Four teams will fight for the Italian Cup this weekend

The presentation was attended by Alex Hofer (Vice-President Lega), Klaus Ladinser (Vice-Mayor of the City of Bozen), Nilo Riva (President Lega), Giorgio Colombo (Marketing Director Main Sponsor Skoda), Dieter Knoll (Authorized Board Member HC Bozen), Giancarlo Bolognini (President FISG) and Karl Linter (Vice-President FISG - responsible for ice hockey) at the lectern.

The semi-finals will take place on Saturday, January 14th, the final will be played on Sunday at 20.30:XNUMX p.m. With hosts HC Bozen, the Pusterer Wolves Fiat Professional, Hafro Cortina and Tegola Canadese Alleghe are also taking part in the final round. So the home fans are in for a real ice hockey treat.

After winning the Italian Cup for HC Bozen (2009), Ritten Sport (2010) and HC Pustertal (2011), the South Tyrolean ice hockey scene was rewarded with the renewed award of the “Final Four”. The two semi-finals are scheduled for Saturday, January 14th. At 17.00 p.m. the first division leaders HC Pustertal meet old champions Cortina. In the evening, at 20.30:2011 p.m., HC Bozen and Alleghe will fight for a place in the final. On Sunday, the two winning teams will finally determine the 12/XNUMX Italian Cup winners.

HC Pustertal celebrated their first victory in the cup competition last season. Cortina, on the other hand, won the first two editions of the cup in 1974 and 1975. Record champions Bozen have already made good progress: with a success in the upcoming edition, the white-reds would expand their haul to four cup wins and move past Milan and Asiago in the rankings. The Lombards and the reigning Serie A champions have three successes to their credit. Alleghe is particularly keen on winning the cup, as this trophy is still missing from their trophy collection.

The women's final will also be held in Bolzano on Sunday afternoon

Before the men's final, the women's Italian Cup final will also take place on Sunday, January 15th at 17.00 p.m. in the Bolzano Eiswelle. The EV Bozen 84 Eagles will meet the winner of the match between Real Turin and HC Eppan Lakers. This semi-final will be played the day before, on Saturday, at 16.45 p.m. in Neumarkt.

The program of the “Skoda Final Four” (Eiswelle, Bolzano)

Saturday, 14 of January 2012 Semi-final men 17.00 p.m.: Wolves Fiat Professional Pustertal - SG Hafro Cortina 20.30 p.m.: HC Bozen - HC Alleghe Tegola Canadese

Sunday, 15. January 2012 17.00:84 p.m.: Women's final: EV Bozen XNUMX Eagles - winner Real Turin-HC Eppan Lakers 20.30 p.m.: Men's final (direct broadcast on Rai Sport)

Skoda Italian Cup Final Four - The four participating teams

Fiat Professional Wolves Pustertal

HC Pustertal will tackle the Italian Cup in top form. After excellent performances in the regular season of Serie A, coach Teppo Kivelä's protégés are ready to embark on the adventure of defending their title. In the final of last year's edition, the HCP had the upper hand against local rivals Ritten 6-1 and thus won the first title in the club's history. The Pusterers are also in an excellent position this season - as the aggressive style of play and the impressive number of hits prove again and again. The team's showpiece is undoubtedly the Ling-Scandella-Oberrauch attack line, but Jensen, Cullen and newcomer Ryan Watson have also proven their class several times. On the defensive end, Helfer's departure was compensated for by the NHL-experienced Magnan. Another Wolves top performer is in goal, namely Mikko Strömberg, who exudes enormous security through consistently good performances.

“After winning the Italian Cup last year and the success in the Supercup, our main focus this season is on the championship. “Nevertheless, there is a title to defend, and this against three absolute top teams in Serie A. With the support of our fans, who will accompany us into the ice wave, we can reach the final,” said Patrick Kirchler, the press -Those responsible for the traditional Bruneck club.

