Austria open with a 5–2 victory over Great Britain
Austria collected their first points and moved a step closer to their primary objective of avoiding relegation. The team made a dream start against Great Britain and led 3–0 after ten minutes. Great Britain reduced the deficit to 2–3 before the first intermission, but Austria regained control and completed a 5–2 win. Hungary are next on Sunday, live on ORF 1 at 4:20 pm.
3 min read
"With every victory, the whole team—and the head coach—can breathe a little easier, because it brings us closer to our primary goal of avoiding relegation. Starting a World Championship with a win, especially against a direct competitor in the fight to avoid relegation, is very important. Especially since this victory came about with a good performance," he said Head coach Roger Bader satisfied after the end of the game.
His protégés got off to a real dream start. Benjamin Nissner opened the World Championship with a well-aimed shot into the corner of the cross in the 3rd minute. Four minutes later, Peter Schneider deflected a shot from Nissner to make it 2-0. Paul Huber followed up intensively in the 10th minute and brought the goal over the line to make it 3-0.
A short break brought the British back into the game shortly afterwards. Within just 37 seconds, David Clements (16th) and Liam Kirk (17th) made it 2:3. They were the only two shots that David Kickert was powerless to take. Apart from that, the 32-year-old once again presented himself as a reliable support and also shone with one or two big saves.
In the 2nd third, Austria took command again, shook off the nervousness that had arisen after conceding two goals and restored the old three-goal gap thanks to Peter Schneider (27th), who dropped Mat Robson in Great Britain's goal, and Leon Wallner (34th), who scored his first World Championship goal.
In the final period, Austria controlled the game and celebrated a deserved 5-2 win. Things will continue in just under 24 hours and the next direct competitor, Hungary, is waiting in the fight to avoid relegation. The game will be broadcast live on ORF 1 at 4:20 p.m.
Head coach Roger Bader: "We started strong, then suddenly they score two goals. That caused a bit of nervousness. The British have players who can score goals out of nowhere. We knew we couldn't give them anything, otherwise they'd be back. We did it well for 50 out of 60 minutes. Tomorrow it starts again from scratch. Hungary is just as unpleasant and stubborn an opponent as we expected from Great Britain today. We have to play against Hungary the same way we did today, the straight, fast ice hockey. We have to do it again perform very well to beat them.”
Captain Peter Schneider, who was also voted best player: "I'm incredibly proud of the boys' performance. Every single one of them put an incredible performance on the ice today. We implemented the game plan very well, even if not everything was perfect. We did what we set out to do. Hungary will be very unpleasant, similar to the British today. The things we implemented in the first period, if we implement that over long stretches, I'm confident that we can make this game successful too."
2026 IIHF ICE HOCKEY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
May 15, 2026 - May 31, 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, Czech Republic, Denmark, Slovakia, Norway, Slovenia, Italy
Schedule
Great Britain vs. Austria 2:5 (2:3, 0:2, 0:0)
Sat., May 16, 2026, 12:20 p.m., Swiss Life Arena, 7,974 spectators
Goalscorers Great Britain: David Clements (16th), Liam Kirk (17th)
Goalscorers Austria: Benjamin Nissner (3rd), Peter Schneider (7th, 27th), Paul Huber (10th), Leon Wallner (34th)
Game sheet
Austria vs. Hungary
Sun., May 17, 2026, 4:20 p.m., Swiss Life Arena
Live on ORF SPORT+, live on ORF 1 from 5:00 p.m
Latvia vs. Austria
Tuesday, May 19, 2026, 4:20 p.m., Swiss Life Arena
Live on ORF 1
Austria vs. Switzerland
Wed., May 20, 2026, 4:20 p.m., Swiss Life Arena
Live on ORF 1
Austria vs. Germany
Sat., May 23, 2026, 8:20 p.m., Swiss Life Arena
Live on ORF SPORT+
Finland vs. Austria
Sun., May 24, 2026, 8:20 p.m., Swiss Life Arena
Live on ORF SPORT+
USA vs. Austria
Tuesday, May 26, 2026, 4:20 p.m., Swiss Life Arena
Live on ORF 1
Ticketing
Information about World Championship ticket sales 2026.iihfworlds.com
Link to World Championship tickets for Zurich and Fribourg
Link to individual games with Austria
Link to World Championship packages with the Austria games
