The third season was also crowned with success.

With a sensational third-place finish in their historic debut season in the U18 International League and a successful title defense in the U16 Elite Cup (see separate report), the Alps Ice Academy once again confirmed its international competitiveness. Furthermore, the young team competed with great success against older opponents at the U19 Italian Championships. Numerous young athletes not only gained valuable experience at the highest level of youth development in Europe over the past few months, but also took the next step in their personal growth.

From Division 2 to Division 1 and on to the semi-finals AIA's first participation in the international U18 league turned into an immediate success story. Coach Ryan Hunter's team played 42 games against top international opponents from Austria and Hungary and finished their debut season in an outstanding third place out of eleven participating teams.

Already in Division 2, AIA made an early statement: With ten wins out of twelve games, they secured first place with a commanding lead and, after two wins in the play-up against Budapest Jegkorong Akademia (5:3 and 4:1), were promoted to Division 1.

There, they faced consistently older and physically stronger opponents, against whom the newcomers delivered courageous and strong performances. After nine wins and eleven losses, AIA finished the preliminary round in third place. In the quarterfinals, the Hunter-coached team prevailed against Fehervar Hockey Academy with scores of 4-3 and 4-1, before their run ended in the semifinals (a best-of-five series) against Ujpesti Jegkorong Akademia after four exciting games (2-6, 5-1, 3-5, and 2-4).

Sporting director Oly Hicks. © Max Pattis

In the bronze medal match, AIA ultimately prevailed against Villacher SV, securing the bronze medal after a 6-1 and 2-4 victory. The title went to EC Red Bull Salzburg, who dominated the season from start to finish, suffering only two defeats.

Many AIA players also regularly competed in Italy's U19 championship. The team finished the regular season in seventh place out of 19 teams and reached the playoffs, where they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by the eventual Italian champions, HC Asiago. The team's age structure was particularly noteworthy: four players born in 2011 and nine athletes born in 2010 played in all U19 games, consistently facing significantly older opponents. The team was supplemented by rotating players born in 2009. This principle will remain a central component of the sporting concept for the U19 championship in the future.

A total of 97 competitive matches and 447 training sessions The 2025/26 season once again demonstrated the potential of the Academy model. The international experience, high training intensity, and numerous games against older and international opponents form an important foundation for this. In total, the AIA played 97 competitive games and completed 447 training sessions during the past season. Additionally, several AIA players were able to gain initial experience in training sessions with HC Pustertal and the Wipptal Broncos.

Sporting director Oly Hicks looks back with pride on an instructive season and particularly highlights the team's performance at the international level: "This season was an enormously valuable experience for us as the Alps Ice Academy. We had a relatively young team in both the U18 International League and the U19 league, but we went into every game with the ambition to play courageous and proactive ice hockey."

Leo Brugger.

The club and its athletes gained invaluable experience at the highest international level, particularly through their first-ever participation in the U18 International League. Director Leo Brugger focuses not only on the athletic development but also on the organizational aspects of the season: “Being eliminated in the U18 International League semi-finals was a bitter pill to swallow for the boys – but it's part of the development process. The crucial thing is that the athletes take this experience at the top international level and learn from it. The U18 International League was a completely new challenge for many of the players. At this level, every mistake is punished ruthlessly. At the same time, the athletes get a real feel for what international pace, intensity, and decision-making mean. These experiences are incredibly important for their continued development.”

At the same time, Brugger emphasizes that participation in an international league has also brought new dimensions off the ice: "For us as an organization, participation in the international U18i league also represented an enormous organizational and structural challenge. In addition to the numerous trips abroad and international game days, issues such as logistics, support, and coordination with partner schools had to be professionally managed. At the same time, participation was, of course, also associated with significantly higher financial costs."

According to Brugger, this makes the appreciation for the donors all the greater: “Without the support of our strong partners and sponsors, who believed in this project from the very beginning, an international development program of this level would be difficult to implement sustainably. That is precisely why we are so grateful for this trust and assistance.”

The next steps in their development lie primarily in the transition from youth to senior football. "Our goal is to bring each individual talent closer to the professional level. I am convinced that several players from this squad will make the leap to senior and professional football in the coming years – perhaps even at our founding clubs. It's incredibly rewarding to accompany these young men on their journey," Brugger affirms.

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The third season was also crowned with success.

The Alps Ice Academy (AIA) was founded three years ago and is based in Bruneck. The third season of the first ice sports academy in the Italian Alps recently came to an end. Like the two previous seasons, it was very intensive, but once again extremely successful.

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