Austria's U18 win thriller against Italy – promo­tion with victory over South Korea on Sunday

From the opening shift, Austria – once again with Benedikt Oschgan in goal – and Italy served up an intense game featuring uncompromising challenges. The significance of the contest was palpable in the Bled Ice Hall from the outset, and the opening 20 minutes developed into a nerve-racking affair in which Austria gradually gained more and more control of the game.

Head Coach Philipp Pinter's team took a 1:0 lead with a dream goal in the ninth minute: defenceman Thomas Klassek sent Paul Noll clear with a superb long pass, the forward could no longer be stopped by the Italian defence and lifted the puck into the top left corner with his backhand.

Austria continued to play in a controlled manner afterwards and held a slight edge. Towards the end of the first period, the ÖEHV selection had to kill four minutes of penalties following two penalties in quick succession, before having a power play of their own in the final minute, most of which carried over into the second period.

The game remained a close affair in the second period, fiercely contested by both teams. Clear-cut scoring chances were initially few and far between at either end.

The longer the period went on, the closer Austria came to scoring a second. First, a shot by Luca Kogler from the right face-off circle was blocked by an Italian. Then, on the power play, Thomas Klassek tested Italy goaltender Damian Clara from close range.

Maximilian Schwarz missed the best chance, curling the puck agonisingly just over the crossbar from close range. At the other end, goaltender Oschgan looked composed on the few shots he faced, with Austria ultimately holding a 10:3 shot advantage in the second period. The Azzurri took a penalty two seconds before the buzzer.

The ÖEHV team began the final period on the power play but could not capitalise as goaltender Damian Clara shut the door. Italy were now forced to play more offensively. Austria could not find the crucial second goal and the game became more exciting by the minute.

Italy pulled their goaltender one minute from the end, and Austria capitalised on the empty-net situation within seconds. Alexander Rupnik fired the puck into the empty net for 2:0 in the 60th minute. A short time later, Clara again left his net and Oliver Lam finally sealed the 3:0. Paul Noll, who scored his fourth World Championship goal, was named Austria's player of the game.

Following another World Championship thriller in Slovenia, Austria head into the final day as league leaders. Their final World Championship appearance against their South Korean counterparts follows on Sunday from 16:00. With a victory after 60 minutes, Austria will secure promotion to the U18 World Championship Division I, Group A.

Head Coach Philipp Pinter analysed the game against Italy after the final buzzer: "Once again, the game was not for the faint-hearted. We came out of the dressing room a little nervous, the boys knew what was at stake. But they stayed calm and found their rhythm from the second period onwards. We then played much more aggressively and were able to put the Italians under much more pressure. A long 1:0 lead is not for unstructured, undisciplined ice hockey. So huge credit to the team for sticking to the game plan over 60 minutes and battling with discipline; the lads once again fought like buffaloes. Now it is time to recover immediately. For me, South Korea are the fastest and most agile team, and the most difficult opponent to face at the end. The good thing is that it is now in our own hands: if we play our hockey for 60 minutes, then as a whole team we are convinced that we will win the next battle too!"

2023 IIHF U18 World Championship Division I, Group B:

Austria vs. Italy 3:0 (1:0,0:0,2:0)
Sat, 15 April 2023, 19:30, Bled Ice Hall
Austria goalscorers: Paul Noll (9th), Alexander Rupnik (60th/EN), Oliver Lam (60th/EN)

Current IIHF standings

Other game:

Austria vs. South Korea
Sun, 16 April 2023, 16:00, Bled Ice Hall
>> to the livestream

Already played:

Slovenia vs. Austria 4:6 (0:2.1:1,3:3)
Thu, 13 April 2023, 19:30, Bled Ice Rink
Slovenia scorers: Anže Žeželj (30th, 42nd), Žan Špari Leben (41st), Maj Crnkič (59th)
Austria scorers: Felix Haiböck (1st), Alexander Rupnik (9th), Paul Noll (30th, 60th/EN), Gregor Biber (47th/PP1), Laurin Wempe (57th)

Austria vs. Estonia 7:1 (3:0,2:0,2:1)
Tue, 11 April 2023, 12:30, Bled Ice Rink
Austria scorers: Oliver Lam (9th/PP1, 42nd), Florian Lanzinger (11th), Paul Noll (19th), Leon Lamereiner (25th), Johannes Neumann (38th), Maximilian Schwarz (50th)
Estonia scorer: Maksim Burkov (44th)

Poland vs. Austria 3:1 (1:0,2:1,0:0)
Mon, 10 April 2023, 12:30, Bled Ice Rink
Poland scorers: Jakub Hofman (3rd/PP1), Maksymilian Dawid (29th/PP1, 36th/PP1)
Austria scorer: Florian Lanzinger (33rd/PP1)

All information and the full schedule can be found at www.iihf.com