Cortina — Eisbären: 1:4, Alps Hockey League

Cortina hosted Eisbären in the Alpine Hockey League on 24 September, losing 1-4 in their season opener. The visitors took control early and never looked back.

This marked the ninth-placed hosts' first match of the campaign, while the twelfth-placed guests played their second game after a heavy defeat to Asiago. By then, Cortina had nothing to fall back on.

We'd tipped the away side to win, though 45 per cent confidence was never going to guarantee certainty. The visitors simply outplayed them and took their chances. And here's the thing — it wasn't a surprise to anyone watching closely.

Cortina's recent record against Sisk showed mixed results, but Eisbären's form against Gerdyna suggested they weren't built for consistency. To be fair, the visitors still managed to string together a result.

The final score left Cortina on zero points after one game, while Eisbären remained bottom with a single defeat. The table barely shifted, but the gap in quality was clear enough.