# 2021–22 Alps Hockey League season

The 2021–22 Alps Hockey League was the sixth season of the Alps Hockey League. The defending champions were Slovenian team HK Olimpija that participate in ICE Hockey League beginning from the 2021–22 season.

## Teams

The number of participating teams has risen to seventeen from the previous season: Vienna Capitals Silver, reserve team of the Vienna Capitals (which in the previous season had decided not to participate due to the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic) and the EK Zeller Eisbären (which was instead excluded due to the resignation of the board of directors of the company); HC Merano requested and obtained from the Italian Ice Sports Federation a wild-card that allowed him to enroll in the AHL and return to play the Italian top flight after seventeen years; the reigning champions HK Olimpija and HC Pustertal Wölfe from South Tyrol have instead moved to the ICE Hockey League.
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
| VEU Feldkirch | Feldkirch | Vorarlberghalle | 5.200 |
| EHC Bregenzerwald | Dornbirn | Messestadion Dornbirn | 4.270 |
| EC Kitzbühel | Kitzbühel | Sportpark Kapserbrücke | 1.700 |
| EK Zeller Eisbären | Zell am See | Eishalle Zell am See | 3.200 |
| KAC II | Klagenfurt | Stadthalle Klagenfurt | 5.088 |
| EHC Lustenau | Lustenau | Rheinhalle | 2.200 |
| Red Bull Hockey Juniors | Salzburg | Eisarena Salzburg | 3.200 |
| Steel Wings Linz | Linz | KeineSorgen EisArena | 4.865 |
| Vienna Capitals Silver | Vienna | Steffl Arena, Halle 3 | 1.000 |
| SG Cortina | Cortina d'Ampezzo | Stadio olimpico del ghiaccio | 2.700 |
| HC Fassa Falcons | Canazei | Stadio del Ghiaccio Gianmario Scola | 3.500 |
| HC Gherdëina | Sëlva | Pranives | 2.000 |
| HC Merano | Merano | Rienzstadion | 2.050 |
| Asiago Hockey | Asiago | Hodegart | 3.000 |
| Ritten Sport | Ritten | Arena Ritten | 1.200 |
| Wipptal Broncos | Sterzing | Weihenstephan Arena Palaghiaccio di Bressanone | 1.700 2.500 |
| HDD Jesenice | Jesenice | Podmežakla Hall | 5.500 |

### Notes

* ↑ Reserve team of KAC
* ↑ Reserve team of Red Bull Salzburg
* ↑ Reserve team of Steinbach Black Wings
* ↑ Reserve team of Vienna Capitals

## Format

The formula has changed again: the seventeen teams will meet in a regular season, for a total of 32 games each. At the end of the regular season, the first six team will classify to the master round, the rest will be divided into the two qualification groups (the teams finished 7th, 10th, 11th, 14th, 15th will be placed in Group A, the others in Group B), also played in two rounds.
The first four teams at the end of the master round qualify directly to the play-offs. The remaining two teams in the master round and the top three in each qualification round group will instead have access to the preliminary round to determine the other four teams.

### Changes to the regulation due to the COVID-19 pandemic

At the end of December 2021, when it became clear that the number of matches postponed for reasons related to the COVID-19 pandemic had become too high for all recoveries to be organized in time for the expected end of the regular season, the league decided that to determine the ranking not by the number of points earned, but the average of the points, calculated as the quotient between the points and the number of games played. In order to be considered classified, a team was still required to play at least 70% of the scheduled matches.

## National championships
### Italian championship

The Italian teams participating in the AHL will also play for the Italian title. As in the 2018–19 season, all the matches between Italian teams during the regular season form a ranking, and at the end first four teams will play in the semifinals and the final.

### Second division of the Austrian championship

Similarly to what happens for the Italian championship, the meetings between the Austrian teams in the regular season of the Alps Hockey League determine a ranking, at the end of which the first four teams will play for the second series title with semifinals and final with first legs and return.
The qualified teams are Lustenau, Kitzbühel, Bregenzerwald and Red Bull Salzburg Jr.