SG Hafro Cortina

Some experts will have rubbed their eyes in disbelief at Cortina's strong performance in recent months. Neo-coach Stefan Mair has managed to turn the bottom of the table in the last two seasons into a truly top team. For weeks, the Ampezzo team were at the top of the Serie A table. They had to give up the absolute top position due to a slump in late autumn, but recently the ski cracks from the sophisticated winter sports resort have really gotten back on track. The outstanding players at Cortina are sometimes exceptional striker Rob Hennigar and his offensive colleagues Dingle, Fraser and Johansson. The 16-time champion can already look back on two Italian Cup titles, which were won in the 1973/74 and 1974/75 seasons. Many years have passed since then and the white and blue fans are literally longing for cup victory.

Stefan Mair, who has already won the Italian Cup with Bozen and Pustertal, also knows this: “It will be very difficult because we face an extremely hardened opponent who will certainly be considered a big favorite due to the table situation in Serie A. The Italian Cup will be a first, real endurance test for my players.”

HC Bolzano

The traditional club from the South Tyrolean capital is eager for revenge after being defeated in the semi-final against Ritten in their own stadium last year. The HCB also has a great chance of overtaking Asiago and Milan in the all-time Italian Cup standings with their fourth tournament success and becoming the sole record champions. The White-Reds undoubtedly have what it takes to win the title: Adolf Insam, who was behind the boards in all three of Milan's Italian Cup victories, can rely on Giliati-Knackstedt-Sharp as one of the best attack lines in the entire league, which has so far been impressive to take apart opposing defensive departments one by one. Under Insam, however, the defense has also gained in sovereignty and class. This development was further driven forward by the return of Christian Borgatello and the confident performances of goalie Matt Zaba.

“After the disappointing semi-final exit last year, we want and have to improve,” said HCB coach Adolf Insam, who, however, paid the opponent the necessary respect: “Alleghe put us in our place on the last matchday and showed once again that in There is no favorite in the semifinals.”

HC Alleghe Tegola Canadese

Alleghe qualified for the cup competition at the last minute. However, this in no way calls into question the quality of the team squad, which was completely overhauled last summer. The new additions Adam Henrich, Greg Hogeboom and Mike Card hit like a bomb. They managed to liven up the game and make Alleghe an unpredictable opponent. The convincing league performances against their semi-final opponents Bozen alone have shown that the Belluno team does not have to fear any rivals. Alleghe's key player is goalkeeper Adam Dennis. If he has a good day, he can infuriate the opposing strikers. In front of him is the solid defensive team around Schutte and Forsstrom, which is once again dangerously involved in the offensive. If you take a look at Alleghe's club records, the highlight is winning the Alpine League in 1993. The final opponent was HC Bozen, of all places.

Manuel De Toni, Alleghe's captain, finally wants to reach for the title: “We had a great chance to win the cup against Pontebba in Turin, but we didn't take advantage of it. Now it is time for Alleghe to expand its trophy collection, although Bolzano is certainly the favorite in the semi-finals.”

The Italian Cup honor roll

1973 / 74: SG Cortina Doria 1974 / 75: SG Cortina Doria 1991 / 92: Asiago hockey 1998 / 99: Lions Courmaosta 2000 / 01: Asiago hockey 2001 / 02: Asiago hockey 2002 / 03: HC Milano Vipers

2003 / 04: HC Bozen Forest Günther Hell (Thomas Commisso); Michael Rigo, Christian Alderucci, Luca Scardoni, Alexander Avancini, Jeff Sebastian, Shayne McCosh; Alexander Egger, Manuel Basso, Stefan Zisser, Christian Walcher, Enrico Dorigatti, Daniel Peruzzo, Mike Omicioli, Mirko Ceschini, Fredrik Näsvall, Roland Ramoser, Ruggero Rossi de Mio, Christian Timpone, Bryan Belcastro, Enrico Chelodi, Andrew Omicioli, Denis Somadossi, Mathias Bosson; Coach: Mikhail Vassiliev

