Austria begin World Cham­pi­onship prepa­ra­tions with a 4:3 win over Latvia

With heart, fighting spirit, passion, efficiency in front of goal and a strong goaltender in Florian Vorauer, Austria secured the win in front of around 8.500 fans on Wednesday evening. Latvia created more chances overall, but the red-white-red players threw themselves in front of every shot and could rely on Vorauer whenever a puck did find its way towards goal.

In an overall evenly matched game, Maximilian Rebernig gave his team the lead in the 9th minute and had double reason to celebrate, as it was his first goal for the national team. 17 seconds into the second period, Benjamin Nissner made it 2:0, and eight minutes later Luca Erne was another player to celebrate his first national-team goal. However, the 0:3 brought Latvia into the game, with the hosts scoring for the first time just a minute and a half later.

Following a penalty against Patrick Söllinger, the hosts capitalised on their power play to reduce the deficit to 2:3 (in the 33rd minute). Latvia now had the upper hand and pushed for an equaliser, which came in the 36th minute. Indiscipline on the part of the 2023 World Championship bronze medallists swung the momentum back once more. On a two-man advantage, Lucas Thaler restored his team's 4:3 lead.

In an intense final period, Latvia pulled goaltender Mareks Mitens with just under two minutes remaining, but Austria defended resolutely and saw out the result.

Head Coach Roger Bader: "That was a great performance by my team. It is a shame that nobody in Austria was able to see it. We played throughout with four lines, delivered a good team performance and had a good goaltender. Overall, it was a fast, evenly matched game, which is also reflected in the result. Tomorrow, another cauldron of an atmosphere awaits us, as the arena is expected to be sold out with 10.000 fans. We want to impress again and take the next step."

World Championship preparations

Latvia vs. Austria 3:4 (0:1, 3:3, 0:0)
Wed, 8 April 2026, 18:30, Riga (LAT)
Austria goalscorers: Maximilian Rebernig (9th), Benjamin Nissner (21th), Luca Erne (29th), Lucas Thaler (39th/PP)
Latvia goalscorers: Karlis Ozolins (30th), Glebs Prohorenkovs (33rd/PP), Deniss Smirnovs (36th)
Game Sheet

08.04, 18:30, Riga (LAT): Latvia vs. Austria
09.04, 18:30, Riga (LAT): Latvia vs. Austria
16.04, 19:00, Feldkirch: Austria vs. Italy
23.04, 19:00, Vienna: Austria vs. Czechia
24.04, 17:30, Jihlava (CZE): Czechia vs. Austria
30.04, 19:00, Zell am See: Austria vs. Germany
02.05, 17:00, Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER): Germany vs. Austria
09.05, 16:20, Klagenfurt: Austria vs. Slovenia
ÖEHV Ticket Shop

2026 IIHF ICE HOCKEY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

15 May 2026 - 31 May 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, Czechia, Denmark, Slovakia, Norway, Slovenia, Italy

Schedule
Great Britain vs. Austria
Sat, 16 May 2026, 12:20, Swiss Life Arena

Austria vs. Hungary
Sun, 17 May 2026, 16:20, Swiss Life Arena

Latvia vs. Austria
Tue, 19 May 2026, 16:20, Swiss Life Arena

Austria vs. Switzerland
Wed, 20 May 2026, 16:20, Swiss Life Arena

Austria vs. Germany
Sat, 23 May 2026, 20:20, Swiss Life Arena

Finland vs. Austria
Sun, 24 May 2026, 20:20, Swiss Life Arena

USA vs. Austria
Tue, 26 May 2026, 16:20, Swiss Life Arena

Information on World Championship ticket sales at 2026.iihfworlds.com!
Link to World Championship tickets for Zurich and Fribourg (Ticketcorner.ch)
Link to individual games featuring Austria - (Ticketcorner.ch)
Link to World Championship packages including Austria’s games - (Ticketcorner.ch)