Bader: "The perfor­mance was good"

Austria's four preliminary-round opponents at the IIHF U20 World Championship were all ranked in the top six of the IIHF World Ranking. Accordingly, the gap in class was clearly visible in every single game. "We are a long way from that level. Given our resources, we performed very well and had some personal highlights," said Head Coach Roger Bader in an interview after the end of the U20 World Championship in Edmonton.

These highlights included the defensive play in the first period against eventual world champions USA (0:1), the entire game against Sweden (0:4), strong spells of play against Russia, including the tournament's only goal by Senna Peeters, which also earned Austria the second period (1:0), as well as the opening period against the Czech Republic (0:0).

The only thing that showed that not all U20 nations are out of Austria’s reach was warm-up game against Switzerland (2:3) showed that not all U__OEHV_NUM_G_A__ nations are beyond Austria's reach. "We competed on equal terms. That is not something to be taken for granted against Switzerland," Bader knows. The Swiss, who also suffered four defeats in four games, would have been Austria's opponents in the relegation round had this World Championship not been affected by Covid-19.

As the cancellation of all other U20 World Championships meant there were neither relegated nor promoted teams for the IIHF Top Division, these ten nations will meet again at the 2022 World Championship. The groups were redrawn based on the final standings. Austria will face Canada, Finland, Germany and the Czech Republic in the preliminary round in Edmonton from 26 December 2021.

What is your assessment of the U20 World Championship that has just ended?

Bader: The team's performance was good; given our resources, we performed above expectations. We also received praise from several coaches of other nations for our performances. Of course, it was to be expected that we would be outclassed four times. Against these top-6 teams in the world, we were more than a class behind in terms of level. That is also normal for a promoted team; we are not alone in that. This year, so to speak, we had the misfortune of having four world-class nations in our group.

At a regular World Championship, relegation games against Switzerland would also have been on the schedule?

Bader: We were on equal terms with Switzerland in the warm-up game. There, we saw that we can compete after good training sessions. That is not something to be taken for granted; normally, we have no chance against Switzerland either. Overall, I am proud of this team; they presented themselves very well and made progress every day.

What can the players take away from this World Championship?

Bader: The players experienced ice hockey they had not known before. The smaller rink was also new territory for many. All opponents implemented the modern ice hockey I have been talking about since taking over as Austrian national team coach one hundred per cent. It means putting the opponent under pressure all over the ice and transitioning incredibly quickly. The players had not experienced this level of intensity and pace before. Every lost puck leads to an immediate counter-attack. It was an "eye opener" for all the players. It is motivation for their own future, showing how quickly ice hockey can be played at this age.

What is the outlook for next season's World Championship?

Bader: On paper, the group is easier than this year because Germany are in it. But we have seen that Germany have a great team. Tim Stützle was the best forward at the World Championship tournament and could play again next year. We have gained experience that we can use. There will be a relegation round again next year, with Switzerland or Slovakia likely to be the opponent. We would be outsiders, but certainly not without a chance.

U20 Men's National Team
26.12.2021 - 05.01.2022: 2022 IIHF U20 Men's World Championship Top Division
Venue: Edmonton and Red Deer/Canada
Group A (Red Deer): USA, Russia, Sweden, Slovakia, Switzerland
Group B (Edmonton): Canada, Finland, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria

2021 IIHF U20 World Championship Top Division

25 December 2020 – 5 January 2021
Venue
Edmonton/Canada

Participants
Group A: Canada, Finland, Switzerland, Slovakia, Germany
Group B: Russia, Sweden, USA, Czech Republic, Austria

Schedule (Edmonton local time, CET +8 hours)
25.12.2020, 12:00: Switzerland - Slovakia (0:0,0:0,0:1)
25.12.2020, 16:00: Germany - Finland 3:5 (0:2,2:3,1:0)
25.12.2020, 19:30: Russia - USA 5:3 (1:1,3:0,1:2)

26.12.2020, 12:00: Sweden - Czech Republic 7:1 (1:1,3:0,3:0)
26.12.2020, 16:00: Germany - Canada 2:16 (1:4,0:7,1:5)
26.12.2020, 19:30: USA - Austria 11:0 (1:0,6:0,4:0)
Goals: Helleson (16), Zegras (25, 32), Farinacci (26), Brisson (29/PP, 44), Boldy (35, 39/PP, 46), Berard (43), Colangelo (50)
Penalty minutes: 4 and 4 respectively, plus a game misconduct penalty (Wimmer)

27.12.2020, 12:00: Finland - Switzerland 4:1 (1:1,1:0,2:0)
27.12.2020, 16:00: Slovakia - Canada 1:3 (0:1,0:0,1:2)
27.12.2020, 19:30: Czech Republic - Russia 2:0 (0:0,1:0,1:0)

28.12.2020, 16:00: Austria - Sweden 0:4 (0:1,0:2,0:1)
Goals: Gunler (18/PP, 31), Niederbach (25/PP), Raymond (53)
Penalty minutes: 8 and 0 respectively
28.12.2020, 19:30: Slovakia - Germany 3:4 after overtime (1:1,2:2,0:0)

29.12.2020, 12:00: USA - Czech Republic 7:0 (0:0,3:0,4:0)
29.12.2020, 16:00: Canada - Switzerland 10:0 (1:0,4:0,5:0)
29.12.2020, 19:30: Austria - Russia 1:7 (0:4,1:0,0:3)
Goals: Peeters (28) and Amirov (5/penalty shot), Podkolzin (7, 14), Khusnutdinov (17), Kynazev (42/PP), Afanasiev (58), Gritsyuk (59)
Penalty minutes: 4 and 4 respectively, plus a misconduct penalty (Safonov)

30.12.2020, 12:00: Finland - Slovakia 6:0 (1:0,2:0,3:0)
30.12.2020, 16:00: Switzerland - Germany 4:5 (0:3,0:1,4:1)
30.12.2020, 19:30: Russia - Sweden 4:3 after overtime (2:1,0:1,1:1)

31.12.2020, 12:00: Czech Republic – Austria 7:0 (0:0,4:0,3:0)
Goals: Kubicek (27), Lang (33, 39), Prikryl (40), Novak (42), Jiricek (57), Mysak (60)
Penalty minutes: 2 and 0 respectively
31.12.2020, 16:00: Canada - Finland 4:1 (1:0,2:0,1:1)
31.12.2020, 19:30: Sweden - USA 0:4 (0:2,0:2,0:0)

02.01.2021, 10:00: Russia - Germany 2:1 (1:0,1:0,0:1)
02.01.2021, 13:30: Finland - Sweden 3:2 (0:2,1:0,2:0)
02.01.2021, 17:00: Canada - Czech Republic 3:0 (2:0,0:0,1:0)
02.01.2021, 20:30: USA - Slovakia 5:2 (1:0,2:1,2:1)

04.01.2021, 16:00: Canada - Russia 5:0 (3:0,1:0,1:0)
04.01.2021, 19:30: USA - Finland 4:3 (1:1,2:0,1:2)

05.01.2021, match for 3rd place, 15:30: Finland - Russia 4:1 (0:1,1:0,3:0)
05.01.2021, final, 19:30: Canada - USA 0:2 (0:1,0:1,0:0)

Format
As all other U20 World Championship tournaments for the 2020/21 season have been cancelled, there will be neither promotion nor relegation this year. Consequently, there will also be no relegation games involving the fifth-placed teams in the groups in Edmonton. All participants will also play in the IIHF Top Division of the U20 in Canada in the 2021/22 season.

More information at...