HC Pustertal will face Olimpija Ljubljana in the semifinals starting Sunday. © Iwan Foppa / HCP

Before the semi-finals begin: A fiery appeal from Puster Valley

The wait is finally over: On Sunday (starting at 18 p.m./SportNews live ticker), HC Pustertal will play their first semi-final match against Olimpija Ljubljana. The Intercable Arena will once again transform into a cauldron of noise.

March 28, 2026

From: det

On March 17th, HC Pustertal played in the Intercable Arena with the overtime victory over Salzburg They experienced a magical night and advanced to the semifinals. What followed was an unusually long break. When the Wolves play their first semifinal match against Olimpija Ljubljana at 18 p.m. on Sunday in the Intercable Arena, twelve days will have passed since their last game. "Time just stood still. We can hardly wait to play the first semifinal," defender Luca Zanatta is raring to go.

Even though the break was long, ice hockey fever in the Puster Valley is higher than ever. Since their heroic quarter-final victory against reigning champions Salzburg, the Wolves have been a major topic of conversation not only in their home valley, but far beyond. It's no surprise, then, that both home games against Ljubljana sold out in record time.

The Puster Valley fans are the Wolves' seventh man. © HCP

The Intercable Arena will therefore transform into a black-and-yellow cauldron of noise on both Sunday and Thursday (Game 3). This fact is giving the players a huge boost. And so, before the start of the semifinal series, Zanatta makes a fiery appeal to the euphoric Puster Valley fan base: "Starting a series at home helps enormously. It's like having an extra man on the ice." Then the defenseman addresses the supporters directly: "We need the support of every single one of you. It's really great to see how our fans are responding to this opportunity."

"It's going to be an awesome series." Alan Lobis

Pustertal knocked out Salzburg, Ljubljana knocked out HC Bozen. Here, two teams meet that have come this far primarily through their passion, tactical discipline, and sheer determination. "They also have two exceptional players in Nicolai Meyer and TJ Brennan, who produce points at an incredible rate. We have to keep playing our game," says Cole Bardreau, while Zanatta adds: "They're a very tough team." And young Alan Lobis sums it up perfectly: "It's going to be an awesome series."

Good and bad memories of Ljubljana

Picking a favorite in this series is difficult. Statistically, HCP has a slight edge: the Puster Valley team has won three of the four matches this season. And then there are the past two seasons, in which the Wolves prevailed against Olimpija in the pre-playoffs.

Cole Bardreau and HCP face Ljubljana.

On the other hand, it was the Slovenians who inflicted one of the most painful defeats in Pustertal's history: In the final series of the 2018/19 AlpsHL season, HCP was leading 3-1 and 2-1 in game five with 24 seconds remaining – but then Ljubljana turned the game around and ultimately won the series. Will there be revenge for this painful defeat as well?

ICE Hockey League, Semifinals – Game 1

Graz99ers – Fehervar AV19 (Sunday, 3:15 pm)
HC Pustertal – Olimpija Ljubljana (Sunday, 18 p.m.)