HC Eppan celebrated its first win in the quarter-final series against HC Alleghe on Tuesday. © Social Media

Impressive: The “Pirates” write to us for the first time

The second games of the quarter-final pairings in the Italian Hockey League (IHL) took place on Tuesday evening. Two South Tyrolean teams were also in action: While HC Eppan fought back, SV Kaltern already has one foot in the semi-finals.

March 05, 2024

From: mv

Many South Tyrolean ice hockey fans probably rubbed their eyes when they saw the final result between HC Alleghe and HC Eppan on Saturday. The “Pirates” lost the opening game of the quarter-final series 1:3 – even though they were the better team. On Tuesday in Game 2, the Überetscher struck back impressively. In the Eppan ice stadium, the goals flew out of the machine like popcorn. The home team had the upper hand against Alleghe with a score of 9:4.

After just under five minutes, Eppan was 3-0 ahead. They cheerfully continued to score goals and after a little less than 25 minutes the Überetscher were in the lead with 7:1. The game was already decided, but Alleghe didn't give up completely and came close again. But HCE captain Daniel Erlacher and Co. ultimately won 9:4 and equalized the “best-of-five” series to 1:1. The man of the evening was Erno Räisänen, who, in addition to the two goals he scored himself, also prepared two more.

Kaltern wins away

After the 6:2 win in Game 1, the Kalterer Hechte didn't miss a beat in the second quarterfinal game and after the 6:1 in Cavalese they already have one foot in the semi-finals of the IHL. After the 1-0 lead in the first third, three more goals followed in the middle third within eight minutes, which finally broke Valdifiemme's neck. First there were two Kaltern goals in the third third before the home team scored a consolation goal to make it 1:6. Marko Virtala and Mattia Clericuzio were particularly impressive on Tuesday for the Hechte, both of whom scored two goals each.

Feltre shocks Varese, Como with a monster comeback

In the other two duels without South Tyrolean participation, there were two surprises. On the one hand, the big underdog Feltreghiaccio also won the second game against champions Varese with 4:3, after they had already had the upper hand in game 1 with 5:1 (!). Varese now has his back against the wall and has to win the next game in order not to have to say goodbye to his summer vacation early.

And on the other hand, Pergine gave up a 4-0 lead and thus a victory that was believed to be certain and lost against Como 4-6. Tommaso Terzago played a big part in this, scoring four (!) goals and almost single-handedly leading Como to equalize the series at 1-1.

The quarter-final series of the IHL continues on Thursday evening. From a South Tyrolean perspective, the Eppan “Pirates” have to go to Alleghe, while the “Hechte” from Kaltern can seal the deal with a win in the local Raiffeisen Arena and thus make it to the semi-finals perfect.

IHL Quarterfinals – Game 2 (Best-of-5)

Eppan – Alleghe 9:4
Goals: 1:0 Spitaler (2.58), 2:0 Chizzali (4.28), 3:0 Graf (5.19), 4:0 Piechenstein (13.55/SH), 4:1 De Val (15.53), 5:1 Räisänen ( 17.29/PP), 6:1 Rottensteiner (22.33/PP), 7:1 Radin (24.36/PP), 7:2 Gabriel Vinatzer (27.26), 7:3 Mäkelä (28.36/SH), 8:3 Räisänen (37.41 ), 9:3 Piechenstein (42.35/PP), 9:4 Gabriel Vinatzer (51.27/SH).
Audience: 290
Status in the series: 1:1

Valdifiemme – Kaltern 1:6
Goals: 0:1 Riekkinen (15.43), 0:2 Clericuzio (25.03), 0:3 Marko Virtala (31.36), 0:4 Clericuzio (33.21), 0:5 Marko Virtala (44.02), 0:6 Selva (46.10 ), 1:6 Mlynar (48.18/PP).
Audience: 635
Status in the series: 0:2

Como – Pergine 6:4
Goals: 0:1 Lemay (12.43), 0:2 Bitetto (14.16/PP), 0:3 Christian Buono (28.58), 0:4 Christian Buono (30.56/PP), 1:4 Terzago (32.53), 2: 4 Terzago (44.55), 3:4 Terzago (46.38), 4:4 Popovic (47.58/PP), 5:4 Terzago (53.54), 6:4 Kizlo (58.48/SH).
Audience: 99
Status in the series: 1:1

Feltreghaccio – Varese 4:3
Goals: 1:0 Dall'agnol (14.29), 2:0 Stupak (15.38), 3:0 Blaha (37.35/PP), 4:0 Lysenko (39.18/PP), 4:1 Cordiano (48.42/SH), 4:2 Pietroniro (52.24), 4:3 Pietroniro (54.18/PP).
Audience: 754
Status in the series: 2:0