Ice hockey: Austria tied 2: 4 against Germany fifth

ÖEHV’s selection lost 4-2 to Germany on Friday and is bottom of Group A with one point.

The Austrian national ice hockey team is still winless after game five at the World Championships in Tampere and, as feared, faces a duel with Hungary against relegation. ÖEHV’s selection lost to Germany on Friday 2:4 (1:2:2:1:1) and is one point bottom of Group A. After the match on Saturday (3:20 PM / live ORF 1) against the defending champions on Monday (7:20 PM / live ORF Sport +), Finland will face Hungary to stay in the World Cup.

It was a reflection of the previous performance of the Austrians: he played well, but not very efficiently in front of the opponent’s goal and made huge mistakes in defense. An early lead by Nico Storm (fifth), one of Germany’s three NHL players, tied Bernd Wolf (12th). Thanks to Parker Tommy (17th) and Wojciech Stachowiak (34th), the favorite dropped to 3: 1, Lukas Haudum (54th) made an exciting finish, but a draw was no longer possible. Sturm sealed the German victory with an empty net (59).

Germany put a lot of pressure in the first few minutes and advanced quickly. On the counterattack after the first Austrian attack, the Stanley Cup-winning Storm broke through two defenders and slammed the puck between the pads of goalkeeper David Kickert.

Germany is on its way to the quarter-finals

The Austrians endured the early setback, took the lead and also rewarded themselves. After Lucas Haddom (9) and Marco Rossi (11) missed two big chances, Wolf scored the equaliser. Benjamin Nessner deflected a harmless ball into his own net with a lucky kick that sent the Germans forward again.

Roger Bader also played head coach at eye level in the middle third and conceded a goal due to inconsistent defensive action. Stachowiak was able to duck unhindered through the red-white-red defense and slip inside to make it 3:1. In the 54th minute Hodum scored the goal deflecting both Ali and Kovets’ shot. But it wasn’t enough to get a point.

Germany are on their way to the quarter-finals, and Austria once again face a direct relegation duel – unless they surprise Hungary against DEB on Sunday. If it goes to paper, Monday’s match against Hungary is about the ticket to the 2024 World Cup in the Czech Republic, but before that the current world champion and Olympic champion Finland awaits on Saturday.

Talented defender David Reinbacher, who picked up a knee injury against Sweden, was rested again on Friday but could play against Finland. “We are optimistic that it can succeed tomorrow,” Badr said in an interview with ORF.