2004 / 05: HC Milano Vipers Magnus Eriksson (Mark Demetz), Armin Helfer, Marc Savard, Rikku-Petteri Lehtonen, Matt Smith, Tomi Kallarsson, Lauri Kinos; Daniel Tkaczuk, Niklas Sundstrom, Craig Adams, Ryan Savoia, Dino Felicetti, Jörgen Rickmo, Brian Chitarroni, Laszek Laszkiewicz, Giuseppe Busillo, Jani Tuominen, Justin Peca, Max Oberrauch, Andrea Molteni, Sasha Meneghetti; Coach Adolf Insam

2005 / 06: HC Milano Vipers Magnus Eriksson (Paolo Della Bella); Armin Helfer, Chris Joseph, Michele Strazzabosco, Rikku-Petteri Lehtonen, Justin Peca, Christian Borgatello, Maurizio Mansi; Daniel Tkaczuk, Ryan Christie, Brian Chitarroni, Ryan Savoia, Giuseppe Busillo, Brett Lysak, Andrea Molteni, Matteo Molteni, Dino Felicetti, Mike Di Stefano, coach Adolf Insam;

2006 / 07: HC Villani Bozen Sergejs Naumovs (Günther Hell); Jan Nemecek, Leo Insam, Florian Ramoser, Jon Coleman, Chris Bahen, Alex Avancini, Florian Hell; Carlyle Lewis, Jeff Nelson, Drew Omicioli, Enrico Dorigatti, Flavio Faggioni, Rolly Ramoser, Christian Walcher, Stefan Zisser, Rupert Stampfer, Christian Pircher; Coach: Morgan Samuelsson

2007 / 08: SG Generali FVG Pontebba Andrea Carpano (Jean-Baptiste Dell'Olio); Andrea Ambrosi, Radoslav Hecl, Fabio Armani, David Cooper, Andreas Lutz, Kimmo Eronen, Federico Betti; Nick Romano, David Burgess, Michele Ciresa, Stefano Margoni, Ivan Demetz, Anthony Aquino, Luca Rigoni, Dan Cavanaugh, Giulio Vernaccini, Konstantin Kalmikov; Coach: Misha Vassiliev

2008 / 09: HC Interspar Bozen Pasi Hakkinen (Andreas Bernard); Carl Johan Johansson, David Ceresa, Alex Egger, Sergei Durdin, Christian Borgatello, Florian Ramoser; Stefan Zisser Kenny Corupe, Luca Ansoldi, Anton Bernard, Jonathan Pittis, Ryan Jardine, Rolly Ramoser, Jamie Schaafsma, Christian Walcher, Enrico Dorigatti, Stefan Unterkofler; Coach: Jari Helle

2009 / 10: Ritten Sport Renault Trucks Frederic Cloutier (Benjamin Saurer); Jan Nemecek, Ziga Pavlin, Ingemar Gruber, Benjamin Bregenzer, Fritz Ploner, Markus Hafner, Stephan Ramoser; Dan Tudin, Greg Jacina, Scott May, Luca Ansoldi, Ashley Tait, Mathias Johansson, Lorenz Daccordo, Matteo Rasom, Emanuel Scelfo, Alex Rottensteiner, Daniel Vigl, trainer: Ron Ivany

2010 / 11: HC Kronplatz Pustertal Mikko Strömberg (Hannes Hopfgartner); Matt Kelly, Fredric Persson, Armin Helfer, Armin Hofer, Christian Willeit, Christian Mair, Daniel Glira; Rob Sirianni, Taggrt Desmet, Max Oberrauch, Joe Jensen, Joe Cullen, Lynn Loyns, Nate DiCasmirro, Thomas Pichler, Patrick Bona, Lukas Tauber, Alex Frei; Coach: Stefan Mair

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Four teams will fight for the Italian Cup this weekend

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