Two years without a win: This derby is a curse for Val Gardena

The last victory for Val Gardena against the Rittner Buam dates back to September 29, 2022. Since then, there have been four defeats in a row, the last of which was this evening in a 1:3 defeat in Klobenstein. Val Gardena was equal for a long time in front of around 800 spectators, but then had to start the 45-minute journey home with a huge amount of anger in their stomachs. Ritten, on the other hand, celebrated - especially Alan Lobis, who was voted MVP, and the outstanding top scorer Ethan Szypula.

In the first third, the two local rivals offered a meager ice hockey fare, with only a shot on goal by Ritten's Simon Kostner hitting the post causing a brief stir. It was only after the first break that the much more courageous Grödners gained momentum. Ritten had the better chances, however: first, HCG goalie Pauli Hofer saved against Kostner, then he parried a penalty from Lobis. The youngster from Kaltern nevertheless scored the first goal of the match. In the 34th minute, Szypula stormed into the opposing third, passed the ball across to Lobis in a two-on-one situation, who slotted it in to make it 1-0.

League top scorer Ethan Szypula (r.) gave Pauli Hofer (l.) an intensive day at work. © Max Pattis

However, Val Gardena did not give up and equalized immediately after the second half. Captain Simon Pitschieler made a precise pass to the advancing Jordan DiCicco, who scored in the slot to make it 1:1. It was the Canadian defender's second goal in a Val Gardena jersey.

The game suddenly became more explosive - also because the boys immediately stepped on the gas pedal again. Hofer kept getting in their way, but in the 46th minute he was powerless when Robert Öhler gave a Tauferer shot the decisive change in direction with a textbook deflection. Hofer on one side and Colin Furlong on the other then made several brilliant saves. The decision was made when the Grödner goalkeeper left the ice for a sixth field player: Szypula scored an empty-net goal to make the final score 3:1. It was his eleventh point in the fifth game of the season.

Wipptal without a chance, Meran with bad luck Not only did HC Gröden concede three goals on Saturday evening, but also the Wipptal Broncos. The Fuggerstadt team were inferior for long stretches in their home game against Jesenice, only firing 20 shots and losing 0:3 in the end. The Slovenians scored once in each third. It was the third defeat of the season for Sterzing.

Jesenice scored three goals in the Sterzing Weihenstephan Arena. © Oskar Brunner

HC Meran had a similar experience for a long time when they were away at the Red Bull Juniors. Salzburg dictated the game and took a 3-0 lead. What was particularly bitter was that the Eagles conceded two goals when they were in the majority. But in the final phase they showed their monster morale once again this season. Patrick Madsen and double goalscorer Massimo Pietroniro equalized to make it 3-3 before Vadim Schreiner finally spoiled Meran's happy ending and Salzburg scored a 65-4 victory with 3 seconds left. The results at a glance: Renon – Val Gardena 3:1 Goals: 1:0 Lobis (33.06), 1:1 DiCicco (41.14), 2:1 Robert Öhler (45.49), 3:1 Szypula (59.14) Audience: 793

Wipptal – Jesenice 0:3 Goals: 0:1 Slivnik (09.37), 0:2 Selan (24.26), 0:3 Valtola (56.10) Viewers 398

Salzburg II - Meran 4:3 Goals: 1:0 Schreiner (25.23), 2:0 Wurzer (34.42), 3:0 Vinzens (48.35), 3:1 Massimo Pietroniro (51.21), 3:2 Madsen (54.08), 3:3 Massimo Pietroniro (54.41), 4:3 Schreiner (58.55) Audience: 113

Sisak – Zell am See 10:2 Goals: 1:0 Idzan (8.05), 2:0 Briere (17.41), 2:1 McLeod (21.51), 3:1 Dobric (23.34), 4:1 Briere (25.34), 5:1 Bronte (28.22), 5:2 Putnik (35.47), 6:2 Idzan (37.49), 7:2 Bronte (42.12), 8:2 Dostalek (44.48), 9:2 Idzan (48.21), 10:2 Dostalek (52.33) Audience: 1234

Celje – Kitzbühel 4:2 Goals: 1:0 Sotlar (10.44), 2:0 Kumanovic (11.42), 3:0 Sotlar (23.35), 3:1 Wieltschnig (43.38), 4:1 Tsarkovskyi (59.39), 4:2 Lanzinger (59.50) Audience: 200

Unterland – Cortina (Sunday, 18 p.m.)

SP G U V TV P 1. Kitzbuhel 5 4 0 1 25:9 12 2. Salzburg II 6 4 0 2 14:18 12 3. Jesenice 4 4 0 0 14:8 9 4. Rittner Buam 5 3 0 2 16:13 9 5. SG Cortina 4 2 0 2 12:9 8 6. KHL Sisak 3 2 0 1 19:6 7 7. HC Meran 4 3 0 1 15:12 7 8. Bregenzerwald 4 1 0 3 13:15 5 9. Wipptal Broncos 5 2 0 3 10:12 5 10. Zell am See 5 2 0 3 12:22 5 11. Underland Cavaliers 5 1 0 4 15:20 4 12. HK Celje 5 1 0 4 13:20 4 13. HC Gherdëina 5 1 0 4 8:22 3

AlpsHL Austria	SP	TV	P
1. Salzburg II	32	128:77	69
2. KHL Sisak	32	107:80	61
3. Zell am See	32	105:88	61
4. HC Asiago	32	120:106	57
5. Kitzbuhel	33	119:98	54
6. Rittner Buam	32	98:84	52
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Two years without a win: This derby is a curse for Val Gardena

For a little over two years, 737 days to be exact, HC Gherdëina has been waiting for a league win against the Rittner Buam. On Saturday, the AlpsHL champions prevailed after a hard-fought derby. Once again.

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