## Regular season

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | PCT | Qualification |
| 1 | HDD Jesenice | 29 | 21 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 135 | 58 | +77 | .851 | Qualification to Master round |
| 2 | Asiago Hockey | 30 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 105 | 62 | +43 | .678 | Qualification to Master round |
| 3 | Ritten Sport | 31 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 119 | 82 | +37 | .634 | Qualification to Master round |
| 4 | EHC Lustenau | 29 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 97 | 73 | +24 | .621 | Qualification to Master round |
| 5 | SG Cortina | 28 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 91 | 71 | +20 | .560 | Qualification to Master round |
| 6 | HC Fassa Falcons | 30 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 112 | 93 | +19 | .544 | Qualification to Master round |
| 7 | Red Bull Hockey Juniors | 32 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 113 | 92 | +21 | .531 | Qualification to Qualification Group A |
| 8 | HC Gherdëina | 28 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 88 | 92 | −4 | .524 | Qualification to Qualification Group B |
| 9 | EK Zeller Eisbären | 31 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 108 | 108 | 0 | .516 | Qualification to Qualification Group B |
| 10 | EHC Bregenzerwald | 24 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 79 | 72 | +7 | .514 | Qualification to Qualification Group A |
| 11 | Wipptal Broncos | 29 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 84 | 96 | −12 | .437 | Qualification to Qualification Group A |
| 12 | HC Merano | 27 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 73 | 95 | −22 | .432 | Qualification to Qualification Group B |
| 13 | VEU Feldkirch | 31 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 72 | 89 | −17 | .430 | Qualification to Qualification Group B |
| 14 | EC Kitzbühel | 28 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 80 | 114 | −34 | .357 | Qualification to Qualification Group A |
| 15 | KAC II | 31 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 69 | 100 | −31 | .344 | Qualification to Qualification Group A |
| 16 | Steel Wings Linz | 31 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 74 | 134 | −60 | .290 | Qualification to Qualification Group B |
| 17 | Vienna Capitals Silver | 27 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 59 | 127 | −68 | .222 | Qualification to Qualification Group B |

## Second stage
### Master Round

The first six teams at the end of the regular season qualified for the Master Round, with the first four classified being given the bonus from 4 to 1 point. At the end of the master round, the first four teams qualify directly to the quarter-finals of the play-offs, the other qualify to the preliminary round.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Asiago Hockey | 10 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 45 | 23 | +22 | 27 | Qualification to Quarterfinals |
| 2 | HDD Jesenice | 9 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 32 | 30 | +2 | 19 | Qualification to Quarterfinals |
| 3 | Ritten Sport | 10 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 33 | 25 | +8 | 18 | Qualification to Quarterfinals |
| 4 | EHC Lustenau | 10 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 30 | 31 | −1 | 18 | Qualification to Quarterfinals |
| 5 | SG Cortina | 10 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 28 | 29 | −1 | 14 | Qualification to Preliminary round |
| 6 | HC Fassa Falcons | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 17 | 47 | −30 | 1 | Qualification to Preliminary round |

### Qualification Group A

Teams finished 7th, 10th, 11th, 14th and 15th in the regular season are qualified for Qualification Group A, with the first three receiving bonus equal to 6, 3 and 2 points respectively. At the end of the qualifying round, the top three teams advance to the preliminary round.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Red Bull Hockey Juniors | 8 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 31 | 18 | +13 | 23 | Qualification to Preliminary round |
| 2 | EHC Bregenzerwald | 8 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 33 | 29 | +4 | 16 | Qualification to Preliminary round |
| 3 | Wipptal Broncos | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 20 | 19 | +1 | 15 | Qualification to Preliminary round |
| 4 | KAC II | 8 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 29 | 21 | +8 | 13 | |
| 5 | EC Kitzbühel | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 37 | −26 | 4 | |

