After nine wins in a row, the Alps Hockey League defending champions EK Die Zeller Eisbären had to admit defeat again.
In the second quarter-final they lost to the Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan 2:5, which meant that the South Tyroleans were able to equalize the series. SG Cortina Hafro also managed to equalize the series – with a 5-2 home win over KHL Sisak. Surprisingly, HC Meran/o Pircher is already in the lead with 2-0, having beaten HC Migross Asiago 4-1 in front of their home crowd. Quarterfinal two between HC Gherdeina valgardena.it and Red Bull Hockey Juniors will take place on Friday.
The Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan got off to a very good start and took the lead in the third minute through Erik Hofer. The striker also scored in the 31st minute to make it 4-2. Previously, EK Die Zeller Eisbären equalized through Nick Huard (7th). It stayed that way until the 23rd minute before the home team took the lead again through Luciano Zandegiacomo. Just a few seconds later, Jonas Kerschbaumer even increased the score to 3:1, before Tim Coffman reduced the score to 2:3 for the defending champions. However, it was to be the last goal for the Pinzgauers, who had to chase a two-goal deficit from the 31st minute onwards. Nine seconds before the end, Fabian Gschliesser finally put the lid on the game with an empty net, sealing the Eisbären’s first defeat after nine wins in a row. By the way, they won their last away game in Vipiteno at the end of February 9-2.
Meran also wins game two against Asiago
HC Meran/o Pircher celebrated its eighth win in a row and made it 2-0 in the quarter-final series against HC Migross Asiago. In front of over 1,000 fans, it took until the 31st minute before Filip Cruseman gave the home team the lead. At the beginning of the final period, Meran even pulled away to 3-0 thanks to goals from Pascal Brunner (42nd) and Daniel Gellon (46th). It was only in the 56th minute that Asiago scored their first and ultimately only goal through Filippo Rigoni. Reid Stefanson (59th) provided the final point, meaning Meran also scored four goals in game two. The first game ended 4:2 in favor of the South Tyroleans. Asiago, which started the quarter-finals as third seed, is already under enormous pressure in front of its home crowd on Saturday.
Cortina manages to equalize the series
After the narrow 1:2 opening defeat at KHL Sisak, SG Cortina Hafro was able to record a 5:2 home win for the first time in the second game. After the score was still 1-1 after 40 minutes, the Italians scored four goals in the final period. With a perfect start to the third, the two-time finalist moved ahead 3-1 after goals from Massimo Pietroniro (42nd) and Brandon Fortunato (46th). However, Sisak managed to find the right answer and a short time later Niksa Juric reduced the score to 2:3. But just a minute and a half later there was another goal celebration – this time again for Cortina, who made it 4-2 in the 48th minute through Chap Pietroniro. Marco Sanna made the final score in the 59th minute. The Italians celebrated their third win in their third home game of the season against the Croatians.
Alps Hockey League:
Thu, March 12, 2026:
HC Meran/o Pircher – HC Migross Asiago 4:1 (0:0, 1:0, 3:1)
Referees: HOLZER, VIRTA, Divis, Fecchio
Standings in the best-of-7 series: 2-0
Goals HCM: 1:0 Cruseman F. (31.), 2:0 Brunner P. (42.), 3:0 Gellon D. (46./PP1), 4:1 Stefanson R. (59.)
Goal HCA: 3:1 Rigoni F. (56.)
Wipptal Bronocos Weihenstephan – EK Die Zeller Eisbären 5:2 (1:1, 3:1, 1:0)
Referees: HUBER R., LAZZERI, Abeltino, Strimitzer
Standing in the best-of-7 series: 1:1
Goals WSV: 1:0 Hofer E. (3rd), 2:1 Zandegiacomo L. (23rd), 3:1 Kerschbaumer J. (23rd), 4:2 Hofer E. (31st), 5:2 Gschliesser F. (60th/EN)
Goals EKZ: 1:1 Huard N. (7th), 3:2 Coffman T. (23rd)
SG Cortina – KHL Sisak 5:2 (0:0, 1:1, 4:1)
Referees: BULOVEC, RIVIS, Ilmer, Markizeti
Standing in the best-of-7 series: 1:1
Goals SGC: 1:0 Talamini A. (22nd), 2:1 Pietroniro M. (42nd), 3:1 Fortunato B. (46th), 4:2 Pietroniro C. (48th), 5:2 Sanna M. (59th)
Goals SIS: 1:1 Lesnicar T. (32./PP1), 3:2 Juric N. (47.)
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