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Pustertal and Ljubljana engaged in a fierce back-and-forth battle. © HCP/Iwan Foppa
Pustertal rejoices: The wolves are running away from everyone!
HC Pustertal is top-notch – that's clear now! The Bruneck team won the top game against Olimpija Ljubljana in a thrilling manner, thus taking the lead for the first time in the ICE Hockey League.
12 November 2025
From the Intercable Arena in Bruneck
From:
Alexander Foppa
League leaders HC Falkensteiner Pustertal defeated their closest rivals Olimpija Ljubljana 5-3 on Wednesday evening, extending their lead to a comfortable four points. This delighted the more than 3.000 enthusiastic spectators in the arena in western Bruneck.
The Wolfpack returned from the international break with an impressive team performance. Five different assist providers and five different goalscorers demonstrate not only a strong team spirit but also the depth of the league leaders' attacking lineup.
Pustertal found the right answer to every adversity, every problem – until the former league leaders from Slovenia, who had arrived without their superstar, former NHL forward Zach Boychuk, finally capitulated helplessly. A significant factor in this was Jon Blum, who made his long-awaited comeback after weeks of injury and skillfully pulled the strings on defense once again.
Pasquale's blunder had no consequences
Blum and his teammates also had to cover for their goalkeeper Eddie Pasquale this time, who seemed a bit rusty after the ten-day break. The usually reliable HCP goalie kept the visitors in the game for a long time with two glaring errors. Fortunately for Bruneck, his lapses had no consequences – and Pasquale will surely be back to his best by the next match.The key moments
| Glira shines | What does a dream start mean? Daniel Glira explains: In the third minute of the game, the puck lands on his stick, he doesn't hesitate and shoots from the blue line, somewhat obscured – first shot of the game, first goal! |
| Pasquale makes a mistake | After taking a 1-0 lead, the Wolves temporarily disappeared from the game. First, former Salzburg player Nikolai Meyer equalized at 1-1 after a scramble in front of the net (14th minute), then TJ Brennan scored on the power play to give the visitors their first lead (20th minute). His otherwise harmless shot slipped under goalie Eddie Pasquale's pads. |
| Trio meets | In the second period, HCP struck back – and how! Greg Di Tomaso flicked the puck from the blue line perfectly into the top corner (26th minute), Alex Ierullo fired it powerfully under the crossbar on the power play (37th minute), and then Austin Rueschhoff, coming out of the penalty box, scored one-on-one against Ljubljana's backup goalie Luka Kolin (39th minute). Suddenly it was 4-2! |
| Pasquale panicked | Pasquale's colossal blunder brings Ljubljana back into the game: Pustertal is on a power play when goalie Pasquale, in a complete panic, tries to clear the puck behind his own net, but loses it to an opposing player who then sets up Nik Simsic in front of the empty net. He reduces the deficit to 3-4 (45th minute). |
| Saracino says... | ...Thank you. The Italian international converted a brilliant assist from Henry Bowlby, who had previously circled the goal, to make it 5-3 (57'). After that, the Wolves skillfully saw out the victory. |
Ljubljana, by the way, is HC Bozen's next opponent on Friday. who lost today against Fehérvár in a penalty shootout. The Pusterer Wolves, on the other hand, will set off towards Linz on Thursday at noon, where they intend to further cement their first place the following day – with simultaneous assistance from their arch-rival in Slovenia.
HC Falkensteiner Pustertal – Olimpija Ljubljana 5:3
HCP: Pasquale (Rabanser); Lauridsen-Di Tomaso, Zanatta-Blum, Glira-Osmanski; Ierullo-Ticar-Lipon, Bowlby-Bardreau-Saracino, Rueschhoff-Frycklund-Purdeller, Lobis-Andergassen-Mantinger, Deluca.Coach: Jaspers
Olympia: Kolin (Hebar); Masic-Brennan, Gregorc-Kirichenko, Bohinc-Crnovic, Cosic; Meyer-Quince-Sabolic, Pance-Petan-Mahkovec, Simsic-Bericic-Mehle, Kumanovic-Sodja-Bukovec.
Coach: Florian
Gates: 1:0 Daniel Glira (2.28), 1:1 Nikolai Meyer (13.07), 1:2 TJ Brennan (19.04), 2:2 Greg Di Tomaso (25.35), 3:2 Alex Ierullo (36.14), 4:2 Austin Rueschhoff (38.45), 4:3 Nik Simsic (44.10), 5:3 Nick Saracino (56.25)
Viewers: 3.024
The other Wednesday results:
Fehérvár AV19 – HC Bozen 3:2 nP (click here for the report)Goals: 0:1 Bryce Misley (13.04), 1:1 Csanad Erdely (29.51), 2:1 Drake Rymsha (39.35), 2:2 Matt Bradley (43.11). Decisive penalty: Bartalis
Audience: 3.039
Ferencvaros – Vienna Capitals 2:1
Goals: 0:1 Lanzinger (6.07), 1:1 Bengtsson (15.35), 2:1 Laskawy (45.32)
Audience: 1.203
Klagenfurter AC – Black Wings Linz 5:3
Goals: 1-0 Hundertpfund (1:10), 2-0 Kempe (2:23), 2-1 Barron (18:59), 3-1 Hundertpfund (28:02), 3-2 Lebler (30:25), 4-2 Jensen Aabo (32:24), 5-2 From (35:06), 5-3 Lebler (51:29)
Audience: 3.722
HC Innsbruck – Pioneers Vorarlberg 4:3 OT
Goals: 1:0 Owre (26.14), 2:0 Benker (33.52), 2:1 Burke (34.30), 3:1 Dobnig (42.37), 3:2 Dornbach (52.56), 3:3 Woger (57.49), 4:3 Owre (60.23)
Audience: 1.800
| SP | G | U | V | TV | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. HC Pustertal | 17 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 61:42 | 38 |
| 2. Olimpija Ljubljana | 17 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 83:53 | 34 |
| 3. EC Klagenfurt | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 50:38 | 32 |
| 4. HCB South Tyrol | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 62:39 | 31 |
| 5. Graz99ers | 16 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 55:41 | 29 |
| 6. EC Villach | 15 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 50:46 | 25 |
| 7. EC Salzburg | 16 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 47:40 | 25 |
| 8. Ferencvarosi | 17 | 6 | 0 | 11 | 49:58 | 21 |
| 9. Fehervar | 17 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 34:56 | 21 |
| 10. Linz | 16 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 52:53 | 19 |
| 11. Vienna Capitals | 16 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 43:55 | 18 |
| 12. HC Innsbruck | 17 | 6 | 0 | 11 | 44:75 | 15 |
| 13. Vorarlberg | 18 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 33:67 | 13 |
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