
HC Meran has triggered a new euphoria. © BK Photo
Why is ice hockey moving again in Meran?
With a show of strength, HC Meran managed to qualify for the pre-playoffs in the Alps Hockey League. Now the Eagles are fighting for participation in the post-season for the first time. We spoke to Christian Borgatello about the current situation and the new ice hockey euphoria in the Passerstadt.
26. February 2024
From: dl
From Tuesday, HC Meran will be in action against EC Kitzbühel in the pre-playoffs (best-of-3 mode). “From now on, anything can happen. We showed against Jesenice that we can win against top teams. If everyone gives their best against Kitzbühel, we can cause a surprise tomorrow,” explained Meran’s defender Christian Borgatello SportNews. This year the HCM welcomes an average of over 700 spectators to the Meran Arena.
When asked whether the players would feel a new sense of euphoria around them, Borgatello explained: “Yes, that is definitely the case. From Christmas onwards the numbers increased more and more. There is a new hockey euphoria in the city. There were also a lot of people from Merano there on Saturday in Val Gardena. The club has also worked well here – on social media, for example. But the players certainly also make up a large proportion. With Calder Anderson and Nolan Ritchie we have the top scorers in the league. In addition, Andrei Makarov is a goalkeeper who has a particularly good curriculum.”
“The club has done a good job. The two top scorers also played a big part in this.” Christian Borgatello on the ice hockey euphoria in Merano
Borgatello continues the conversation about Anderson and Ritchie: “We haven't seen players like that in Meran for a long time. They are like two twins who are constantly looking for each other on the ice and understand each other blindly. Something can always happen. That will also have convinced the new spectators to come back to the arena.” In fact, Meran is at the top of the AlpsHL spectators table. Only the Zeller Eisbären from Salzburger Land welcomed significantly more fans (1.800) to their stadium.
A Merano veteran: Christian Borgatello. © Social Media HC Meran / BK PHOTO
Borgatello compared Anderson and Ritchie to the Ahlström brothers when they were younger. Borgatello himself is now 42 years old, but still has a lot of fun with ice hockey: “I still enjoy going to training. In this phase you enjoy the games anyway. Now I hope that we will qualify for the AlpsHL playoffs for the first time in the third year. That would be extremely important for the club. Also with a view to new sponsors. It would be a good building block for the next few years.”
Val Gardena versus Unterland
In addition to HC Meran, HC Gherdëina and the Unterland Cavaliers are also in the pre-playoffs of the Alps Hockey League. The two South Tyrolean teams meet in a direct duel. It starts on Tuesday in Wolkenstein. Lots of ice hockey fans always come to Pranives at this time of year. In the qualifying round, the Furies even had an average audience of almost 1.000. From a South Tyrolean perspective, the question of the week is: Who will follow the Rittner Buam and the Wipptal Broncos into the playoffs?AlpsHL: Pre-Playoffs
EC Kitzbühel – HC Meran (Tuesday, 19.30 p.m.)HC Gröden – Unterland Cavaliers (Tuesday, 20.30 p.m.)
Unterland Cavaliers – HC Gröden (Thursday, 20.00 p.m.)
HC Meran – EC Kitzbühel (Thursday, 20.30 p.m.)
possibly game 3:
EC Kitzbühel – HC Meran (Saturday, 19.30 p.m.)
HC Gröden – Unterland Cavaliers (Saturday, 20.30 p.m.)
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