Bolzano's Luca Frigo (right) with his national team colleague and Ljubljana star Alex Petan. © Filip Barbalic

A bittersweet feeling at HC Bozen

There are defeats that hurt. And then there are defeats that are easier to bear. Wednesday evening's loss for HC Bozen is a mixture of both.

February 25, 2026

From: det

With two matchdays remaining in the regular season, the Foxes suffered a 3-4 defeat in a penalty shootout against Olimpija Ljubljana. The good news for Foxes fans: fourth place – and therefore home advantage in the quarterfinals – is virtually guaranteed.

HC Bolzano currently sits in fourth place with 87 points, while Ljubljana is three points behind in fifth. Because the Slovenians, unlike Bolzano, only have one game left to play and have a worse head-to-head record, they can no longer overtake the Foxes. Only HC Pustertal still has a theoretical chance of knocking Bolzano out of fourth place, but with a five-point deficit and two games remaining, it would take a miracle.

Nevertheless, there's a bitter pill to swallow for Bolzano: Red Bull Salzburg's third-place finish – and thus an even better starting position and the right to vote for the playoffs – is now a distant prospect. Both Bolzano and Pustertal have already qualified for the postseason. The Wolves narrowly prevailed against Vorarlberg on Wednesday.

Young Olimpija goalkeeper plays strongly on

Depleted by injuries (including long-term absentee Mark Barberio and the ailing Matt Bradley and Daniel Mantenuto), HCB played good hockey for two periods at the Hala Tivoli, but eased off a bit in the final period. Nevertheless, the Foxes showed great heart: Cole Schneider scored his 18th goal of the season with 16 seconds remaining to tie the game at 3-3 and force overtime and a penalty shootout, where Olimpija Ljubljana ultimately secured the extra point.

The player of the game was young Olimpija goalie Luka Kolin, who repeatedly exceeded expectations and admirably filled in for the injured starting goalie Lukas Horak. Ljubljana has strengthened its roster for the playoffs with the addition of 91-time NHL goalie Dustin Tokarski.

Friday at the Sparkasse Arena promises to be a real treat: league leaders Klagenfurt will be visiting at 7:45 pm. HCB is incredibly excited, especially since defensive stalwart Mark Barberio could be making his long-awaited comeback. The Canadian is expected to be back on the ice no later than Sunday for the final game of the regular season against Vorarlberg. However, the injured Matt Bradley won't return to the lineup until the playoffs.

Olimpija Ljubljana – HC Bozen 4:3 nP

OLL: Kolin (Hebar); Cosic-Brennan, Halbert-Gregorc, MacWilliam-Crnovic, Bohinc-Bukovec; Meyer-Boychuk-Drozg, Sabolic-Petan-Mahkovec, Polei-Quince-Simsic, Pance-Bericic-Kapel
Coach: Cooper

HSBC: Harvey (Vallini); Samuelsson-Valentine, Gildon-Seed, Miglioranzi-DiPerna, Cairns; Schneider-Gersich-McClure, Brunner-Pollock-Gazley, Frigo-Gennaro-DiGiacinto, Frank-Misley-Marchetti
Coach: Shedden

Gates: 0:1 Brad McClure (9.31), 1:1 Jan Drozg (12.00), 1:2 Matteo Gennaro (14.39), 2:2 TJ Brennan (25.54), 3:2 Rok Kapel (51.13), 3:3 Cole Schneider (59.44). Decisive penalty: Marcel Mahkovec.

Viewers: 3.643

ICE: The other games from Wednesday

Pioneers Vorarlberg – HC Pustertal 3:4 (to the report)
Goals: 1:0 Erne (02.19), 1:1 Saracino (08.22), 2:1 Erne (16.43), 2:2 Ticar (22.31), 2:3 Di Tomaso (23.24), 3:3 Tschofen (31.06), 3:4 Frycklund (47.02)
Audience: 1.244

Vienna – Graz 2:5
Goals: 1:0 Gregoire (06.45) 2:0 Franklin (10.39), 2:1 Conle (12.03), 2:2 Haudum (29.53), 2:3 Schiechl (37.25), 2:4 Feldner (50.25), 2:5 Schiechl (59.03)
Audience: no information

Klagenfurt – Innsbruck 7:2
Goals: 1-0 Herburger (3:52), 1-1 Coatta (6:03), 2-1 Moyle (11:55), 3-1 From (13:36), 4-1 Murray (24:50), 5-1 Fraser (32:12), 5-2 Benker (40:55), 6-2 Unterweger (52:23), 7-2 Petersen (54:53)
Audience: 3.780

Fehervar – Salzburg 2-6
Goals: 1:0 Messner (07.16), 1:1 Michael Raffl (10.26), 1:2 St. Denis (13.18), 1:3 Bourke (16.46), 2:3 Gerlach (18.41), 2:4 Corcoran (27.16), 2:5 Coe (48.44), 2:6 Huber (55.22)
Audience: 3.717

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