Bolzano and Pustertal want to reach the cup final

After the Supercup has been awarded, the second title decision of the current ice hockey season is on the agenda this weekend. On Saturday and Sunday, the four best-placed teams after the first round of Serie A, namely HC Pustertal, SG Cortina, HC Bozen and HC Alleghe, will fight to win the Italian Cup.

Fiat Professional Wolves - Hafro SG Cortina The duel between Pustertal and Cortina is undoubtedly one of the delicacies in Italian ice hockey due to the geographical proximity of the two ice hockey strongholds and the numerous exciting encounters in the past. Due to the four wins in the four games of the season so far, the Wolves go into the semi-finals as slight favorites.

The league leaders from Bruneck have both the most dangerous attack and the best defense in the league. The latter is certainly due to the series of convincing performances by goalie Mikko Strömberg. The strength of character of the HCP players, which once again came to the fore in last Saturday's comeback against Cortina, is also promising. A constant source of unrest in the Puster game is the first attack line around Giulio Scandella, David Ling and Max Oberrauch.

Cortina coach Stefan Mair, who won the Italian Cup with Pustertal last season, has to come up with sophisticated tactics to keep the wolves at bay and at the same time make optimal use of his protégés' cold-blooded offensive play. In addition to top performer Rob Hennigar (15+27 points in 25 games), the Ampezzo team's hopes rest on Ryan Dingle and Jonas Johansson. These were particularly noticeable in the first phase of the championship, when Cortina was at the top of Serie A for weeks. Jean-Philippe Levasseur is supposed to provide stability in goal, but his performances have fluctuated between world class and below average recently.

At HC Pustertal, transfer card players Ryan Watson and the recovered Nate DiCasmirro are fighting for participation in the semi-finals, while at Cortina Michele Zanatta has to miss out due to an injury.

HC Bozen - HC Alleghe Tegola Canadese In the second semi-final game, the defensive bulwark of HC Bozen meets the success-hungry skid cracks from Alleghe. The Bellunese made people sit up and take notice on the last Serie A matchday with a 2-1 win in the cup dress rehearsal in the ice wave. This was the second win of the season against HCB, who secured the first two duels.

At HC Bozen, the key to success lies in the combination-proof attacking game: While the defense has been operating at a high level for weeks now, the strikers have left a large number of goal opportunities that were worth seeing unused. The class of the first two lines is undisputed. It's up to them this weekend to lead the record champions to victory in front of their home crowd. The game between Bolzano and Alleghe also offers a test of strength between the two exceptional goalkeepers Matt Zaba (catch rate of 93%) and Adam Dennis (92%).

There has been a real spirit of optimism and great euphoria in Alleghe over the past few days with a view to the “Final Four”. The Red-Whites have a great chance of winning their first title since winning the Alpine League in 1993. Captain Manuel De Toni and Co. are really looking forward to playing in the Bolzano Eiswelle. The Alleghe players have not yet been able to fully convince in everyday league life, but they have already proven that they have the necessary quality to bring any opponent to their knees. Alleghe's strengths lie in the penetration of its strikers Adam Henrich, Greg Hogeboom and Vince Rocco, as well as its outstanding power play. The McKenna team played 152 times in the power play, scoring 41 goals.

Both teams are expected to play with their best players on Saturday, after Antti Bruun (Bozen) and Jari Monferone (Alleghe) recently returned to training.

Škoda “Final Four” Italian Cup – Semi-Final – Saturday, January 14th Ice wave in Bolzano, 17 p.m Fiat Professional Wolves - Hafro SG Cortina Fiat Professional Wolves: Mikko Stromberg (Hannes Hopfgartner); Matt Kelly, Christian Willeit, Fredrik Persson, Olivier Magnan, Armin Hofer, Christian Mair, Daniel Glira; Giulio Scandella, David Ling, Max Oberrauch, Joe Jensen, Joseph Cullen, Lukas Crepaz, Patrick Bona, Nate Di Casmirro, Ryan Watson, Thomas Erlacher, Lukas Tauber, Viktor Schweizer; Coach: Teppo Kivela

Hafro SG Cortina: Jean-Philippe Levasseur (Renè Baur); David Bowman, Mark Isherwood, Luca Zandonella, Jan Öberg, Luca Zanatta; Ryan Dingle, Curtis Fraser, Rob Hennigar, Jonas Johansson, Luca Felicetti, Giorgio De Bettin, Ryan Menei, Francesco Adami, Andrea Moser, Denis Soravia, Andrea Baldo, Christian Menardi; Coach: Stefan Mair

Referees: Luca Cassol and Glauco Colcuc Line judges: Christian and Matthias Cristeli

Ice wave in Bolzano, 20.30 p.m HC Bozen - HC Alleghe Tegola Canadese

HC Bozen: Matt Zaba (Günther Hell); Josh Meyers, Alexander Egger, Christian Borgatello, Andrea Ambrosi, Antti Bruun, Brandon Rogers, Daniel Fabris; Stefano Giliati, Jordan Knackstedt, Mac Gregor Sharp, Anton Bernard, Derek Edwarson, Mark McCutcheon, Marco Insam, Stefan Zisser, Christian Walcher, Enrico Dorigatti; Coach: Adolf Insam

Alleghe Tegola Canadese: Adam Dennis (Davide Fontanive); Michael Schutte, Jani Forsstrom, Joni Haverinen, Mike Card, Francesco De Biasio, Milos Ganz; Nicola Fontanive, Adam Henrich, Vincent Rocco, Greg Hogeboom, Markku Tahtinen, Daniele Veggiato, Alberto Fontanive, Manuel De Toni, Jari Monferone, Manuel Da Tos, Patrick Tormen, Davide Testori; Coach: Steve McKenna

Referees: Daniel Gamper and Karl Pichler Line judges: Ulrich Pardatscher and David Tschirner

Škoda “Final Four” Italian Cup – Final – Sunday, January 15th Ice wave in Bolzano, 20.30 p.m Winner semi-final 1 – winner semi-final 2

The final will be broadcast live on Raisport 20.25 from 2:XNUMX p.m. The game can also be viewed on the Internet www.raisport.rai.it , can be followed under the link “Guarda in diretta Raisport Due”.

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Bolzano and Pustertal want to reach the cup final

On Saturday and Sunday the big cup showdown will take place in the ice wave: Pustertal against Cortina and Bozen against Alleghe are the two semi-finals of the 2011/12 Italian Cup. The final will be played on Sunday.

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