Thursday, 02. October 2025 |
Juniors lose in RittenRed Bull Hockey Juniors suffer 3-4 defeat in Italy.// JuniorsThe Red Bull Hockey Juniors lose 3-4 to the Rittner Buam SkyAlps.
After a dominant first period with two goals from Maxim Eliseev and one from Benedikt Krainer, Salzburg had a clear 3-0 lead. In the second period, the home team fought back with three goals to tie the game at 3-3. In the final period, Ritten took advantage of a counterattack to take the lead, which the Juniors were unable to equalize despite their best efforts.
Next home game
October 4, 2025 | 7:15 p.m. | Eisarena Salzburg
Red Bull Hockey Juniors vs. Hockey Unterland Cavaliers
Tickets available at the box office | Livestream
Game report
The home team got off to a better start, but the Juniors responded immediately and picked up the pace. In the 7th minute, Nico Koschek played the puck into the slot, where Maxim Eliseev was unmarked and slotted home to make it 1-0 to the Juniors. Shortly afterwards, Ritten took a penalty – and the Red Bull Hockey Juniors made the most of the ensuing power play: Eliseev deflected a shot from Luca Kogler just in front of goalie Colin Furlong, making it 2-0 with his second goal in the 8th minute. The Italians tried to respond with clever build-up play and created a few offensive chances. With 32 seconds left in the period (20th), the young Salzburg team added another goal: Benedikt Krainer deflected a shot from Adrian Gesson to make it 3-0.
The Juniors started the second period with the same intensity as the first and created some excellent chances early on. Ritten switched from four to three lines, gaining more control and creating their first sustained period of pressure with a man advantage. Jacob Crespi scored from the high slot in the 26th minute to make it 1-3 with a lot of traffic in front of the goal. Just one minute later (27th), Simon Kostner took advantage of a rebound from Crespi's shot and reduced the deficit to 2-3. The South Tyroleans now looked much more confident, looking for more shots from the outside and consistently attacking the rebounds. The Juniors countered with quick transitions and regained control at times. Towards the end of the period, the game became evenly balanced before Diego Cuglietta tied the score at 3-3 in the 39th minute after passes from Manuel Öhler and Patrick Madsen.
In the final period, the Rittner Buam pushed hard for the lead early on. In the 43rd minute, Cuglietta took advantage of a quick counterattack after a relief attack by the Juniors, ran alone towards Luca Haitzmann and converted to make it 4-3. Salzburg then put in a lot of effort to equalize again, while Ritten repeatedly played the tall man and waited for further breakaways. Both teams minimized the risk, and clear chances remained rare. In the final minutes, the Juniors threw everything forward, but were unable to score another goal.
Head Coach Teemu Levijoki
“After the first period, we stopped playing our game. We weren't consistent in our tackling and gave them too much space. In the second and third periods, we didn't perform as well.”
Alps Hockey League | Regular season
Rittner Buam SkyAlps – Red Bull Hockey Juniors 4:3 (0:3, 3:0, 1:0)
Goals:
0:1 | 06:26 | Maxim Eliseev
0:2 | 07:47 | Maxim Eliseev | PP
0:3 | 19:28 | Benedikt Krainer
1:3 | 25:07 | Jacob Crespi | PP
2:3 | 26:13 | Simon Kostner
3:3 | 38:06 | Diego Cuglietta
4:3 | 42:08 | Diego Cuglietta
