James Livingston (left) scored, but the Wipptal Broncos still suffered a defeat. © Max Pattis

Wipptal Broncos still can't get going

Although the Wipptal Broncos have already qualified for the Alps Hockey League playoffs, they are currently still fighting for home-ice advantage in the knockout phase. However, this became a distant prospect on Saturday.

February 28, 2026

From: mv

The Wipptal Broncos suffered a 3-5 defeat away to HC Asiago on Saturday – their sixth loss in seven games in the intermediate round. Now the Broncos have only one game left, against KHL Sisak. However, due to their significantly worse goal differential, it is almost impossible for them to finish in the top four.

After a first period in which Nicholas Porco put the home team in the lead, the Wipptal team collapsed in the second period. Trailing 0-4, the Broncos woke up and narrowed the gap to 2-4 with goals from Connor Sanvido and James Livingston. With one more goal from each team, the game ultimately ended in a 5-3 victory for Asiago.

Pre-playoffs start on Tuesday

While the Wipptal Broncos, as mentioned earlier, have their final intermediate round game against KHL Sisak on Thursday, the pre-playoffs begin on Tuesday with home games for three South Tyrolean teams: Rittner Buam host Cortina, HC Meran face Bregenzerwald, and Kitzbühel visit Pranives in Val Gardena. The series will be played in a best-of-three format.