Austria also won the second test against Slovenia.

The Austrian national ice hockey team heads into the Olympic qualifying tournament in Bratislava with two wins under its belt.

ÖEHV team president Roger Bader also defeated Slovenia 2-1 in Graz in the second test match.

The opening phase belongs to the local cracks, but the visitors score 1-0. Jezovsek takes advantage of a positional error in the ÖEHV defense and scores on the counterattack (7th).

However, Austria does not allow itself to be defeated, and the NHL hopes that David Reinbacher will equalize in the middle section after a quick counter-move (26th). Vinzenz Rohrer restored the lead for the home team after a counter-attack (34th). Bader's team maintained a narrow lead until the final siren.

ÖEHV start on Thursday against host Slovakia (6pm). Live Tape >>>) In the qualifying tournament, Austria also meets Kazakhstan and Hungary. Only the group winner gets a ticket to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

no great joy

It definitely wasn't easy, they started really well, but then we found our groove again. “We have to be a little bit more efficient next week,” said Montreal Canadiens defenseman Reinbacher.

ZSC Lions striker Rohrer was not enthusiastic either. “2-1 is a close result. We played very well at times and deserved to win. I had some chances in the last few games and now I finally scored, which is very good.”

Team boss Roger Bader had little to complain about in terms of efficiency. “We should have been 3-0 up after the first third. It was a bit one-sided at times, 40:13 shots is a very clear ruling. Chances weren't assessed very well, but we did a lot in attack and put a lot of pressure on.”

“Two wins is two wins, it definitely gives us morale and helps us prepare the team for next week,” said the Swiss, who will likely also be able to count on captain Thomas Raffl, who missed the Slovenia game through illness.

Bader will name his final squad on Tuesday.