Austria’s U18 national team are battling for the silver medal after victory over Denmark!

Austria U18 head coach Philipp Pinter gave back-up netminder Patrick Grascher the nod for the first time in the fourth World Championship game against hosts Denmark at the Iscenter Nord. Shortly after the opening face-off, Red-White-Red successfully killed off their first penalty. Austria then had the first power-play opportunity and struck clinically through Adrian Gesson, who scored to make it 1:0 (7th). 

Despite a shaky start, Austria had the better of the opening period. Towards the end, their penalty-killing units dealt with another penalty and, together with netminder Grascher, took the narrow lead into the first intermission.

After Austria had survived the remaining almost 20 seconds of the penalty at the start of the second period, they added another goal at the other end: Johannes Neumann made it 2:0 from the slot (22nd). The ÖEHV selection continued to push the pace, and with 30 seconds remaining before the halfway point of the game, Felix Haiböck added the 3:0 (30th). 

After the third goal conceded, Denmark netminder Tobias Christensen’s night was over, with Patrick Tiedjen replacing him between the pipes. Three minutes before the end of the second period, Austria’s penalty-killing lines once again showed their strength, and Austria went into the final period with a 3:0 lead.

Austria then made perfect use of their first power play, with Leon Kolarik making it 4:0 (44th). The game was decided, but the Red-White-Red players were not finished for the night: just 65 seconds later, Johannes Neumann scored to make it 5:0, his second goal of the game (46th). Austria then saw out the victory, while netminder Patrick Grascher recorded a shutout in his very first World Championship game.

Head coach Philipp Pinter was highly satisfied with his team’s performance after the game despite the shaky start: “It was a great achievement by the team. The first period was still a little bumpy; we came out of the dressing room a bit sleepy, as it was an unusual time for the team to start so late. Of course, that must not be an excuse, but we approached it thinking it would be too easy. We improved as the game went on and gave up incredibly little in the second period. The third period was absolutely top-class, with fantastic ice hockey. We were very disciplined, very aggressive and applied a lot of pressure – exactly what we had set out to do. We really gave the Danes very little room and time and created a lot of scoring chances. Over the entire 60 minutes, we really only gave up a handful of chances. The way we played today makes me very proud. We are delighted that this young team has already secured a medal before the final matchday. It is a great group that has grown together over the past few months!”

Battle for the silver medal against Ukraine on Saturday

The final day promises to be exciting: Austria have already secured the bronze medal and will battle Ukraine for silver on Saturday. A win after 60 minutes is required. However, Ukraine will also be battling Germany for promotion to the top division in a long-distance duel on the final matchday.

Ukraine opened the World Championship by beating Japan 4:1, then defeated hosts Denmark 3:1 before suffering a 1:2 overtime loss in the head-to-head clash with Germany. Ukraine beat Hungary 7:4 on Thursday. Germany face Denmark and can secure promotion under their own steam.

The head coach and his team now want more: “The direction is now very clear: we will take Friday a little more quietly and have a short training session. We will prepare and analyse today’s game as well, identifying things we can optimise. Above all, we will also focus on the positives, which outweighed everything else today. The Buffaloes are hungry; we have a medal, but we are not satisfied with bronze, we want silver, and the strategy against Ukraine is clear accordingly!”

2024 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship Division IA

Denmark vs. Austria 0:5 (0:1,0:2,0:2)
Thu, 18 April 2024, 20:00, Frederikshavn (DEN)
Austria goalscorers: Adrian Gesson (7th/PP1), Johannes Neumann (22nd, 46th), Felix Haiböck (30th), Leon Kolarik (44th/PP1)

>> Official Austria line-up

>> Current IIHF standings

Next game:

Ukraine vs. Austria
Sat, 20 April 2024, 13:00, Frederikshavn (DEN) >> Livestream

Already played:

Austria vs. Hungary 6:5 SO (0:1,2:2,3:2,0:0,1:0)
Wed, 17 April 2024, 13:00, Frederikshavn (DEN)
Austria scorers: Paul Sintschnig (28th/PP1), Benedikt Krainer (33th, 56th), David Waschnig (41st/SH1, 53rd) – David Waschnig and Johannes Neumann scored in the shootout.
Hungary scorers: Ádám Balogh (4th), Ágoston Schmidt (26th, 60th), Gergő Schwartz (31st), Vén Bendegúz (60th) – Aleksandar Antonijevic scored in the shootout.

Japan vs. Austria 3:6 (0:3,1:2,2:1)
Mon, 15 April 2024, 16:30, Frederikshavn (DEN)
Japan scorers: Reo Daikuhara (39th/PP1), Ryota Seki (54th), Yota Takashima (59th/PP1)
Austria scorers: Johannes Neumann (4th, 59th/EN), Leon Kolarik (12th, 14th/PP1), Paul Reiner (33rd/PP1), Adrian Gesson (37th/PP1)

Austria vs. Germany 2:3 (1:0,1:1,0:2)
Sun, 14 April 2024, 13:00, Frederikshavn
Austria scorers: Gregor Biber (1st), Paul Reiner (22nd)
Germany scorers: Tobias Schwarz (28th/PP1), David Lewandowski (42nd/PP1), Lenny Boos (43rd)

U18 World Championship squad: