Austria lose Deutsch­land Cup opener against Slovakia

Slovakia put Austria under considerable pressure from the opening face-off. David Kickert already had plenty to do in the first two minutes, but was beaten for the first time after 1:50 of play as Maxim Cakjovic gave his team a 1:0 lead. Youngster Paul Sintschnig then made his first appearance, albeit by taking a two-minute penalty. Our neighbours capitalised on the power play to immediately make it 2:0.

It appeared to be a wake-up call for Team Austria, who then tested the Slovakian netminder for the first time. However, Slovakia struck for a third time in that very phase (7th minute) and extended their lead to 4:0 in the 11th minute. Shortly before the end of the first period, the puck found its way into the net again following a scramble in front of Kickert's goal.

Head Coach Roger Bader finally found the right words during the interval, as the team emerged from the dressing room transformed. They registered 10:4 shots on goal in the second period. Slovakia visibly found it more difficult against an Austrian side now playing more aggressively and at greater speed, and also had to serve the first two-minute penalties of the game.

In the 36th minute, Peter Schneider was on hand to score the almost overdue 1:5. Little changed in the third period. Austria created numerous chances with purpose towards the net. Lucas Thaler converted one of them on the rebound to make it 2:5.

In the 54th minute, Oskar Maier had another huge chance. At the same time, Paul Sintschnig crashed into the boards with his left shoulder and missed his team's final minutes. In the 59th minute, Slovakia made it 6:2, although the goal probably should not have counted due to offside.

Austria now face hosts Germany on Saturday, before taking on Latvia in their final game on Sunday.

Head Coach Roger Bader: “The first period was poor, no question about it. But it was not a 0:5 period either. In those first 20 minutes, we saw the same two things that we often see at the start of the November break – overly complicated play with the puck, leading to turnovers, and too little physical play. I addressed that during the interval. It was a little bitter how dearly we paid in terms of lessons learned. The second and third periods, on the other hand, were outstanding; we were the better team. Slovakia's final goal appears to have been offside. Nevertheless, we can build on the performance over those 40 minutes.”

Lucas Thaler: “We were not ready at the start, were caught by surprise and then could not find our way into the game. What we showed in the first period was not enough for international ice hockey. We woke up in the second period, but it is difficult to turn the game around when you are 0:5 down. From then on, it was definitely OK, looked good and we can build on that.”

Deutschland Cup 2025 Men

06 - 09 November 2025, Landshut (GER)

Austria vs. Slovakia 2:6 (0:5,1:0,1:1)
Thu, 06 November 2025, 12:15, VR-Bank Landshut Arena
Austria goalscorers: Peter Schneider (36th minute), Lucas Thaler (49th minute)
Slovakia goalscorers: Maxim Čajkovič (2th minute), Peter Cehlárik (5th minute/PP1), Matúš Sukeľ (7th minute, 19th minute/PP1, 59th minute/SH1), Viliam Čacho (11th minute)

Austria lined up with:

Goalies: 30 Kickert David; 31 Tolvanen Atte (Backup)
Line 1: 32 Wolf Bernd +A - 8 Nickl Thimo; 16 Zwerger Dominic +A - 21 Haudum Lukas - 3 Peter Schneider +C
Line 2: 5 Hackl Dominic - 2 Sablattnig Tobias; 27 Huber Paul - 15 Kainz Lukas - 19 Rohrer Vinzenz
Line 3: 4 Schnetzer Ramon - 14 Zündel Kilian; 10 Schwinger Simeon - 23 Thaler Lucas - 28 Huber Mario
Line 4: 24 Stapelfeldt Paul - 8 Söllinger Patrick; 13 Maier Oskar - 26 Achermann Oliver - 9 Sintschnig Paul

Further fixtures:

Germany vs. Austria
Sat, 08 November 2025, 18:45, live on ORF SPORT +

Latvia vs. Austria
Sun, 09 November 2025, 11:00, live on ORF SPORT +