sproviero (42.45), 3:3 Graf (56.52), 4:3 Madsen (61.16)
Audience: 458

Unterland Cavaliers – HDD Jesenice 5:2
Goals: 1:0 Galimberti (7.50), 2:0 Pisetta (8.59), 2:1 Burgar (18.40), 3:1 Marek Potsinok (27.39), 4:1 Marek Potsinok (31.43), 4:2 Jakupovic (36.15), 5:2 Marek Potsinok (54.59)
Audience: 237