. Hat sich jetzt noch schnell mit 3 ICE Spielern verstärkt.
Which ones ?
Regarding Sisak, they really bounced back after 0:4 lost to Sterzing, by beating Juniors and not just beating but totally outplaying them. However I still don't think they can past 1st round except in some lucky case where they play Gherdeina or Merano.
jetzt ist übrigens der ganze Spielplan für Master- bzw Qualificationround online.
12 days between two games for Sisak is probably due to odd number of teams and fact they need to play in Croatian league as well. They still have two games in regular season and, I assume, five in playoffs, since anything but two sweeps would be monumental surprise.
Regarding master round, I don't think Sisak can hold 3rd position. They will probably slip to 4th of 5th and play Sterzing. That is one team I would not like to play against. Very pshyical with a lot of bodychecking, something Sisak had problems with in 1st of their last two games against them.
When is deadline for 26/27 applications ?
Is schedule for meister round known ? Commentator on croatian tv said during game Sisak-Sterzing that on thursday Sisak will play at home against RB Juniors, but I can't find it on official alps page...
Kitzbühel gestern mit einer extrem enttäuschenden Leistung gegen Sisak im letzten Heimspiel des Grunddurchgangs und im Kampf um platz 5!
Zum wiederholten male chancenlos gegen ein top 3 Team! 9 Spiele 0 Punkte
For me Kirill Maximov is a big disappointment so far, I expected he will dominate the league from the start given his hockey CV, absolute top import for Alps...
Do first three teams pick their opponents in PO like in ICE, or pairs are determined by standings only ?
I didn't play 26, but noticed in previous games on PS5 generation there are no celebration after you win title in any euro league except in CHL, NHL, and Major Juniors. Is it maybe fixed in 26 ?
Ich bestätige 10 Deutsche und 3 Finnen.
Aren't they in some co-op mode with Red Bull Munchen ?
Sisak.
Not sure. They have thin defence, coach is only using three lines, despite the fact that players from 4th line proved they can not just play but also score goals. You can't play three line hockey in playoffs and expect deep run.
Podcast in english with two Sisak players, Kim and Larionovs, talking about league, team, expectations...
yes good! but it is curious because some days before against Zeller (third position) there was 1400 people.
Also curious against Asiago on 27/11 there was 900 people and yesterday in Asiago against Sisak there was about 3000 people.
Which is not bad since capacity of hall in Sisak is 1,960 
Reason for "weaker" attendance against Zeller is probably due game being played on Monday with Christmas approaching, so people are in pre-holiday rush, buying food, Christmas trees, etc....
Regarding Asiago - Sisak 1st game, back then Sisak probably wasn't such magnet for fans in Asiago (in that time Sisak was 4th or 5th at table), while now they came as league leaders.
Nice attendance in Sisak yesterday, 2300 fans...
I see Bregenz - Sterzing is free on YT ?
Do they plan some additional free games from time to time, anyone knows ?
How promotion relegation works ? If, for example, Estonia wins it's group, do they go higher for December NT break ?
Very good game between Sisak and Red Bull Juniors, lots of goals and scoring chances...
Is there any chance VEU apply for Alps ?
on merit, not by being the host, as well as being a fixture in the top division of the world championship from 1992 to 2002.
Three time quarterfinalists...ok, it was easier to reach it since ex-USSR countries started in pool C but still good result for Italy.
Sisak fängt wieder furios an. medvescak61 was right that they built a good team.
And there are still some reserve in foreginers. Larionovs hit like 4-5 posts in first six games. Kim is still without point despite creating chances. Having proper 4th line also helps. For example, in the last game against Ritten Zavrski was hurt in 1st period and didn't return, but coach gave few shifts in upper line(s) to every 4th liner + they played as a line as well. Ice time is more equally distributed this season which will help in long run. Last season players looked gased by the pre-playoffs and at D1B in Tallin as well. Just look at 3rd period of Croatia - Spain game, it was visibly that they could barely skate.
Alles anzeigenAs far as I found out today, the first season is indeed going to be 2026/27. But as of now, there won't be too many changes for the top nations on how they are going to plan the international breaks.
Because of the relegation system, there could be a benefit for smaller nations in the future to get the chance to play against bigger nations than before.
But some see it more as a marketing gimmick and concession to small nations than as a groundbreaking innovation by the IIHF that's going to benefit everyone.
Furthermore, each tournament host will receive €50,000 and €10,000 will be distributed to the participating nations.
That's all I have for now, but I hope to get more information soon - hopefully directly from the IIHF.
Thanks for the infos !
Yes, top 4 nations (swe, fin, cze, sui), with russia once they return, probably aren't too excited since they can get relegated...but I like idea of having this competition.
My ideal IIHF NT calendar would be Olympics and World Cup (where IIHF and NHL join forces) every two years, with this Nations Cup in "off" years.
hat‘s for sure: The first time the European Cup of Nations will be played is in the season 2026/27.
Is that confirmed ? Because I see Spain already listed roster for November's Tallin tournament
https://www.rfedh.es/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Convocatoria-European-Cup-of-Nations.pdf
Die IIHF hat heute die Einführung des „European Cup of Nations“ offiziell gemacht.
17 Teams werden daran teilnehmen, Österreich ist eines davon.
Die Gruppeneinteilungen und Spielpläne werden über die IIHF-Kanäle verlautbart.
Do you know if there will be promotion/relegation like in UEFA NL ?
An einem Ort mit 6000 Einwohner eine 30 Millionen Euro teure Halle?
Why not if their plan is to return to ICE league...
I think the annual World Cup
There are no Euros in Ice hockey nor qualifications for World/Euros like in other sports. But if you look at international calendars of soccer, for example, you can see there is one big tourney every year (plus qualifications in "spare" time). In 2024. you had Euros, this spring/summer Nations League, next World Cup and after that again Nations League. If I calculated right only basketball has "year off" in 4-years cycle.
they gave up for a few years.
I think they didn't gave up. Since IIHF WC had amateur status Canadians were complaining that Soviets are actually professionals despite their "amateurism" on paper. That's why they pulled off for 7 or 8 years. After that, in 1977. IIHF allowed "pro" players and Canada came with very good NHL roster...just to get beaten by USSR 10:3 and 8:2 in two games. (back then in was round robin format).
World Cup of Hockey and Four nations are nothing more than North Americans flexing their muscles in my opinion. These tournaments have advantages to them by having lesser teams which means you need less games to play in order to win it. Ok, I know it's not realistic that for example Latvia wins medal at Olympics, but one bad day of USA/CAN (look at last year's WC and Canada- Denmark) and your tournament is over and you failed at "best on best". Another advantage for them is it's being played on NA size rink and in North America (with exception of World Cup "european" group stage).
