The basic round of the Alps Hockey League has been completed since last Sunday, now the intermediate round follows. The game kicks off on Wednesday with the game between EC Bregenzerwald and Rittner Buam SkyAlps in the Qualification Round B. The guests from South Tyrol enter the encounter with a new head coach: the previous assistant coach Mike Halmo is taking over the fortunes of Dave MacQueen, from whom the two-time champion separated after missing the Master Round. The Master Round starts on Thursday with the encounters between EK Die Zeller Eisbären against Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan and KHL Sisak against regular season winners Red Bull Hockey Juniors. The Qualification Round A also begins on Thursday with the games Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel against HC Meran/o Pircher and SG Cortina Hafro against Hockey Unterland Cavaliers.
EC Bregenzerwald goes into Qualification Round B as the top seeded team with three bonus points. The Rittner Buam SkyAlps follow directly behind with two bonus points. At the start, both teams meet in a direct duel on Wednesday. In the regular round, Vorarlberg won two of the three matches. Last week Bregenzerwald suffered two defeats, while Ritten has been winless in four games. As a result, the South Tyroleans parted ways with head coach Dave MacQueen. The previous assistant coach Mike Halmo will now take over the position of head coach, supported by Roberto Scelfo.
Zell am See welcomes Vipiteno at the start of the Master Round
The runner-up in the regular round, EK Die Zeller Eisbären, will meet fifth-placed Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan on Thursday at the start of the Master Round. The South Tyroleans made it into the Master Round with a 4-0 away win in Sisak in the very last game. Now they go into the intermediate round without bonus points, while Zell am See has three bonus points. The Pinzgauers were defeated 1:4 in their last game in Meran, but before that they celebrated three wins in a row. Vipiteno has won four of the last five games. In a direct season comparison, the Broncos suffered two defeats against the Eisbären, but they won the most recent meeting in Zell am See 4-3.
Basic round winner Salzburg visits Sisak
Also on Thursday, Sisak and regular season winners Red Bull Hockey Juniors will meet in the Master Round of the KHL. The juniors start the intermediate round with four bonus points, Sisak is third in the basic round with two bonus points. The Croatians lost 4-0 to Vipiteno in their last home game and thus missed the jump to second place. The Young Bulls recently lost 3-4 after overtime at Unterland, but scored the decisive point to secure first place. Previously, Salzburg celebrated three wins in a row, while Sisak was only able to win two of the last five games. However, the Croatians won two of the three duels of the season so far against the Juniors.
Qualification Round A begins with two matches
In the Qualification Round A, Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel will host HC Meran/o Pircher on Thursday. The Tyroleans lost their last three games and gave up the important fifth place to Vipiteno on the final match day. Now they go into Qualification Round A as the top seeded team with three bonus points. Meran finished the regular round in tenth place and starts with one bonus point. The South Tyroleans are in good form, with two wins in a row and only one goal conceded. However, they have not yet been able to celebrate success in a direct duel with Kitzbühel this season.
There will also be an encounter between SG Cortina Hafro and the Hockey Unterland Cavaliers in the Qualification Round A. While Unterland, bottom of the regular season, starts the intermediate round without bonus points, Cortina starts the race in ninth place in the regular season with two bonus points. Cortina have won all of their last three games, while Unterland recently celebrated a surprising 4-3 home win after overtime against Salzburg, but before that they suffered three defeats in a row. In a direct comparison, the Cavaliers won the last duel away from home 4-3, but the remaining two matches of the season went to Cortina.
Alps Hockey League:
Qualification Round B:
Wed, February 4th, 2026:
7:30 p.m.: EC Bregenzerwald – Rittner Buam SkyAlps
Referees: HUBER R., SPIEGEL, Rinker, Seewald J.
Master Round:
Thu, February 5th, 2026:
7:30 p.m.: EK The Zeller Eisbären – Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan
Referees: UNTERWEGER, WINKLER, Dummermuth-Haas, Strimitzer
7:30 p.m.: KHL Sisak – Red Bull Hockey Juniors
Referees: METZINGER, SNOJ, Arlic, Legat
Qualification Round A:
Thu, February 5th, 2026:
7:30 p.m.: Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel – HC Meran/o Pircher
Referees: BROCK, HOLZER, Divis, Wendner
8:30 p.m.: SG Cortina Hafro – Hockey Unterland Cavaliers
Referees: BENVEGNU, LAZZERI, Cristeli, Ilmer
www.alps.hockey, Image: ECB/Prechter
“), i.text = “window._taboola = window._taboola || ();_taboola.push({mode:’alternating-thumbnails-a’, container:’taboola-below-article-thumbnails’, placement:’below-article’, target_type: ‘mix’});”, n.appendChild(l), n.appendChild(i), e(n, t) } Array.prototype.filter || (Array.prototype.filter = function(e, t) { if (“function” != typeof e) throw TypeError(); let n = (); for (let l = 0, i = this.length >>> 0; l < i; l += 1) if (l in this) { let r = this(l); e.call(t, r, l, this) && n.push(r) } return n }), window.insertAfter = e, window.getElementByXPath = t, window.injectWidgetByXpath = function e(l) { let i = t(l) ||. document.getElementById("tbdefault"); i && n(i) }, window.injectWidgetByMarker = function e
