HC Gherdëina is in the semi-finals of the Alps Hockey League for the first time. The South Tyroleans won Game 7 against the Red Bull Hockey Juniors 3-2 after extra time on Tuesday. Matteo Luisetti made the decision in the 77th minute.
In the semi-finals, Val Gardena will now face defending champions EK Zell am See. In the second series, KHL Sisak and HC Meran/o face each other. The best-of-7 series begins on Thursday.
After two clear victories and the equalizer in the series, the Juniors were the dominant team for long stretches of the game on Tuesday. After a goalless first third, Salzburg increased the pressure – but the visitors scored the goal: Brighenti’s deflection made it 0-1 in the 29th minute. Val Gardena also went into the second break with this narrow lead. Shortly after the restart, Kogler, ideally served in the slot, equalized. But just a few minutes later, the South Tyroleans struck back: After winning a face-off, Kasslatter scored via the inside bar to make it 1-2. The juniors then pushed vehemently for another equalizer and established themselves in the attacking third several times – without success for a long time. However, with a 2-on-1 counterattack, the guests missed the possible decision. 74 seconds before the end of regular time – with already the sixth field player – Eliseev finally scored to make it 2-2.
The Juniors dominated in extra time, but were repeatedly thwarted by the outstanding Val Gardena goalie Claes Endre, who parried 62 shots and even defused a penalty. In the 77th minute the decisive goal came from the other side: Luisetti scored from the turn to make it 3-2. This means that the “Furie” is in the AHL semi-finals for the first time and will face defending champion Zell am See. The Juniors, on the other hand, also lost their third Game 7 in league history.
Alps Hockey League, quarterfinals game 7
Tue, March 24, 2026:
Red Bull Hockey Juniors – HC Gherdeina valgardena.it 2:3 OT (0:0, 0:1, 2:1)
Referees: BULOVEC, SNOJ, Arlic, Jeram
Goals RBJ: Kogler (42nd), Eliseev (59th)
Goals GHE: Brighenti (29th), Kasslatter (47th), Luisetti (77th)
Final score in the best-of-7 series: 3:4
alps.hockey , Image: Red Bull Ice Hockey Academy
