In the Qualification Round, endless battles for Fassa Falcons both in Veneto against Feltre and at home against Valpellice. In both matches the Ladins fought until the very end, taking their opponents first to overtime and then to penalty shootouts which proved bitter, with two defeats by an identical scoreline of 5-4 that yielded only two points in the standings.
In Feltre the match was decided after nine rounds of penalties, with the home side scoring twice in the first period through finishes from Foltin and Lorenzo Dall'Agnol. In the middle frame, Vigl pulled one back early on, but around the midway point Matteo Dall'Agnol found the net for 3-1, restoring their two-goal cushion. Then Mikhnov and Da Forno made it 4-2 after 40 minutes of play. In the third period Fassa increased the intensity of their game and fought back through Deluca and Salo, managing to level a contest that had seemed lost, taking it to overtime where, however, nothing further transpired. The penalty shootout produced an authentic show between Foltin and Mikhnov: the former scored five (including those in sudden death), whilst the latter scored four but unfortunately missed the last one, handing victory to Feltre.
Two days later, at the Scola Arena in Alba di Canazei, another fiery match where Valpe started better than the Ladin Falcons, who immediately gave the impression of having left their heads in the dressing room. The Turin side gratefully accepted and raced into a 2-0 lead already at the halfway mark, thanks to goals from Rosso and Long. It was the ever-present Salo who pulled one back at 15:49, but incredibly it was Rosso again at 16:33 who found the net for 3-1 to the visitors at the end of the first period. Upon returning to the ice the Ladins appeared transformed and in the first two and a half minutes Moroder on the power play and Mikhnov with a masterful move produced the one-two that brought Fassa back into the match. The contest came alive, the crowd warmed up, but the score remained at 3-3 until the second siren. In the third period the match became extremely hard-fought and chances came thick and fast from both sides. However, it was Deluca who found the goal that broke the deadlock at 49:25, giving the home side their first lead at 4-3. For Harri Laurila's team it finally seemed done and dusted, but in the closing stages Long on the power play incredibly found the equaliser at 4-4 and sent the contest to overtime. Once again the 5 minutes of overtime weren't enough and it went to penalty shootouts again. Another marathon series like in Feltre, ultimately decided again by Long who capped his splendid performance with his third personal goal.
For the second consecutive time, the Falcons were left with a bitter taste for two missed opportunities, which momentarily distances them from top spot in the group.
