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HC Bozen celebrates their derby victory with unrestrained joy. © I. Foppa / HC Pustertal
Heart-pounding derby: Bolzano is South Tyrol's ice hockey powerhouse
It couldn't get any more spectacular! On an evening of intense emotions, HC Pustertal and HC Bozen battled it out for supremacy in local ice hockey in the roaring Bruneck Arena. The game ended with a wild celebration by the visiting team and heartbroken home fans.
03 January 2026
From the Intercable Arena in Bruneck
From:
Alexander Foppa
It was a superb advertisement for ice hockey, conjured up by the two South Tyrolean powerhouses on the slippery surface of the Intercable Arena. Speed, physicality, goals, and a sold-out arena, where both sets of fans created an electrifying atmosphere. In the end, around 350 supporters from the provincial capital cheered a 5-3 victory for their favorites, while the majority of Bruneck's stadium-goers watched in dismay.
HC Pustertal were at least the equal of their arch-rivals for the full 60 minutes. This was nothing like the bitter 1-9 defeat in Bolzano at the end of October. Driven by the outstanding Tommy Purdeller, who scored twice and now has 15 goals this season, the Bruneck players didn't give the typically hard-tackling Bolzano team an inch. A fierce battle ensued between the Wolves and the Foxes, showcasing some truly exceptional plays. It had all the hallmarks of playoff hockey!
One detail makes all the difference
In the end, subtle details made the difference in a thrilling contest. Bolzano defenseman Philip Samuelsson made a mistake leading to both of Purdeller's goals, while HCB goalie Sam Harvey performed slightly better than his counterpart Eddie Pasquale. The power play, however, was a different story: Bolzano scored on both of their power plays, while Pustertal failed to convert theirs.
That's why Bolzano's seventh win in their last eight games, their fifth in a row, was by no means undeserved. In the standings, the Red and Whites now sit in fourth place, six points ahead of the Black and Yellows, who currently occupy the last guaranteed playoff spot in sixth.
The highlights
| Bolzano meets – Puster Valley too | After a thrilling opening period, the visitors break the deadlock: DiGiacinto's shot from a turn finds the back of the net, sending the white-and-red fans into a frenzy (24th minute). Just seconds later, however, the opposite end of the ice is celebrating when Purdeller, receiving the puck after a mistake by Samuelsson, feints and scores to tie the game at 1-1 (26th minute). |
| What's going on here? | Bolzano takes the lead again, Samuelsson makes another mistake, and Purdeller equalizes again. After a momentary lapse by Pasquale, Bradley pounces on the rebound to make it 2-1 (29th minute), and just twelve seconds later, Purdeller capitalizes on a Samuelsson turnover to complete his brace – 2-2! |
| Harvey vs Bowlby | Pustertal's Bowlby twice broke away alone towards the Bolzano goal – once in the opening period, again in the middle – and both times goalie Harvey made brilliant saves. It could have been the game-changer. |
| Next double blow | In the 45th minute, Bolzano took the lead for the third time: The puck rebounded off Pasquale's pad, Frigo was there to pounce and score for the third time in a row. Bruneck responded immediately, but Osmanski's shot hit the inside of the post (46th minute). On the ensuing counterattack, Pollock deflected a Gildon shot into the net to make it 2-4. |
| Not nearly enough | These Wolves don't give up, that much is certain! Frycklund brings the home side back to 3-4 with a brilliantly executed goal (51st minute) – keeping the tension high until Gersich scores into an empty net in the final minute. It's the final score of 3-5. |
After this thrilling derby night, both teams will need to unwind on Sunday and fully focus on their upcoming challenges – which are significant. Pustertal travels to league leaders Klagenfurt on Monday (7:15 pm), while Bolzano hosts defending champions Salzburg (7:45 pm).
HC Falkensteiner Pustertal – HCB Südtirol Alperia 3:5
HCP: Pasquale (Rabanser); Zanatta-Blum, Lauridsen-DiTomaso, Osmanski-Glira; Rueschhoff-Ticar-Purdeller, Mantinger-Frycklund-Lobis, Ierullo-Bardreau-Lipon, Saracino-Andergassen-Bowlby, Deluca.Coach: Jaspers
HSBC: Harvey (Gibson); Samuelsson-Valentine, Gildon-Seed, Miglioranzi-DiPerna, Larcher; DiGiacinto-Gersich-Gazley, Schneider-Pollock-McClure, Frigo-Mantenuto-Bradley, Brunner-Misley-Frank, Marchetti.
Coach: Shedden
Gates: 0:1 Cristiano DiGiacinto (23.21), 1:1 Tommy Purdeller (26.03), 1:2 Bradley (28.30), 2:2 Purdeller (28.42), 2:3 Luca Frigo (44.44), 2:4 Brad Pollock (45.22), 3:4 Mikael Frycklund (50.05), 3:5 Shane Gersich (59.20)
Viewers: 3.104 (sold out)
The other results from Saturday:
Innsbruck – Klagenfurt 1:4Goals: 0:1 Mursak (4.56), 1:1 Lajeunesse (8.39), 1:2 Simovic (22.49), 1:3 Hochegger (23.38), 1:4 From (54.12)
Audience: 2.600
Ljubljana – Graz 0:2
0:1 Haudum (8.28), 0:2 Haudum (40.41)
Audience: 2.742
Salzburg – Vienna 6:1
Goals: 0:1 Mitch Hults (3.23), 1:1 Raffl (13.57), 2:1 St. Denis (14.50), 3:1 St. Denis (23.53), 4:1 Nissner (25.38), 5:1 Bourke (52.54), 6:1 Huber (57.41)
Audience: 3.400
Linz – Villach 3:0
Goals: 1-0 Würschl (32:31), 2-0 Romig (56:19), 3-0 Knott (59:06)
Audience: 4.295
Ferencvaros – Fehérvár 3:6
Goals: 1:0 Tammela (1.23), 1:1 Erdely (9.33), 1:2 Bartalis (16.33), 2:2 Shaw (20.12), 2:3 Gerlach (21.00), 2:4 Archibald (25.00), 3:4 Green (28.15), 3:4 Green (28.15), 3:5 Terbocs (42.56), 3:6 Gerlach (50.33)
Audience: 2.400
| SP | G | U | V | TV | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. EC Klagenfurt | 34 | 23 | 0 | 11 | 120:81 | 71 |
| 2. Graz99ers | 33 | 23 | 0 | 10 | 110:70 | 70 |
| 3. EC Salzburg | 34 | 22 | 0 | 12 | 113:70 | 64 |
| 4. HCB South Tyrol | 32 | 21 | 0 | 11 | 118:78 | 63 |
| 5. Olimpija Ljubljana | 35 | 21 | 0 | 14 | 129:99 | 59 |
| 6. HC Pustertal | 33 | 19 | 0 | 14 | 116:93 | 57 |
| 7. Fehervar | 33 | 15 | 0 | 18 | 75:105 | 45 |
| 8. Linz | 34 | 16 | 0 | 18 | 110:112 | 44 |
| 9. EC Villach | 32 | 13 | 0 | 19 | 99:108 | 42 |
| 10. Vienna Capitals | 33 | 14 | 0 | 19 | 82:99 | 42 |
| 11. Ferencvarosi | 33 | 12 | 0 | 21 | 86:115 | 41 |
| 12. Vorarlberg | 32 | 9 | 0 | 23 | 72:131 | 28 |
| 13. HC Innsbruck | 34 | 8 | 0 | 26 | 80:149 | 22 |
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