On Saturday evening the 34th and last matchday of the basic round of the Alps Hockey League is on the agenda for Italian champion Ritten. The "Buam" will receive the tail light Linz II at 7 p.m. in Klobenstein.
After the 3:2 overtime victory on Wednesday in Salzburg, the Budaj troupe is still in second place in the table with 72 points, level with Pustertal and seven points behind the winner of the first round, Ljubljana. These three teams have already qualified for the play-off quarter-finals, but the "Buam" and the "Wolves" are still looking for an important bonus point for the upcoming Master Round. Ljubljana will start with four points, the runners-up with three and the third with two points, so the Rittner need a win against Linz II tomorrow at home. For the defeated last place in the table, however, it's no longer a question of anything: With only three points, the "Steel Wings" are in 18th place in the table and will play in the Qualification Round.
Since the AlpsHL was founded, no other team has ever scored as few points as Linz. The Upper Austrians defeated Cortina at home on Matchday 5 with 3:2 goals in a penalty shootout, the third point was scored in a 3:4 defeat in a penalty shootout against Feldkirch. So Ritten should have no problems tomorrow. The Italian champion wants to finish the basic round with 25 wins. Exactly half of them, 12, were won by the "Buam" in front of their own audience. In the first leg in Linz, the Budaj-Cracks clearly held the upper hand with 10-0 goals. Outstanding players were Matt Lane (2 goals, 3 assist) and defender Ryan Obuchowski, who even tied a triple (plus 1 assist). In the AHL, Ritten had only won 10-0 so far, last year against Fassa.
Alps Hockey League, 34th round, Saturday, 1 February 2020
19.00 Uhr: HC Pustertal – Vienna Capitals Silver
19.00 Uhr: Asiago Hockey – EC Kitzbühel
19.00 Uhr: Rittner Buam – Steel Wings Linz
19.00 Uhr: EHC Lustenau – Fassa Falcons
19.00 Uhr: HDD Jesenice – EC Bregenzerwald
19.00 Uhr: Wipptal Broncos – EC Klagenfurt II
19.00 Uhr: SG Cortina – VEU Feldkirch
19.00 Uhr: HC Gherdeina – Red Bull Juniors
19.00 Uhr: EK Zeller Eisbären – HK Olimpija
The Alps Hockey League table after the 33rd matchday
1. HK Olimpija 79 Punkte
2. Rittner Buam 72
3. HC Pustertal 72
4. SG Cortina 59
5. Fassa Falcons 58
6. Asiago Hockey 57
7. HDD Jesenice 57
8. VEU Feldkirch 57
9. EHC Lustenau 55
10. Wipptal Broncos 54
11. Red Bull Juniors 51
12. EK Zeller Eisbären 47
13. HC Gherdeina 45
14. EC Kitzbühel 39
15. EC Klagenfurt II 32
16. EC Bregenzerwald 29
17. Vienna Capitals Silver 25
18. Steel Wings Linz 3