Seventh Alps Hockey League season begins
The seventh season of the Alps Hockey League was started with an online press conference on Tuesday. 15 teams from three different countries will take part in the new season, starting on Saturday. At the press conference, league newcomer Hockey Unterland Cavaliers received another official welcome.
With five games the new season of the Alps Hockey League starts on Saturday, September 10th. A total of 15 teams are part of the multinational league. While with the reigning champion, Asiago, the VEU Feldkirch and the Vienna Capitals Silver three teams are no longer part of the league, with the Hockey Unterland Cavaliers a completely new team joined the AHL. At the press conference, HCU President Gerd Grossgasteiger expressed his excitement about the league affiliation, “We are very excited and looking forward to the new adventure. The entire community is behind us and is eagerly awaiting the start of the season. The team has been working very hard for months already and is excited to finally get started.”
Al via la settima stagione di Alps Hockey League
La settima edizione della Alps Hockey League è stata inaugurata, oggi, con una conferenza stampa online. Saranno 15 le squadre che si sfideranno per la stagione 2022/23 in rappresentanza di tre diversi nazioni (Italia, Austria e Slovenia). Sabato il face-off iniziale con le prime gare del girone d’andata e ritorno della regular-season. Sicuro protagonista dell’evento è stato il nuovo team iscritto dell’ Hockey Unterland Cavaliers che ha ricevuto un caloroso benvenuto ufficiale.
Con cinque partite, la nuova stagione della Alps Hockey League inizia sabato 10 settembre. Un totale di 15 squadre fanno parte della lega multinazionale. Mentre i Campioni in carica dell’Asiago, il VEU Feldkirch ed i Vienna Capitals Silver non fanno più parte del torneo transnazionale, la novità è rappresentata dalla partecipazione degli Hockey Unterland Cavaliers, una formazione completamente nuova che si è unita alla AHL durante quest’estate. Alla conferenza stampa, il presidente del team della Bassa Atesina, Gerd Grossgasteiger, ha espresso il suo entusiasmo per l’affiliazione alla lega: “Siamo molto, molto contenti e non vediamo l’ora di iniziare questa nuova avventura. L’intera comunità ci sostiene e attende con ansia l’inizio della stagione. La squadra sta lavorando duramente già da mesi e non vede l’ora di confrontarsi con i nuovi avversari”.
Complete playoffs in “best-of-7” mode
There are hardly any changes to the mode of the basic round compared to last season. In the playoffs, however, there will be a novelty, because for the first time all games will be played in “best-of-7” mode from the quarterfinals on. The champion of the seventh season in the Alps Hockey League is to be determined on April 22, 2023 at the latest. A detailed description of the mode can be found here.
“More interest in Alps Hockey League than ever”
The past season of the Alps Hockey League was one of the most successful in history from a sporting and organizational point of view. In 367 games, 2267 goals were scored. 124 games and thus a little more than one third were decided with only one goal difference. In addition, all matches were broadcast live and the highlight clips were viewed more than 106.000 times. This means that there were more views than in any previous season. “The Alps Hockey League is definitely moving in the right direction. With more than 100,000 highlight plays, you can clearly see that there is a lot of interest in the league. I hope that this season fans will again be able to be in the arenas for the whole season, that would of course help the league even more to develop into a top international league,” AHL Managing Director Christian Feichtinger expressed his satisfaction with the “product” Alps Hockey League.
Fans see Jesenice as top favorites for the title
“Our goal is to win the championship,” with these words Jesenice President Peter Bohinec made the objective for the upcoming season clear. The fans of the Alps Hockey League also see the Slovenians at the top in the 2022/23 season. In a championship survey on the AHL Facebook page, 35% of all participants named Jesenice as the new champions, followed by the EK Die Zeller Eisbären. Their assisted captain Fredrik Widén does not see Zell am See among the top favorites for the title, but believes in an improvement compared to last season, where the team lost in the quarterfinals.
New teams possible in the future
The Hockey Unterland Cavaliers are definitely not among the favorites for the title. The league newcomer wants to “play a good first season in a very strong league”. In the coming years, the Alps Hockey League is also expected to admit more teams. AHL Chairman Marcello Cobelli confirmed this during the press conference: “I think that in the coming years more teams will join the AHL. Besides teams from Italy, I also believe that new teams from Austria and Slovenia can enrich the league. Especially from Slovenia, it would certainly be beneficial to have a second or even third team in the AHL.”
