Austria beat Norway 2:1 after a penalty shootout
Austria's men's national ice hockey team opened the Four Nations Tournament in Copenhagen (DEN) with a 2:1 victory over Norway after a penalty shootout and will face hosts Denmark on Saturday evening, at 19:00 live on LIVE.eishockey.at, in the match for the tournament title. Thomas Raffl gave Austria the lead while shorthanded in the 12th minute. The ÖEHV side conceded the equaliser in the second period, but prevailed in the penalty shootout after 32 scoreless minutes, including overtime, with Marco Kasper and Manuel Ganahl scoring.
2 min read
Having lost 3:5 at the 2022 World Championship, Thomas Raffl & Co. gained revenge for that defeat in Copenhagen. In a fast-paced game, it was the captain himself who deflected a shot off the post in front of goal, providing the first "knock" at the opposition net.
Just a few minutes later, Austria broke towards the Norwegian goal while shorthanded, with Marco Kasper setting up Paul Huber perfectly, only for him to be denied by the opposing goaltender. Moments later, however, Raffl scored the deserved opener for 1:0 (12th).
The action came thick and fast during this phase, with Ramon Schnetzer joining Manuel Ganahl in the penalty box. Austria had to withstand a minute of three-on-five shorthanded play. Thanks to excellent penalty killing and Bernhard Starkbaum in top form in goal, they kept a clean sheet.
The Norwegians were even more aggressive in the second period. Whoever had possession of the puck looked to get into the offensive zone within seconds. There were chances at both ends, before the puck finally found its way into Austria's net in the 33rd minute.
The goaltenders were repeatedly in the spotlight, with Bernhard Starkbaum proving his usual reliable self in regulation time, overtime and the penalty shootout, which ultimately decided the game.
Marco Kasper and Manuel Ganahl scored for Austria, while Starkbaum allowed just one goal from Norway's five penalty attempts.
Head Coach Roger Bader: "It was the intense game we wanted. Both teams played extremely direct hockey, with a lot of forechecking and physical play on both sides. Players hardly ever have games in which they deliver and take as many checks as they did today. We were quite good in the first period and I was relatively happy with how we started the game. We lost our way a little in the second period, turned over too many pucks, but got that under control again after around ten minutes. The final period was solid. A penalty shootout is always down to luck, there is no need to discuss that, but I think we thoroughly deserved that luck over 60 minutes."
Manuel Ganahl: "I think our penalty killing was very good throughout the game. It was particularly important in overtime that we did not concede after the penalty and created the chance to still win in the penalty shootout. They came out extremely hard and aggressively and caused us problems, especially in the first half of the game. We struggled to find solutions. As the game went on, we improved and also showed the right physical response. It was a hard-fought game from both sides and could have gone either way in the end."
Norway vs. Austria 1:2 n.P. (0:1, 1:0, 0:0, 0:1)
Fri, 10 February 2023, 19:00
Austria goalscorers: Thomas Raffl (12th), Marco Kasper & Manuel Ganahl in the penalty shootout
Denmark vs. France 3:0
Fri, 10 February 2023, 19:00
Final:
Denmark vs. Austria
Sat, 11 February 2023, 19:00
Live on LIVE.eishockey.at
Game for 3rd place:
France vs. Norway
Sat., 11 February 2023
