Last Saturday, HC Gherdeina valgardena.it was surprisingly crowned champion of the Alps Hockey League for the first time. After the basic round, the South Tyroleans were only in eleventh place before they went on an incredible run and prevailed against HC Meran/o Pircher in the sensational final. Below we take a look back at a memorable tenth season of the Alps Hockey League, in which on average more viewers than ever before followed the games of their favorite team in the arenas.
A total of 286,604 fans flocked to the halls of the 13 Alps Hockey League clubs last season. This is an increase of almost 50,000 viewers compared to the previous season. Only in the 2018/19 season were more spectators counted (307,659), although at that time there were more participating clubs. With an average of 884 fans per game, the past season was the most attended season in league history. The 2018/19 season follows in second place with an average of 801 fans per game.
The highest fan influx was once again recorded by the EK Die Zeller Eisbären, which was unable to defend its 2025 title, but was once again the clear number one among spectators with an average of 2,256 fans. Behind them are semifinal debutants KHL Sisak (1,674) and HC Migross Asiago (1,593). The new champion HC Gherdeina valgardena.it is in fourth place in the fan ranking (975). The Stadio del Ghiaccio Pranives was packed, especially in the finals. In the end, the many fans were able to sensationally celebrate the premiere title. In total, the 2,000 spectator mark was exceeded in 30 games last season, and more than 1,000 fans were present in 95 games.
Val Gardena from eleventh place to champion
In terms of sport, it was a season that was as successful as it was surprising. The Red Bull Hockey Juniors secured first place in the basic round. With defending champions Zell am See, Sisak, Asiago and Vipiteno, four other teams that were also in contention for the title moved into the Master Round. The battle for fifth place remained open until the last day of the match – in the end, only three points separated fifth-place Vipiteno and eighth-place Ritten. At this point in time, Val Gardena hardly had anyone on the list for the big coup. The South Tyroleans only finished the first phase of the season in eleventh place, directly behind their eventual final opponent Meran.
In the subsequent qualifying round, Val Gardena started its run and took the lead with five wins and only one defeat. Meran also managed to do the same, winning the other group. Meanwhile, Zell am See overtook the Juniors with an outstanding Master Round and eight wins in as many games and went into the playoffs as the top seed.
The eventual champion Val Gardena initially went into the pre-playoffs. There they defeated Kitzbühel 2-0. Meran also beat Bregenzerwald 2-0. In the quarter-finals, Val Gardena met Salzburg – and the series developed into a real crime thriller. It came to the seventh game, in which Matteo Luisetti only scored the decision in the 77th minute and Val Gardena shot into the semi-finals for the first time. Merano also pulled off a surprise – a 4-2 win against Asiago.
In the semi-finals, the team from Val Gardena faced Zell am See. The 2025 champion entered the series as the clear favorite and narrowly won game one 2-1 after overtime. As a result, home wins alternated before Val Gardena won game five on the road 4-3 after overtime. With another home win, the South Tyroleans finally completed the sensation. At the same time, Meran prevailed against Sisak in a hard-fought series over seven games – the premiere final became a reality. In addition, two South Tyrolean teams faced each other in the final for the first time.
The final series ultimately went 4-0 to Val Gardena, which celebrated the sensational title last Saturday with a 4-3 win in front of over 2,000 fans in the completely sold-out Stadio del Ghiaccio Pranives. It was only the third time in the league’s 10-year history that the finals series ended in a sweep.
Claes Endre – the hero in goal
Val Gardena was led by goalkeeper Claes Endre. The Swede only joined the team in mid-January and had a big influence right from the start. With a catch rate of over 94%, he ultimately set the league’s best and recorded four shutouts in 27 appearances.
Points leader Valentini awarded MVP
The player with the highest points of the season was Ryan Valentini from HC Migross Asiago, who achieved the second highest score in league history with 92 points and was also voted MVP. Only Ethan Szypula had scored more points with Ritten in the previous season (103). The top goalscorer was also an Asiago player, Nick Porco (42 goals). The “Young Star of the Season” award was also presented for the first time – this went to Maxim Eliseev from the Red Bull Hockey Juniors.
alps.hockey , Image: Matthäus Kostner
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