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Now it's a fact: Asiago is kicked out of the ICEHL

It's now official: The ICE Hockey League is getting a new team. However, the newly founded club from Asiago was not included. This means that an attractive duel for HC Bozen and HC Pustertal is no longer possible.

18 April 2025

From: tu/pm

Next season, Fehérvár will be joined by another Hungarian team: FTC Budapest will compete against HC Bozen and HC Pustertal in the cross-border ICE Hockey League starting in the 2025/26 season. This will keep the number of teams in the league at 13, as Asiago's door has been closed. "Budapest is an exciting, dynamic market, which we are now seeing on the ICE Hockey League map for the first time. The Hungarian derby will be a sporting and emotional highlight," says Alexander Gruber, President of ICE.

On Friday afternoon, the league announced that the eligible clubs had voted by a two-thirds majority in favor of the team from the Hungarian capital joining. However, the application from the newly founded Hockey Club Asiago 1935 did not achieve the necessary majority. This means that the Stellati will no longer share the ice with HCB Südtirol and HC Pustertal next season.

Farewell has become apparent

Asiago was promoted to the ICEHL in 2022. Since then, however, the club has failed to meet the requirements – especially those regarding the construction of a new stadium. Therefore, the probationary period was terminated in March. The new Hockey Club Asiago campaigned for a resumption with great promises, but these failed to deliver. Many indications now point to Asiago having to start from scratch in the Italian Hockey League (IHL) next season.