HC Pustertal, Ritten and Bozen are rehearsing for an emergency

The table leader from Bruneck has to survive against the reigning champions Asiago. At the same time, the “Wolves” are trying to make amends after carelessly giving away points in the home defeat against Pontebba. In addition to the injured Thomas Erlacher and Tommy Nikkilä, HCP coach Stefan Mair will again have to do without the suspended Matt Kelly. Goalkeeper Mikko Strömberg will be under special observation against Asiago, whose strong debut with the Pusterers was overshadowed by a major blunder on the last matchday.

A strong increase in performance is also needed at Ritten after the disappointing defeat in Alba di Canazei. Neo-coach Bruno Aegerter wants to quickly forget the first defeat of his tenure on the high plateau and lead his team to a home win against Valpellice. However, the Swiss trainer still has to decide on the use of the injured Dan Tudin and Ingemar Gruber. With the Italian Cup finals in mind, it seems unlikely that both top performers will be selected for the game against Valpellice.

HC Bozen wants to continue to gain momentum in Pontebba

Thursday's duel is the last between HC Bozen and Pontebba in the regular season. In the current season, the White-Reds have only lost once against the team from Friuli: Egger and Co. prevailed in the first three games with 4:2, 4:1 and 3:2 after a penalty shootout. Pontebba won their last meeting at the end of December 3-1.

In a historical comparison, HC Bozen is also clearly ahead: 21 of the 31 matches that have taken place so far have been at the hands of the record champions. Pontebba, on the other hand, has eight wins.

After the confident 5-1 win on Saturday against Cortina, the HCB wants to gain further momentum in Pontebba in order to be prepared for the cup semi-final on Saturday against Ritten. However, coach Adolf Insam will still have to do without striker Christian Walcher, who has not yet fully recovered from a broken two fingers. On Thursday evening, the HCB coach's hopes rested again on the attack line around Giulio Scandella, Nick Mazzolini and Marco Insam, who scored all five goals in the home win against the Ampezzan team.

The hosts' coach, Tom Pokel, will probably have to specify a player in Michele Ciresa. Pontebba will go into the game with HCB with a lot of self-confidence, as the “Adler” from Friuli scored a real surprise coup in Bruneck on the last match day. Martin Guerin and Co. won 3-2 against the leaders. With a win against the record champions, Pontebba wants to further consolidate sixth place in the table.

On Thursday there will be a reunion with Jonathan Pittis for many HCB cracks. The lively center has won two championship titles, an Italian Cup and two Supercups with Bozen over the past three seasons, collecting 152 scorer points (119 goals and 36 assists) in 83 games for the Talferstadt team. He has been hunting for goals for Pontebba since the beginning of the year.

This is how Pontebba and Bozen will play (Thursday, 20.30 p.m.): Aquile Pontebba: Andrej Hocevar (Massimo Camin); Sylvain Dufresne, Andrea Ambrosi, Stefano Marchetti, Davide Nicoletti, Andrej Tavželj; Patrick Rizzo, Martin Guerin, Rupert Stampfer, Shane Murrey Endicott, Lance Monych, Luca Rigoni, Luca Felicetti, Paolo Nicolao, Michele Ciresa, Stefano Piva Coach: Tom Pokel

HC Interspar Bozen: Matt Zaba (Guenther Hell); Alexander Egger, Mika Lehtinen, Rosario Ruggeri, Christian Borgatello, David Ceresa, Michael Busto; Colton Fretter, Danny Irmen, Rhett Gordon, Giulio Scandella Nick Mazzolini, Marco Insam, Enrico Dorigatti, Mike Souza, Stefan Zisser, Anton Bernard, Riccardo Tombolato, Paolo Widmann Coach: Adolf Insam

Referee: Glauco Colcuc and Nadir Ceschini (Manuel Manfroi, Pietro Gagliardi)

The 39rd matchday at a glance: Aquile Pontebba – HC Interspar Bozen Ritten Sport Renault Trucks – HC Valpellice Arce Supermercati Migross Asiago – HC Pustertal SG Cortina – SCH Fassa Free to play: Tegola Canadese Alleghe

The table after 38 championship games: 1. HC Pustertal 75 points 2. Ritten Sport Renault Trucks 67 3. HC Interspar Bozen 67 4. Supermercati Migross Asiago 60 (-1 game) 5. HC Valpellice Arce 53 (-1 game) 6. Aquile Pontebba 39 7. SHC Fassa 36 8. Tegola Canadese Alleghe 31 9. SG Cortina 28

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HC Pustertal, Ritten and Bozen are rehearsing for an emergency

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