1–4 defeat: USA end Austria’s quarter-final hopes

“It's obviously a big disappointment now, but I'm still incredibly proud of the boys for how they fought until the end, right up to the last shift,” said Captain Peter Schneider the emotional rollercoaster in a nutshell.

Austria went into the last group game of this World Championship with a lot of enthusiasm and found their first chance after a few seconds through Tim Harnisch, who was only denied by metal a little later in the 4th minute. The Americans then struck almost out of nowhere. And twice as much. Connor Clifton first slammed the puck into the top corner in the 6th minute, 45 seconds later Ryan Ufko increased the score to 2-0.

A cold shower for Austria, from which they recovered quickly. Vinzenz Rohrer appeared alone in front of the US goalkeeper in the 9th minute, but was unable to beat the US goaltender.

The start to the second period was bitter. Paul Cotter increased the score to 3-0 in the 22nd minute. Austria had no reason to let their heads drop. They continued to struggle, defended hard at the back, only the puck didn't want to jump properly for Austria. Matthew Tkachuk also scored 4-0 for the USA when they were outnumbered.

In the 37th minute, Austria finally found the net when Simeon Schwinger deflected a shot from David Maier to make it 1:4. Once again they swore to each other in the dressing room, remembering the comeback against Canada two years ago.

And Lucas Thaler promptly found a huge opportunity, but could not control the puck cleanly. Minutes later, the future Germany legionnaire was unlucky again. It simply wasn't meant to be on this late-spring afternoon in Zurich (SUI).

Austria lost 4-1 in the end, but can look back proudly on a great World Championship.

Head coach Roger Bader: "Of course we hoped that we would be able to pull off a surprise today. It was of course clear that everything had to come together and fit for that to happen. The USA has a high quality with many NHL players. Unfortunately, such chances are sometimes possible. The 1:4 is a result that corresponds to the relationship between the two teams. In the end, we did well."

Peter Schneider: "It's incredibly difficult against teams like that. There's always a bat in between, you have very little time. It's a completely different way of defending. It's great that we created a few chances. I hope that we can take this experience and this momentum with us."

Vinzenz Rohrer: "It was special to play this World Championship with Austria in my living room. It was cool. We had our chances today. Against a team like that you need a bit of luck and an incredibly good game. I'm proud of our performance."

2026 IIHF ICE HOCKEY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

May 15, 2026 - May 31, 2026, Zurich and Fribourg (SUI)
Defending champions: USA
Group A, Zurich: USA, Switzerland, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Austria, Hungary, Great Britain
Group B, Fribourg: Canada, Sweden, Czech Republic, Denmark, Slovakia, Norway, Slovenia, Italy

Schedule
USA vs. Austria 4:1 (2:0, 2:1, 0:0)
Tuesday, May 26, 2026, 4:20 p.m., Swiss Life Arena
Goalscorers USA: Connor Clifton (6th), Ryan Ufko (7th), Paul Cotter (22nd), Matthew Tkachuk (32nd/PP)
Goalscorer Austria: Simeon Schwinger (37.)
Game sheet

Already played
Great Britain vs. Austria 2:5 (2:3, 0:2, 0:0)
Sat., May 16, 2026, 12:20 p.m., Swiss Life Arena, 7,974 spectators
Goalscorers Great Britain: David Clements (16th), Liam Kirk (17th)
Goalscorers Austria: Benjamin Nissner (3rd), Peter Schneider (7th, 27th), Paul Huber (10th), Leon Wallner (34th)
Game sheet

Austria vs. Hungary 4:2 (1:1, 0:0, 3:1)
Sun., May 17, 2026, 4:20 p.m., Swiss Life Arena
Goalscorers Austria: Vinzenz Rohrer (6th/PP), Dominic Zwerger (47th/PP), Thimo Nickl (48th, 60th)
Goalscorers Hungary: Istvan Sofron (12./PP), Peter Vincze (54./PP)
Game sheet

Latvia vs. Austria 1:3 (0:0, 0:1, 1:2)
Tuesday, May 19, 2026, 4:20 p.m., Swiss Life Arena
Goalscorer Latvia: Rudolfs Balcers (41.)
Goalscorers Austria: Tim Harnisch (28th), Benjamin Nissner (45th/PP), Vinzenz Rohrer (60th/EN)
Game sheet

Austria vs. Switzerland 0:9 (0:4, 0:3, 0:2)
Wed., May 20, 2026, 4:20 p.m., Swiss Life Arena
Goalscorers Switzerland: Theo Rochette (6th, 33rd), Timo Meier (10th), Nico Hischier (12th, 30th/PP), Damien Riat (14th/PP, 51st/PP), Calvin Thurkauf (31st), Christoph Bertschy (57th)
Game sheet

Austria vs. Germany 2:6 (0:0, 1:2, 1:4)
Sat., May 23, 2026, 8:20 p.m., Swiss Life Arena
Goalscorers Austria: Leon Wallner (23rd), Vinzenz Rohrer (49th).
Goalscorers Germany: Lukas Reichel (24th, 46th/PP, 52nd/PP), Joshua Samanski (34th), Manuel Wiederer (49th), Alexander Ehl (55th/EN)
Game sheet

Finland vs. Austria 5:2 (1:0, 3:0, 1:2)
Sun., May 24, 2026, 8:20 p.m., Swiss Life Arena
Goalscorers Finland: Mikael Granlund (19th/PP), Saku Maenalanen (24th), Jesse Puljujarvi (32nd), Sakari Manninen (33rd), Patrik Puistola (48th) 
Goalscorers Austria: Benjamin Nissner (44th), Leon Wallner (59th)
Game sheet