Austria lose 2:5 to Germany in second test

Following Thursday's narrow 3:4 defeat to our favourite neighbours in Zell am See, Austria repeatedly tried to get the puck deep into the opposition zone in the return fixture. However, the German defencemen were alert and did not allow the charging Austrians to get to the puck.

At 8, Maximilian Kastner was eventually in exactly the right place to convert a rebound and put Germany 1:0 ahead. Five minutes later, Lucas Thaler won the puck and raced alone towards the opposition net, but rather than the equaliser, the hosts made it 2:0 on the counter through Alexander Blank.

Immediately after the start of the second period, the ÖEHV side had two excellent chances to pull one back. At 29, Benjamin Nissner was denied by Leon Hungerecker, and Austria had to remain patient. Florian Vorauer was also repeatedly in the spotlight for Austria, proving to be a reliable presence in goal. Shortly before the end of the second period, the ÖEHV netminder threw himself onto the puck, took the opponent's shin to the head and remained down. Vorauer did finish the second period, conceding the 0:3 in the process after Thimo Nickl unfortunately deflected the puck beyond his reach.

Vorauer was rested as a precaution for the final period. David Kickert replaced him, as Atte Tolvanen missed both games through illness. Austria were now fully in the game, with Lucas Thaler cutting the deficit to 1:3 at 44. Less than five minutes later, Austria capitalised on the power play and Mario Huber made it 2:3.

However, the momentum swung after Maximilian Rebernig was sent to the penalty box for five minutes following a foul on Philipp Preto, who also had to leave the ice injured. Austria survived unscathed for three minutes, but then Ramon Schnetzer joined Rebernig and Germany used the resulting two-man advantage to seal the game.

In the final minute, Head Coach Roger Bader pulled the goalkeeper. Rather than finding another goal to cut the deficit, Austria conceded the 2:5 into the empty net.

After two days off, the national team will gather in Klagenfurt, where it will play its final warm-up game against Slovenia on 9 May. Paul Huber is now set to join the squad for the final team camp. Now that Gregor Biber's season in Sweden has ended, he may also travel to Klagenfurt as early as Tuesday.

Head Coach Roger Bader: “The final period was positive. We showed that we can play ice hockey too. We were second best in the first 40 minutes, especially athletically and physically. Germany put us under a lot of pressure. We could barely get the puck around them. They were clearly superior and deservedly 3:0 ahead. The final period was evenly matched when considered in isolation.”

Lucas Thaler: “It was not easy. We had a poor start, but then got into the game better. We made some small mistakes again. We need to correct those before the World Championship, but we still have time. We showed character in the second period and the third period was good too. We fought well, but unfortunately it was not enough in the end.”

World Championship preparation

Germany vs. Austria 5:2 (2:0, 1:0, 2:2)
Sat, 2 May 2026, 17:00, Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER)
Germany scorers: Maximilian Kastner (8), Alexander Blank (13), Alexander Karachun (40), Daniel Fischbuch (56/PP), Tim Brunnhuber (60/EN)
Austria scorers: Lucas Thaler (44), Mario Huber (48/PP)
Game Sheet

Further World Championship preparation
09.05, 16:20, Klagenfurt: Austria vs. Slovenia
ÖEHV ticket shop

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

Latvia vs. Austria 1:0 (0:0, 0:0, 1:0)
Thu, 9 April 2026, 18:30, Riga (LAT)
Latvia goalscorer: Oskars Lapinski (51)
Game Sheet

Austria vs. Italy 3:2 (0:0, 2:1, 0:1, 1:0)
Thu, 16 April 2026, 19:00, Dornbirn
Austria goalscorers: Benjamin Nissner (27, 29/PP), Peter Schneider (65)
Italy goalscorers: Bryce Misley (30), Tommaso De Luca (55)
Game Sheet

Austria vs. Czechia 1:5 (0:2, 1:1, 0:2)
Thu, 23 April 2026, 19:00, Steffl Arena Vienna
Austria goalscorer: Leon Kolarik (32)
Scorers Czechia: Michael Spacek (5), Dominik Kubalik (8), Daniel Tomasek (31), Filip Kral (43), Daniel Vozelinek (56)
Game Sheet

Czechia vs. Austria 4:0 (1:0, 1:0, 2:0)
Fri, 24 April 2026, 17:30, Jihlava (CZE)
Scorers Czechia: David Tomasek (18), Michael Spacek (28, 46/PP), Marcel Marcel (57)

Austria vs. Germany 3:4 (0:1, 1:1, 2:2)
Thu, 30 April 2026, 19:00, Zell am See
Scorers Austria: Patrick Söllinger (26), Mario Huber (41), Thimo Nickl (47/PP)
Scorers Germany: Stefan Loibl (5, 55), Alexander Blank (37), Daniel Fischbuch (48)
Game Sheet

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 Austria matches - (Ticketcorner.ch)
Link to World Championship packages including Austria matches - (Ticketcorner.ch)