Game report
The Red Bull Hockey Juniors started the game with a lot of speed and put the hosts under pressure early on. However, Val Gardena also showed their attacking spirit right from the start and tested Juniors goalkeeper Luca Haitzmann, who made several strong saves. However, the first goal was scored in the 10th minute: Yuri Cristellon converted a rebound to give Val Gardena a 1:0 lead. Just three minutes later (13'), the hosts took advantage of a 4-on-4 situation when Emil Oksanen deflected a shot from Davide Schiavone unstoppably. However, the Juniors stayed in contention and found an answer in the 16th minute: Philipp Krening set up Maximilian Wurzer with a perfect pass and he converted with ice-cold precision to make it 2:1. The Red Bulls had another powerplay chance shortly before the break, but the home side's strong short-handed play prevented them from scoring again.
The second period got off to the worst possible start for the visitors: Simon Pitschieler scored a shorthander in the 21st minute to make it 3:1, but the Juniors showed morale and found the back of the net again. In the 27th minute, it was Nikita Kessler who scored after a pass from Lukas Hörl to make it 3:2. An intense game then developed with chances on both sides. Emil Oksanen missed a great chance for Val Gardena in the 34th minute, but the home side kept the pressure on. They finally scored a double within 46 seconds: Stephan Deluca (37th) and Davide Schiavone (38th) made it 5:2 and Val Gardena went into the second break with a comfortable lead.
In the final period, it was once again Val Gardena who were dangerous with good opportunities, but Haitzmann kept his team in the game with several saves. The Juniors tried to take control of the game once more, but the hosts defended skillfully. In the 52nd minute, Davide Schiavone made everything clear with his second goal of the evening to make it 6:2. Despite the clear deficit, the Red Bulls continued to fight. In the 58th minute, Tim Heimel rewarded himself with his first Alps Hockey League goal when he scored in the power play to make the final score 3:6.