IHL Round Two: Varese Stun Fassa in Alba di Canazei
Round two of the IHL confirmed Caldaro as the team to beat after a clear 6-1 derby win over Appiano. Aosta are the only side keeping pace with the South Tyroleans, picking up their second consecutive home win, while Varese, Pergine and Fiemme all opened their accounts, with the Lombards and the Linci winning away, in Alba di Canazei and Brunico respectively, and the Fiemme side beating Alleghe in overtime. Valpellice had the round off.
A heavy away blow was dealt by the Mastini di Varese, who, despite initially trailing 2-0, managed to conquer the Scola in Alba di Canazei, showing huge determination to fight until the very end.
The Falcons and the Lombards both took to the ice with several absences: among the Ladins, goalkeeper Hofer was out with flu, while forwards Deluca, Trottner and Stoffie were sidelined through injury, while the Lombards were missing Terzago, Franchini and Glasman.
In the first period, the home side scored twice in the opening four minutes through Cassan and Berger, dominating play for the whole of the first twenty minutes and squandering several chances for a possible third goal.
The pattern continued in the first ten minutes of the second period. Chances kept coming thick and fast, with the Fassa side coming close to making it 3-0, including a stunning post from a certain goal by Messner. But the score stayed the same. And it was then that the Mastini, who had struggled throughout the first period and into the middle of the second, sprang back to life from the midpoint of the match onwards. At 11:36, De Toni (facing his former club) made the most of a power play, deflecting home to pull one back, and, just seconds later, De Nardin produced a stunning, unexpected equaliser with a shot from distance. For Fassa, the lights suddenly went out and confusion set in. Less than three minutes later, Mazzacane turned the game on its head, scrambling home to make it 3-2 and sending Varese into the second interval a goal ahead.
In the third period, nerves took hold and the Falcons struggled to find clarity, unable to rediscover their fluency and intensity. However, at the 9:08 mark, Sibilevych found the equaliser with a shot from mid-range to make it 3-3. The bad patch seemed to be over, and hope was rekindled. The match remained deadlocked until five minutes from time, when Bastille found the winning touch at 15:10 with a piece of magic on the diagonal that caught out Felicetti, making it 4-3 to the visitors and effectively deciding the match. Wounded but not beaten, Ladin pride flared up again. In the closing minutes, coach Ambrosi pulled the goalkeeper for an extra skater. Tense moments followed for Varese, but in a frantic finish they found an empty-net goal through De Toni to seal the final 3-5 scoreline, moving the Mastini up the table with their first three points. Rossi and his teammates are left with a bitter taste after letting the chance slip away, but also the awareness that there is still good room for improvement through hard work.
