3:2! Austria edge France in over­time

Photo caption: Dario Winkler converts the penalty shot for the 3:2 win against France. - Photo: GEPA pictures/Matic Klansek

In their second game at the Four Nations Tournament in Jesenice, Austria's men's national ice hockey team recorded their first win. 24 hours after the bitter 2:3 overtime defeat against Belarus, they struck in overtime themselves this time.Dario Winkler was brought down when through alone on the French goal in the 63rd minute and converted the penalty shot himself to secure the 3:2 win.

Having struggled in the first period, Bader's team worked their way into the game more and more with every passing minute. France posed Austria a number of problems in the opening 20 minutes. A penalty towards the end of the first period would then prove costly for the French after the restart. As the power play expired, Marko Kasper took heart and fired the puck into the net for 1:0.

A perfect start to the second period. But just moments later, Niklas Würschl received a two-minute penalty, which France promptly used to equalise. The next goal also came following a penalty, again against Austria. However, this time it was actually the red-white-red side that had the one-man advantage on the ice.

The team responded in the right way, creating chances to equalise and defending aggressively man-to-man. However, they had to wait a little longer for the equaliser. In the third period, Dario Winkler was sent to the penalty box to cool off, but his team-mates were not unsettled by it. Quite the opposite: without the puck, Austria put pressure on the French goal, unsettling France's goaltender, who tried to clear the puck but instead sent it to Paul Huber, who scored into the empty net to equalise – 2:2.

As against Belarus, the score remained unchanged and the decision once again had to come in overtime. France initially applied heavy pressure, but following an Austrian clearance, Dario Winkler broke away alone on the opposing goal and was brought down. The 24-year-old coolly converted the awarded penalty shot to make it 3:2.

Head Coach Roger Bader: "France came to this tournament with a strong line-up. Naturally, I am happy that we won and with the way in which we won. At the start, we were clearly second best. The French were much better in the first period. Alexander Schmidt kept us in the game then. We found our way into the game better from period to period. It is particularly nice that we were rewarded for our performance with the win in the end. I am not surprised by my team's response after falling behind. I have seen this group highly motivated from the very first practice. They want to show what they are capable of, and they are doing that brilliantly."

Dario Winkler: "The first period was very difficult and we struggled to get into the game. But in the second and third periods, we played well and even won in the end. France made it very difficult for us. The win naturally feels good. I am glad that I converted the penalty shot."

Alexander Schmidt: "In the first period, we were a step too slow and lost a lot of battles. We analysed that well during the break and showed what we can do with the 1:0 in the second period. Unfortunately, we then conceded two quick goals, but we never gave up. The 2:2 was certainly fortunate, but you have to earn your luck. As a goaltender, you simply play the game and are, so to speak, in the flow. As a team, we showed that we came together well in the short time we had."

France vs. Austria 2:3 after overtime (0:0,2:1,0:1, 0:1)
Fri, 12 November 2021, 15:30, Ice Arena Jesenice
Austria goals: Marco Kasper, Paul Huber, Dario Winkler

Austria vs. Slovenia
Sat, 13 November 2021, 15:30, Ice Arena Jesenice, highlights at 20:15 on ORF Sport+

Already played:

Belarus vs. Austria 3:2 AOT (1:1,2:2,0:0,1:0)
Thu, 11 November 2021, 15:30, Ice Arena Jesenice
Austria goals: Tim Harnisch, Alexander Lahoda