Bambusa Chal­lenge in Lille­hammer: Austria cele­brate opening win against Hungary

However, the start to Friday evening's match did not go to plan. They found themselves 0:1 behind in the 10th minute and went into the break trailing, despite being the better team. Especially in their own zone, they gave Hungary little space, pressed early and thus won possession of the puck.

This resolute defending paid off early in the second period, when Tamina Schall scored the deserved equaliser after 18 seconds. Austria continued to press and Anna Meixner made it 2:1 in the 35th minute. On the power play in the final period, Tamara Grascher scored to make it 3:1, before Lena Artner sealed the 4:1 final score in the 56th minute.

Head Coach Alexander Bröms: "It was a tough start to the game when we went 0:1 behind. But it quickly became clear that the team was able to implement what we had worked on in training. We made good use of the past few days, even though we had little time. We worked hard, went through our system and the playbook, and spoke a lot with the players. They responded very well to that in the game. I hope we can build on it tomorrow. We did a good job defensively. The players won their battles and moved the puck forward quickly and directly. Our aim in the offensive zone was to establish ourselves there, which we also did well."

Following the two warm-up games against Hungary and Norway, another team camp is scheduled for December, before preparations for Olympic qualifying begin at the end of January/beginning of February. It will be played from 6 to 9 February in Bremerhaven (GER), where Austria will face hosts Germany, Hungary and a qualifier. The winner will secure a ticket to the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

Bambusa Challenge 2024

Hungary vs. Austria 1:4 (1:0,0:2,0:2)
Fri, 8 November 2024, 19:00, Lillehammer (NOR)
Hungary goalscorer: Karina Kárpáti (10th)
Austria goalscorers: Tamina Schall (21st), Anna Meixner (35th), Tamara Grascher (48th/PP1), Lena Artner (56th)

Austria lined up with:

Goaltenders: 1 Kronberger Karla Emilia; 30 Fichtinger Rosina (Back Up)
Line 1: 23 Matzka Antonia, 2 Prosen Valentina; 10 Meixner Anna, 14 Schall Tamina, 16 Kutzer Leonie
Line 2: 15 Billa Anna Marlene, 17 Wittich Charlotte; 21 Dauböck Lena Kristin, 13 Grascher Tamara, 4 Picka Vanessa
Line 3: 5 Nagy Laura, 9 Henek Gloria; 22 Artner Lena Maria, 12 Lintner Emma, 18 Obermayr Hanna
Line 4: 6 Hannah Leitner, 19 Hanna Danninger; 3 Hanna Schwarzer, 7 Christina Schusser, 11 Christina Bayer; 8 Emily Wiesinger

Next game:

Norway vs. Austria
Sat, 9 November 2024, 16:00, Lillehammer (NOR)