Alps League

Juniors on the upswing, Zell secures playoff spot

Juniors goalie Ankirchner scored the final goal in Sisak.

(Bild: Gintare Karpaviciute – Red Bull Hockey Juniors)

Things continue to look up for the Red Bull Juniors, who have been without a game for a long time and have slipped to the bottom of the Alps Hockey League table. After the derby win against the Zell Eisbären, the Levijoki boys also picked up maximum points in Sisak, thus pulling away from the bottom of the table. Meanwhile, the Polar Bears won 4:0 in Merano.

As against Zell on Tuesday, it took the eye of Leon Kolarik to break the scoring spell. After a goalless first period, Tuesday's double-packer scored after just 22 seconds following a pass from Jakob Schnabl. However, the Croatians struck back through Bronte (27). However, Paul Vinzens put the young Bulls back in front when they were outnumbered, and the course was soon set for victory. However, it took until the final period before it was wrapped up. First Adrian Gesson increased the lead to 3:1 (58') before Sisak put all his eggs in one basket and took the keeper off the ice. But goalkeeper Valentin Ankirchner put the puck into the empty net to secure the Juniors' second win in a row.

"That was a very good game from us today. We played with a lot of confidence and were able to control the game. We took this momentum with us from the win against Zell am See," said a satisfied head coach Teemu Levijoki. With the victory, the team took another step forward. Since the stragglers Gröden (5:7 against Kitzbühel) and Bregenzerwald (4:6 in Wipptal) both lost, the Jungbullen are now four points ahead of the former in tenth place with two games less.

Shutout for Zimmermann
Meanwhile, Zell returned to winning ways after their disappointment on Tuesday. Goalkeeper Max Zimmermann celebrated his fourth shutout of the season in the 4-0 win in Merano. After Lindner made it 1-0 in the middle third (22nd), a double strike within 18 seconds made the difference: first birthday boy Wilfan scored in overtime, then Putnik. Widhalm (60') topped it off.

The Pinzgau team can now plan for the playoffs. Alongside leaders Ritten (5:2 in Cortina), Jesenice are also through to the Masters Round because Sisak lost to the Juniors. The top trio can therefore plan for the quarter-finals. Max Wilfan summed up: "It was a cohesive team performance and we had a very solid away game in which we were able to keep a clean sheet. We took our chances in the power play and were thus able to secure our place in the quarter-finals!"