Austria's U20 team loses World Cham­pi­onship warm-up game against Sweden

Image note: Austria in the warm-up game against Sweden - Photo: ÖEHV

Following the training sessions so far, Austria rehearsed for the real thing against ice hockey powerhouse Sweden at the Westerner Park Centrium in Red Deer in order to adjust to the level of the U20 World Championship. Training on the smaller ice surface in Canada is one thing; games are another. The reduced space means less time for the players to receive and move the puck, battles become even more intense, the pace is higher and there is consequently even more action on the ice.

The Swedes, who will be led into the IIHF World Junior Championships for the final time by 44-year-old Head Coach Tomas Monten and are considered among the favourites for the title, showed from the outset that they are a technically strong side and took the lead through Oskar Olausson after just 25 seconds. Austria subsequently put up a spirited fight and, backed by goaltender Sebastian Wraneschitz, held firm. Just under three minutes before the end of the first period, Tre Kronor made it 2:0 through Albert Sjöberg (18.). In the second period, the Swedes raised the tempo and quickly made it 3:0 through Alexander Holtz, while Austria's Lukas Necesany was in the penalty box for high-sticking (22.). Almost two minutes later, Daniel Torgersson made it 4:0 (24.). At the halfway point, as agreed, Head Coach Marco Pewal brought on Leon Sommer for starting goaltender Sebastian Wraneschitz.

Sweden continued to make the most of their skating and technical superiority. Victor Sjöholm scored to make it 5:0 (35.), and just 34 seconds later Theodor Niederbach beat goaltender Leon Sommer (36.). Austria's U20 national team battled until the end, defended more aggressively in their own zone and thus kept the final period more even. Only Fabian Lysell was able to beat goaltender Sommer. The forward, selected by the Boston Bruins in the first round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft with the 21st overall pick, put the finishing touch on a 7:0 win for Tre Kronor (47.).

For Head Coach Marco Pewal the game against ice hockey powerhouse Sweden was a good and important World Championship test: "You could see what lies ahead of us next week. We need to make sure we can keep up with the pace for 60 minutes. That means we need shorter shifts. When we played more aggressively in our own zone, the Swedes found things a little more difficult. We need to get involved in the battles and we need to play more simply."

For the World Championship preliminary round, which begins on Monday, 27 December at 20:00 Central European Time against Finland, Pewal takes the positives from the warm-up game despite the clear defeat: "We played well in our own zone and battled until the end. It is a long tournament and we will get our chances. It will be important that we stick together as a team and do not fall apart."

Also Captain Marco Kasper assesses the warm-up game: "We knew beforehand that the Swedes have a very strong team. We tried to give our best. We lost 0:7, but there were also good things. Of course, we can still improve many things on the ice, win more battles and make more accurate passes."

The centre, who knows the Swedes very well through his time at Rögle BK in the SHL, draws a positive conclusion: "We all tried to battle hard, win the battles and skated an incredible amount. Both goaltenders played well. We did not have that many shots on goal, but we still created a few scoring chances."

After the game, Head Coach Marco Pewal had to cut three players from the squad: Mark Mussbacher, David Cernik and Janick Wernicke. This confirms the final 25-man squad for the World Championship.

Austria vs. Sweden 0:7 (0:2,0:4,0:1)
Fri, 24 December, 03:00 CET (Thu, 23 December 2021, 19:00 local time)
Sweden scorers: Oskar Olausson (1.), Albert Sjöberg (18.), Alexander Holtz (22./PP), Daniel Torgersson (24.), Victor Sjöholm (35.), Theodor Niederbach (36.), Fabian Lysell (47.)