The Rittner Buam have lost five of the last six direct clashes with Cortina. Last season, Ivo Machacka's team won both meetings between the two teams (2:1 after overtime in Cortina, 4:0 in Collalbo) and also in the 2019/20 season, the winner of three out of four games was Cortina. The last success of the Rittner Buam dates back to March 4, 2020, when the blue-reds had asserted themselves in overtime by 4:3. Thursday's will be the 157th meeting between the two historical clubs. The overall win/loss record is very balanced: 74 games have ended with a Buam victory and 71 with a Cortina success, while 11 matches have ended with a draw.
In the current championship, the Rittner Buam are riding a wave of success: of the ten games played in the Alps Hockey League, Simon Kostner and his teammates have won nine. Moreover, Santeri Heiskanen's team is undefeated in six games. With a performance of 25 points, the Rittner Buam are currently third in the standings. Cortina has 15 points and is in 8th place in the cross-border league standings. In the games played so far this season, the Ampezzo team has been particularly strong on the penalty kill, with an efficiency of 90.5%, which is the second best mark down a man. The highest scorer among the next opponent of the Rittner Buam is Carlo Finucci who has 11 points in 10 games, the Rittner Buams highest scorers are Zach Osburn and Jari Sailio with 15 points each.
The match between SG Cortina Hafro and the Rittner Buam, that will have to do without the injured Manuel Öhler, will start on Thursday 21st October at 8.30 pm at the Olympic Stadium of Cortina. The game can be followed in streaming (https://streaming.hockeycortina.it).
Alps Hockey League 2021/22
Thursday, October 21, 2021 - 8.30 pm (Stadio Olimpico Cortina)
SG Cortina Hafro - Rittner Buam
The current standings in the Alps Hockey League
- HDD SIJ Acroni Jesenice 30 points/12 games
- Migross Supermarkets Asiago Hockey 30/13
- Rittner Buam 25/10
- EHC Lustenau 20/10
- EK Die Zeller Eisbären 20/11
- EC Die Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel 19/10
- EC-KAC Future Team 16/13
- SG Cortina Hafro 15/10
- Wipptal Broncos Weihenstephan 15/9
- Red Bull Hockey Juniors 14/13
- EC Bregenzerwald 12/8
- HC Merano Pircher 12/10
- Steel Wings Linz 11/9
- HC Gherdëina valgardena.it 9/10
- Bemer VEU Feldkirch 7/9
- SHC Fassa Falcons 6/9
- Vienna Capitals Silver 3/10
Photo: Max Pattis