Bitter 3:4 defeat for Austria against Germany

Austria found themselves 0:1 behind after just four minutes, but then battled their way into the game. In the 14th minute, they were initially fortunate when a shot hit the post, before being unlucky themselves in front of the visitors' goal. It remained 0:1.

The ÖEHV selection then really stepped up a gear in the middle period, dominating the game at times and creating numerous good chances. Peter Schneider and Dominic Zwerger went through one-on-one with Niklas Treutle in the 25th minute, but were denied by the German netminder. Shortly afterwards, Patrick Söllinger took a pass from Lucas Thaler, set the puck up and made it 1:1 through the pads.

Tempers on the ice became increasingly heated. Ramon Schnetzer was sent to the penalty box in the 35th minute. Immediately after the two minutes had expired, Alexander Blank scored to restore Germany's lead. The visitors then found themselves shorthanded, but shortly before the end of the second period, play had to be stopped due to a broken pane of plexiglass. The interval was brought forward, with the remaining almost one and a half minutes played afterwards.

The power play did not produce an equaliser, but a clever shot by Mario Huber into the right corner did in the 41st minute. Austria pressed for the lead and were rewarded when Thimo Nickl scored on the power play in the 47th minute. However, the celebrations quickly died down when the equaliser came just 32 seconds later. The momentum swung again and the visitors once more scored immediately after an Austrian penalty had expired.

With just under two minutes remaining, Head Coach Roger Bader pulled David Kickert, but the equaliser would not come.

Austria were without Benjamin Baumgartner in this game. He had trained with the team in recent days but had to leave the training camp due to persistent pain. The Swiss-based player will also miss the World Championship, as Roger Bader reveals: “We had hoped that he would play today and take a step towards the World Championship. After training on Wednesday, the pain was too severe. He is therefore definitely out of the World Championship.”

On the game, Roger Bader said: “Our second period was very strong; we deserved to take the lead by then. The third period was back and forth. Perhaps we allowed one or two too many chances, but we also failed to take several ourselves. It is a shame that we lost; we could have won this game too. The third goal hurt. It happened unfortunately, but we still need to score to make it 4:3 and win.”

Peter Schneider said: “We did some things very well. Overall, I am very satisfied with our performance. But we also made some mistakes that we need to look at and which, hopefully, will not happen to us at the World Championship. But that is exactly what preparation is for. Today was really very good for my liking. The boys battled, and the spirit on the bench was good. There is still a little time until the World Championship.”

World Championship preparation

Austria vs. Germany 3:4 (0:1, 1:1, 2:2)
Thu, 30 April 2026, 19:00, Zell am See
Austria scorers: Patrick Söllinger (26th), Mario Huber (41st), Thimo Nickl (47th/PP)
Germany scorers: Stefan Loibl (5th, 55th), Alexander Blank (37th), Daniel Fischbuch (48th)
Game Sheet

Germany vs. Austria
Sat, 2 May 2026, 17:00, Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER)
Live on ORF SPORT +

Further World Championship preparation
09.05, 16:20, Klagenfurt: Austria vs. Slovenia
ÖEHV Ticket Shop

Already played
Latvia vs. Austria 3:4 (0:1, 3:3, 0:0)
Wed, 8 April 2026, 18:30, Riga (LAT)
Austria goalscorers: Maximilian Rebernig (9'), Benjamin Nissner (21'), Luca Erne (29'), Lucas Thaler (39'/PP)
Latvia goalscorers: Karlis Ozolins (30'), Glebs Prohorenkovs (33'/PP), Deniss Smirnovs (36')
Game Sheet

Latvia vs. Austria 1:0 (0:0, 0:0, 1:0)
Thu, 9 April 2026, 18:30, Riga (LAT)
Latvia goalscorer: Oskars Lapinski (51')
Game Sheet

Austria vs. Italy 3:2 (0:0, 2:1, 0:1, 1:0)
Thu, 16 April 2026, 19:00, Dornbirn
Austria goalscorers: Benjamin Nissner (27', 29'/PP), Peter Schneider (65')
Italy goalscorers: Bryce Misley (30'), Tommaso De Luca (55')
Game Sheet

Austria vs. Czechia 1:5 (0:2, 1:1, 0:2)
Thu, 23 April 2026, 19:00, Steffl Arena Vienna
Austria goalscorer: Leon Kolarik (32nd minute)
Czechia goalscorers: Michael Spacek (5th minute), Dominik Kubalik (8th minute), Daniel Tomasek (31st minute), Filip Kral (43rd minute), Daniel Vozelinek (56th minute)
Game Sheet

Czechia vs. Austria 4:0 (1:0, 1:0, 2:0)
Fri, 24 April 2026, 17:30, Jihlava (CZE)
Czechia goalscorers: David Tomasek (18th minute), Michael Spacek (28th, 46th minute/PP), Marcel Marcel (57th minute)

2026 IIHF ICE HOCKEY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

15 May 2026 – 31 May 2026, Zurich and Fribourg (SUI)
Defending champions: USA
Group A, Zurich: USA, Switzerland, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Austria, Hungary, Great Britain
Group B, Fribourg: Canada, Sweden, Czechia, Denmark, Slovakia, Norway, Slovenia, Italy

Schedule
Great Britain vs. Austria
Sat., 16 May 2026, 12:20, Swiss Life Arena

Austria vs. Hungary
Sun, 17 May 2026, 16:20, Swiss Life Arena

Latvia vs. Austria
Tue, 19 May 2026, 16:20, Swiss Life Arena

Austria vs. Switzerland
Wed, 20 May 2026, 16:20, Swiss Life Arena

Austria vs. Germany
Sat, 23 May 2026, 20:20, Swiss Life Arena

Finland vs. Austria
Sun, 24 May 2026, 20:20, Swiss Life Arena

USA vs. Austria
Tue, 26 May 2026, 16:20, Swiss Life Arena

Information on World Championship ticket sales at 2026.iihfworlds.com!
Link to World Championship tickets for Zurich and Fribourg (Ticketcorner.ch)
Link to individual Austria matches - (Ticketcorner.ch)
Link to World Championship packages including Austria matches - (Ticketcorner.ch)