### Qualification Group B

Teams finished 8th, 9th, 12th, 13th, 16th and 17th in the regular season are qualified for Qualification Group B, with the first three receiving bonus equal to 5, 4 and 1 point respectively. At the end of the qualifying round, the top three teams advance to the preliminary round.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | HC Gherdëina | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 37 | 19 | +18 | 26 | Qualification to Preliminary round |
| 2 | EK Zeller Eisbären | 10 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 27 | 24 | +3 | 20 | Qualification to Preliminary round |
| 3 | Steel Wings Linz | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 33 | 31 | +2 | 18 | Qualification to Preliminary round |
| 4 | VEU Feldkirch | 10 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 34 | 33 | +1 | 16 | |
| 5 | HC Merano | 10 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 26 | 27 | −1 | 14 | |
| 6 | Vienna Capitals Silver | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 17 | 40 | −23 | 6 | |

## Play-offs
### Bracket

| Pre-playoffs (best-of-3) | Pre-playoffs (best-of-3) | Pre-playoffs (best-of-3) | Quarter-finals (best-of-5) | Quarter-finals (best-of-5) | Quarter-finals (best-of-5) | Semi-finals (best-of-5) | Semi-finals (best-of-5) | Semi-finals (best-of-5) | Finals (best-of-5) | Finals (best-of-5) | Finals (best-of-5) |
| | | | MR1 | Asiago Hockey | 3 | | | | | | |
| MR5 | SG Cortina | 2 | QA3 | Wipptal Broncos | 0 | | | | | | |
| QB3 | Steel Wings Linz | 0 | | | | MR1 | Asiago Hockey | 3 | | | |
| | | | | | | MR4 | EHC Lustenau | 1 | | | |
| | | | MR2 | HDD Jesenice | 3 | | | | | | |
| MR6 | HC Fassa Falcons | 0 | QB1 | HC Gherdëina | 2 | | | | | | |
| QA3 | Wipptal Broncos | 2 | | | | | | | MR1 | Asiago Hockey | 3 |
| | | | | | | | | | MR2 | HDD Jesenice | 2 |
| | | | MR3 | Ritten Sport | 3 | | | | | | |
| QA1 | Red Bull Hockey Juniors | 0 | MR5 | SG Cortina | 2 | | | | | | |
| QB2 | EK Zeller Eisbären | 2 | | | | MR2 | HDD Jesenice | 3 | | | |
| | | | | | | MR3 | Ritten Sport | 1 | | | |
| | | | MR4 | EHC Lustenau | 3 | | | | | | |
| QB1 | HC Gherdëina | 2 | QB2 | EK Zeller Eisbären | 2 | | | | | | |
| QA2 | EHC Bregenzerwald | 1 | | | | | | | | | |

### Pre-playoffs

SG Cortina – Steel Wings Linz 2–0 :
| 08.03.2022 | SG Cortina | Steel Wings Linz | 4-1 |
| 10.03.2022 | Steel Wings Linz | SG Cortina | 0-4 |
| SG Cortina won the series 2–0 ||||
HC Fassa Falcons – Wipptal Broncos 0–2 :
| 08.03.2022 | HC Fassa Falcons | Wipptal Broncos | 4-5 OT |
| 10.03.2022 | Wipptal Broncos | HC Fassa Falcons | 6-3 |
| Wipptal Broncos won the series 2–0 ||||
Red Bull Hockey Juniors – EK Zeller Eisbären 0–2 :
| 08.03.2022 | Red Bull Hockey Juniors | EK Zeller Eisbären | 5-6 |
| 10.03.2022 | EK Zeller Eisbären | Red Bull Hockey Juniors | 4-3 |
| EK Zeller Eisbären won the series 2–0 ||||
HC Gherdëina – EHC Bregenzerwald 2–1 :
| 08.03.2022 | HC Gherdëina | EHC Bregenzerwald | 3-2 |
| 10.03.2022 | EHC Bregenzerwald | HC Gherdëina | 4-3 OT |
| 12.03.2022 | HC Gherdëina | EHC Bregenzerwald | 3-2 |
| HC Gherdëina won the series 2–1 ||||

