IHL Round One: Fassa Comeback in Valsugana
Things got serious straight away in round one of the 2026/27 IHL season, which saw wins for the teams considered favourites on paper following a very interesting summer on the transfer market. Caldaro, Appiano, Fassa, Aosta and Alleghe picked up the first points of the championship, leaving their opponents empty-handed after a round featuring some tight matches, though the wins ultimately proved fairly comfortable. The Pirati and the Falcons picked up important away wins, while the Valdostani, the Lucci and the Civette made the most of home advantage. All the wins came within regulation time.
Fassa, in Valsugana, conquered the always-difficult Pergine ice, turning the result around after being 2-0 down at the halfway point, finding their rhythm and structure as the game went on to close out the match in a crescendo.
In the first period, the deadlock was broken at 12:25 when Dowd put the Linci ahead, breaking away down the right-hand channel and, just inside the blue line, unleashing a diagonal shot along the ice that caught Hofer out at the far post. The home side's lead held until the first break, with Fassa unable to find an equaliser. The hosts doubled their advantage at 6:59 of the second period through Foccoli, cleverly set up by Speranza, who beat Hofer after a sustained spell of pressure in the Ladin zone. The Falcons kept their composure and continued to build their game relentlessly, despite struggling in front of goal. But it was towards the end of the second period that the match began to turn.
At 16:45, Pais de Gabriel, assisted by Talmon, pulled off a brilliant piece of skill to halve the deficit with a perfect finish that caught out both the home defence and the goalkeeper (worth noting, the 19-year-old was one of the most interesting things about the evening – ed.). The second period ended with Pergine still a goal ahead. At the start of the third period, at 2:42, the Falcons completed the comeback through Alexander Vigl, who, set up by Cassan, beat Rindone with a shot that suddenly appeared from a wide position. Pergine were rocked by the blow. Just 82 seconds later, Fassa took the lead, with Cassan on target to make it 3-2, deflecting home a powerful strike from Ploner at the blue line. The Ladins kept pushing and found a fourth goal through Italian-Swede Berger at 7:39, capping off an impressive, sustained individual effort, assisted by the ever-present Mikhnov and Messner. Despite being two goals down, Pergine didn't give up, and got back into the match at 13:58 on the power play through Speranza. But the comeback attempt was short-lived. Rossi, also on the power play, restored the two-goal cushion with a precise strike from close range at 17:11. Then, with 45 seconds left, Berger sealed the win with an empty-net goal, his second of the night, to make it a final 6-3 to the Ladins.
It was a genuinely solid team performance. Ambrosi's players showed real patience and composure in handling the difficult moments, especially while 0-2 down, never losing their heads. Ambrosi's influence is starting to show clearly. The coach, victorious on his very first outing against his recent past, is doing excellent work managing a roster with balanced, well-rounded lines, even if there's still further room for improvement. Also worth highlighting was Pauli Hofer's excellent debut in goal, with a save percentage of 91.89%.
On Saturday 26th, the Falcons return home to the Scola for a tricky second-round clash against Varese, one of the tournament's big favourites.
