Enrico Miglioranzi and his teammates got a thrashing. © Vanna Antonello

Just before the playoffs start: Bolzano is seething with anger

What on earth is going on here? That's what many Bolzano ice hockey fans must have been asking themselves on Friday evening during the top-of-the-table clash against league leaders Klagenfurt. The Foxes suffered a clear defeat – and yet emotions ran high.

February 27, 2026

From the Sparkasse Arena in Bolzano

HCB Südtirol Alperia lost their final home game before the playoffs 3-6. The league leaders from Klagenfurt dismantled the Foxes with masterful composure, while the hosts completely lost their composure. They repeatedly clashed with opponents, but especially with the referees.

The referees, Christian Ofner from Carinthia and Milan Zrnic from Slovenia, made petty, sometimes questionable decisions – and that was enough to turn not only the 3.000 Bolzano fans against them, but also the players in white and red. After a balanced first period, they threw all decorum out the window and punished themselves with indiscipline. The Klagenfurt players only had to provoke the Foxes slightly, and they promptly received a penalty.

And so it came to pass that the league's best away team took all three points against the best home team. It was Klagenfurt's 17th away win – a new club record. Even the return of Mark Barberio couldn't help Bolzano. The best HCB defenseman returned after months of injury, but Dustin Gazley was unavailable. He watched from the stands as his teammate Brad McClure was awarded the Gino Pasqualotto Prize, the trophy that Bolzano fans bestow upon the player with the most fighting spirit.

Brad McClure received the award from the representatives of the fan association and Gino Pasqualotto's son Alex (center).

The awards ceremony before the game was the only celebratory moment of the evening; after that, things got really hectic both on and off the ice. Between the numerous stoppages in play, Bolzano was almost constantly fighting to overcome a three-goal deficit.

Muzzle for the Foxes

But whenever tension seemed to build, referee whistles, completely disproportionate reactions from the Foxes, and Klagenfurt's composed play restored order. In the end, it remained an undignified spectacle – and this happened right in front of league boss Christian Feichtinger, who had traveled to Bolzano for the top-of-the-table clash. After the game, HCB imposed a gag order on its players, meaning there were no routine interviews in the locker room.

HC Bozen now sits two points ahead of fifth-placed Olimpija Ljubljana ahead of their away game in Feldkirch on Sunday. who suffered an overtime defeat in Bruneck on Friday. Since it was the last regular-season game for the Slovenians, Bolzano can no longer be knocked out of fourth place. This means the two-time champions will start their quarterfinal campaign with a home game on March 10th – possibly against HC Pustertal.

HCB Südtirol Alperia – Klagenfurter AC 3:6

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

KAC: Dahm (Sicher); Unterweger-Maier, Teves-Nickl, Murray-Preiml, Sablattnig; Schwinger-Mursak-Petersen, Moyle-Kempe-From, Waschnig-Obersteiner-Hochegger, Fraser-Van Ee-Herburger.
Coach: Furey

Gates: 0:1 Jan Mursak (23.34), 0:2 Matt Fraser (34.41), 0:3 Matt Fraser (37.11), 1:3 Daniel Mantenuto (41.21), 1:4 Simeon Schwinger (46.20), 2:4 Luca Frigo (47.40), 2:5 Fabian Hochegger (51.47), 3:5 Cristiano DiGiacinto (58.06), 3:6 Simeon Schwinger (59.02)

Viewers: 2.980

The other results from Friday:

HC Pustertal – Olimpija Ljubljana 3:2 aet
Goals: 0:1 Pance (6.49), 1:1 Ticar (20.35), 2:1 Purdeller (49.46), 2:2 Polei (57.12), 3:2 Blum (60.41)
Audience: 2.657

Ferencvaros Budapest – Black Wings Linz 0:2
Goals: 0:1 Oshgan (5.58), 0:2 Barron (59.34)
Audience: 2.222

Graz 99ers – Villach SV 2:0
Goals: 1-0 Collins (31.09), 2-0 Collins (45.08)
Audience: 4.126

HC Innsbruck – Pioneers Vorarlberg 6:5 OT
Goals: 0:1 Tschofen (14.45), 0:2 Dornbach (19.25), 1:2 Coatta (27.52), 1:3 Maier (29.36), 1:4 Reini (30.17), 2:4 Lajeunesse (37.55), 3:4 Coatta (38.19), 3:5 Florchuk (44.22), 4:5 Lajeunesse (48.21), 5:5 Lajeunesse (51.55), 6:5 Sproule (63.43)
Audience: 2.500

Vienna Capitals – Fehervar AV 4:3 nP
Goals: 1-0 Gregoire (7:27), 1-1 Andersen (9:52), 2-1 Hackl (10:01), 3-1 Koschek (23:45), 3-2 Richards (34:59), 3-3 Gerlach (52:05), 4-3 Vey (decisive penalty)
Audience: 7.022