### Quarterfinals

Asiago Hockey – Wipptal Broncos 3–0 :
| 15.03.2022 | Asiago Hockey | Wipptal Broncos | 8-2 |
| 17.03.2022 | Wipptal Broncos | Asiago Hockey | 2-6 |
| 19.03.2022 | Asiago Hockey | Wipptal Broncos | 6-4 |
| Asiago Hockey won the series 3–0 ||||
Ritten Sport – SG Cortina 3–2 :
| 15.03.2022 | Ritten Sport | SG Cortina | 2-4 |
| 17.03.2022 | SG Cortina | Ritten Sport | 4-2 |
| 19.03.2022 | Ritten Sport | SG Cortina | 1-0 OT |
| 22.03.2022 | SG Cortina | Ritten Sport | 0-2 |
| 24.03.2022 | Ritten Sport | SG Cortina | 5-1 |
| Ritten Sport won the series 3–2 ||||
HDD Jesenice – HC Gherdëina 3–2 :
| 15.03.2022 | HDD Jesenice | HC Gherdëina | 4-0 |
| 17.03.2022 | HC Gherdëina | HDD Jesenice | 2-3 OT |
| 19.03.2022 | HDD Jesenice | HC Gherdëina | 1-5 |
| 22.03.2022 | HC Gherdëina | HDD Jesenice | 4-2 |
| 24.03.2022 | HDD Jesenice | HC Gherdëina | 2-1 |
| HDD Jesenice won the series 3–2 ||||
EHC Lustenau – EK Zeller Eisbären 3–2 :
| 15.03.2022 | EHC Lustenau | EK Zeller Eisbären | 2-3 |
| 17.03.2022 | EK Zeller Eisbären | EHC Lustenau | 3-4 |
| 19.03.2022 | EHC Lustenau | EK Zeller Eisbären | 3-4 OT |
| 22.03.2022 | EK Zeller Eisbären | EHC Lustenau | 3-4 |
| 24.03.2022 | EHC Lustenau | EK Zeller Eisbären | 3-1 |
| EHC Lustenau won the series 3–2 ||||

### Semifinals

Asiago Hockey – EHC Lustenau 3-1 :
| 26.03.2022 | Asiago Hockey | EHC Lustenau | 5-0 (awarded) |
| 29.03.2022 | EHC Lustenau | Asiago Hockey | 5-3 |
| 31.03.2022 | Asiago Hockey | EHC Lustenau | 4-2 |
| 02.04.2022 | EHC Lustenau | Asiago Hockey | 2-3 OT |
| Asiago Hockey won the series 3–1 ||||
HDD Jesenice – Ritten Sport 3-1 :
| 26.03.2022 | HDD Jesenice | Ritten Sport | 2-1 |
| 29.03.2022 | Ritten Sport | HDD Jesenice | 3-2 |
| 31.03.2022 | HDD Jesenice | Ritten Sport | 6-0 |
| 02.04.2022 | Ritten Sport | HDD Jesenice | 4-5 OT |
| HDD Jesenice won the series 3–1 ||||

### Finals
## Final rankings

| | Asiago Hockey |
| | HDD Jesenice |
| | Ritten Sport |
| 4 | EHC Lustenau |
| 5 | SG Cortina |
| 6 | HC Gherdëina |
| 7 | EK Zeller Eisbären |
| 8 | Wipptal Broncos |
| 9 | HC Fassa Falcons |
| 10 | Red Bull Hockey Juniors |
| 11 | EHC Bregenzerwald |
| 12 | Steel Wings Linz |
| 13 | VEU Feldkirch |
| 14 | KAC II |
| 15 | HC Merano |
| 16 | EC Kitzbühel |
| 17 | Vienna Capitals Silver |