Austria reach the “final” with a 3:0 win over Hungary

With plenty of speed and strong forechecking, Head Coach Roger Bader's team took control of the game straight from the opening face-off. They tested Hungary goaltender Zoltan Hetenyi from every angle, and he was also named Hungary's Man of the Match. Whenever their neighbours did get in front of the Austrian goal, David Madlener proved to be a reliable last line of defence.

The relentless forechecking and puck recoveries were finally reflected on the scoreboard in the 13th minute. Following a pass from Michael Kernberger, Austria's Man of the Match Oliver Achermann forced the puck over the line to make it 1:0. Hungary were fortunate to be only that far behind after the opening 20 minutes.

After returning from the dressing room, their neighbours looked improved, allowed fewer chances and played more directly going forward. In the 26th minute, an Austrian goal was disallowed. Shortly afterwards, Madlener prevented an equaliser. Towards the end of the period, Austria regained control of the game. In the 39th minute, Peter Schneider had his team celebrating after a power-play goal, but it was again disallowed for offside.

It took just 59 seconds after the start of the final period to send the approximately 1.500 spectators into raptures. Emilio Romig deservedly extended the lead. As in the opening 20 minutes of the game, Austria were considerably more aggressive on the forecheck and pushed for 3:0. Lukas Kainz duly made it happen with an empty-net goal exactly seven-tenths of a second before the end of the game.

Head Coach Roger Bader: “We want to get the puck behind the opposing defencemen quickly so that we can get on the forecheck, which is one of our great strengths. We did that too little in the second period, addressed it clearly again during the break and corrected it in the final period. I am pleased for David Madlener and the team that we conceded 0 goals. The win is deserved, including by that margin. Overall, we had more scoring chances.”

In the preceding game, Poland celebrated a 3:1 win over Italy and will therefore face Austria on Friday evening in the game for the tournament title. “Poland must not be underestimated. They have been promoted to the Top Division and have quality. Their squad is close to their World Championship roster, and they are relatively strong for their standards. That is a good thing too, because we want to play against strong opponents,” says Roger Bader looking ahead to the final.

For the Austria Cup, the ÖEHV is offering a special promotion: children under 14 receive free admission. Austria's games will be broadcast live on ORF SPORT +.

Tickets are available HERE.

Ticket prices – day tickets 
Standard price: seated € 15.- / standing € 10.-
Concession price (school pupils, students, military and civilian service personnel): seated € 10.- / standing € 5.-

Austria Cup schedule

Austria vs Hungary 3:0 (1:0,0:0,2:0)
Thurs, 14 December 2023, 19:00, Heidi Horten Arena
Austria goalscorers: Oliver Achermann (13th), Emilio Romig (41th), Lukas Kainz (60th/EN)

Poland vs Italy 3:1 (0:1,2:0,1:0)
Thu, 14 December 2023, 15:00, Heidi Horten Arena
Poland scorers: Bartlomiej Jeziorski (24), Patryk Krezolek (40), Krystian Dziubiński (59/EN)
Italy scorer: Alberto Colli (3)

3rd-place game
Hungary vs. Italy
Fri, 15 December 2023, 13:00, Heidi Horten Arena

Final
Austria vs. Poland
Fri, 15 December 2023, 17:00, Heidi Horten Arena, live on ORF SPORT +