Austria lose 1:4 to the Czech Republic after a strong perfor­mance

Image information: Austria's team (Niklas Bretschneider, left) showed a marked improvement in the second game against the Czech Republic - Photo: GEPA pictures/Christian Moser

In their final game of the first team camp, Austria made a good start to their first home game against the Czech Republic in front of 1.850 fans at the LINZ AG Eisarena, following the clear 1:5 defeat in Znojmo. From the outset, the red-white-red side, very well prepared by Head Coach Roger Bader, competed strongly in the battles with high intensity. The setback followed relatively quickly after the strong opening phase. The Czechs were able to establish themselves in the attacking zone for the first time and took a 1:0 lead through Matěj Blümel following a fine combination (4.). Buoyed by the early goal, the visitors coached by Finland's Kari Jalonen took command and raised the tempo. Goaltender David Madlener was repeatedly in the spotlight.

Once again, it was Blümel who was denied from close range (7.). Shortly afterwards, Adam Klapka, completely alone in front of goal, produced a piece of magic, pulling the puck through his legs before firing it narrowly over the goal. Austria then recovered and equalised at 1:1 following a strong shift. Luis Lindner passed to Erik Kirchschläger, who beat Czech goaltender Aleš Stezka with a powerful wrist shot into the near corner beneath the crossbar (12.). After making it 1:1, Austria were on level terms at times and were also able to make an impact offensively.

Building on the positive impression from the opening 20 minutes, Austria kept the second period evenly balanced for a long time. Defensively, the ÖEHV team stood firm and repeatedly posed a threat in the attacking zone as well. Manuel Ganahl fired after a short-handed counter-attack and almost scored a shorthander (27.). Nico Feldner then had the chance to take the lead, pulling the puck in front of goal from Ganahl's pass on the power play, but he was denied from close range by netminder Stezka (28.). The first line of Lukas Haudum, Manuel Ganahl and Nico Feldner repeatedly created danger with some pleasing play.

On the next power play, Haudum fired, but Stezka was able to prevent the worst and clear the puck before the onrushing Daniel Obersteiner (33.). Kevin Macierzynski then won the puck following a defensive error by the Czechs and shot without hesitation, but met his match in goaltender Stezka (36.). Shortly before the end of the period, the cold shower came after a really strong middle period. David Cienciala set up Petr Holík, who gave David Madlener no chance from close range to make it 2:1 for the Czech Republic (39.).

The start of the final period could hardly have gone worse. Michal Jordán passed to Jan Ščotka, who fired the puck from the blue line and scored to make it 3:1 for the Czech Republic after exactly 43 seconds (41.). The six-time world champions then took command again and pinned Austria in their own defensive zone. David Madlener became increasingly central to the action, not least because the Austrian players had to pay the price for the high intensity of the first two periods. The red-white-red offence could therefore only produce occasional relieving attacks.

From the middle of the final period, the Austrian team recovered and, with some good shifts and improved forechecking, regained control of the game. In the closing stages, Austria pushed for a goal to reduce the deficit on the power play. Following a careless turnover in the neutral zone, Matěj Blümel scored a shorthander into the near corner to make it 4:1 for the Czech Republic (58.), sealing the final score.

Head Coach Roger Bader gave a positive assessment after the second warm-up game against the Czech Republic: "I am very satisfied with the second game because we achieved what I had hoped for, namely an improvement, a clear improvement. Within two days, we adapted many things that we still struggled with in the first game. Keeping up with the Czechs in terms of pace and intensity was much better today. We were also able to create offence, we could keep up, and at times we were able to put them under pressure. I would even clearly say that the opening 30 minutes were sensational in terms of how we played. Afterwards, we lacked a little energy. I am very satisfied with the improvement and the progress we have made within two days!"

The next warm-up games will take place in Graz against Poland on Thursday, 14 April 2022 at 19:00 and on Saturday, 16 April 2022 at 16:00.

Tickets for the home games are available HERE!

Ticket prices:
Standing ticket, standard price € 10
Standing ticket, reduced price € 5
Seated ticket, standard price € 15
Seated ticket, reduced price € 10
VIP tickets € 92

Camp I, Linz, 2 to 8 April 2022
Czechia vs. Austria 5:1 (3:0, 2:0, 0:1)
6 April 2022, 17.30 hrs, Znojmo
Austria scorer: Nico Feldner (48)

Austria vs. Czechia 1:4 (1:1,0:1,0:2)
Fri, 08 April 2022, 17:30 hrs, LINZ AG Eisarena, 1.850 
Austria scorer: Erik Kirchschläger (12)

Training Camp II, Graz, from 11 to 16 April 2022
14 April 2022, 19:00 hrs, AUT – POL in Graz, live on ORF Sport+
16 April 2022, 16:00 hrs, AUT – POL in Graz

Camp III, Innsbruck, 20 to 25 April 2022
23 April 2022, 17:30 hrs, ITA - AUT in Bruneck, ITA
24 April 2022, 14:30 hrs, AUT – ITA in Innsbruck, live on ORF Sport+

Four Nations Tournament Ostrava from 28 April to 1 May
28 April 2022, 19:00 hrs, AUT - SWE, Vienna
30 April 2022, 12:00 hrs, AUT - FIN in Ostrava
1 May 2022, 16:00 hrs, CZE - AUT in Ostrava

Training Camp IV, Schwenningen
8 May 2022, 17:00 hrs, GER - AUT in Schwenningen

Sweden vs. Austria
Sat, 14 May 2022, 11:20 hrs

Austria vs. USA
Sun, 15 May 2022, 15:20 hrs

Czechia vs. Austria
Tue, 17 May 2022, 15:20

Norway vs. Austria
Wed, 18 May 2022, 15:20

Latvia vs. Austria
Fri, 20 May 2022, 19:20

Austria vs. Finland
Sat, 21 May 2022, 15:20

Austria vs. Great Britain
Mon, 23 May 2022, 19:20