Austria win the final against hosts Denmark
Austria's men's national ice hockey team delivered a gala performance in the final of the Four Nations Tournament against hosts Denmark. The red-white-red players were superior throughout all 60 minutes, impressive in attack and defence, once again showed perfect penalty killing and secured a thoroughly deserved 3:0 victory, which also gave Austria the tournament title, thanks to goals from Paul Huber (7.), debutant Fabian Hochegger (17.) and Lucas Thaler (38.).
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It was the Danes who first tested David Madlener, named Best Player after the game, after 45 seconds. Shortly afterwards, however, Austria took control and never relinquished it. For long spells of the game, Denmark struggled even to get the visitors out of their defensive zone and were virtually pinned in.
After just a few minutes, there was the first injury in the hard-fought game – an official had to leave the ice but returned after almost ten minutes. In the meantime, Paul Huber pounced on a shot by Kilian Zündel to make it 1:0. Austria pushed for 2:0 and were rewarded in the 17th minute with a spectacular goal. Debutant Fabian Hochegger fired the puck towards goal, Denmark's netminder got a touch on it, but it sailed in a high arc over his head and into the net.
Little changed in the middle period. Austria continued to dictate play and even created a gilt-edged chance while shorthanded. Shortly before the second intermission, Lucas Thaler was on hand following work by Clemens Unterweger to increase the lead to 3:0.
Austria had to see out two more shorthanded situations in the final ten minutes of the game, but handled them confidently, as they had against Norway the previous day, and were crowned tournament winners in Copenhagen with the 3:0 result.
Head Coach Roger Bader: "First and foremost, I am pleased that we won. The victory was thoroughly deserved. I am even more pleased with the game itself. Today, we saw many of the principles we talk about and want to implement: a fast, high-pressure style of play that created plenty of chances for us. Our penalty kill was also very good today. Compared to yesterday, we took another step forward today. Our motto was to play better than we did against Norway. From the start, we played fast, direct ice hockey. That allows us to use our speed and put the opposition under pressure. Overall, I am pleased with the whole week. We trained well, the atmosphere within the team was always excellent, and we delivered two good games."
Four Nations Tournament Denmark
Denmark vs. Austria 0:3 (0:2,0:1,0:0)
Sat., 11 February 2023, 19:00
Austria goalscorers: Paul Huber (7.), Fabian Hochegger (17.), Lucas Thaler (38.)
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