Deutsch­land Cup 2024: Austria cele­brate 3:2 win over Denmark

The Red-White-Red players delivered a convincing performance against Denmark. Compared to their already strong display against Slovakia two days earlier, they improved even further. They fired 36 shots at the Scandinavians' goal, virtually pinning them in during the first period. Ali Wukovits' opening goal in the 17th minute had been almost overdue.

The only drawback over the course of the game was the number of penalties they took. There were eight in total, as well as a match penalty for Benjamin Baumgartner and Denmark's Phillip Schultz after the two clashed midway through the second period.

Nick Olesen equalised at 1:1 shortly afterwards in this turbulent middle period. Although the game was now more evenly balanced, the Austrians created the better chances and played aggressively. While shorthanded, Lukas Haudum and Lucas Thaler raced towards the Danish goal and did not pass up the 2:1 opportunity in the offensive zone. Haudum set up Thaler perfectly, and he slotted home to make it 2:1 in the 35th minute.

In the final period, Austria successfully avoided penalties and increasingly regained control of the game. Nevertheless, it was the Danes who scored to make it 2:2. Roman Schnetzer then stepped up in the 57th minute. Having previously battled for the puck behind the goal and initially passed it to Vinzenz Rohrer, he was fed back by Rohrer and scored the winning goal for 3:2.

Head Coach Roger Bader was naturally pleased with the win: “First of all, compliments to my team. From my point of view, it was an outstanding game and an absolutely deserved victory. There is no doubt about that. We had far more scoring chances and implemented many of the principles we always talk about. I am happy with the result and the performance. The key thing in a tournament is always to improve from day to day. Today was even better than against Slovakia, and that was against a team that beat Germany two days ago.”

The hosts will be the final opponents on Sunday at 15:00.Roger Bader is expecting another tough battle: “First and foremost, we want to make progress again, play a good game and, of course, win. Germany will play with intensity and will want to impress at their home tournament. The arena will be full. It will be a great atmosphere.”

Lucas Thaler, Best Player: “It was a very fast game, which we wanted to keep simple, but we took a few too many penalties. The special teams did a superb job today and we deserved to win. Compared to the game against Slovakia, we played more simply and with more energy, getting the puck to the net and, above all, into it. We are now looking forward to the derby against Germany. It will be a great game in which we will need to produce our best ice hockey.”

Lukas Haudum: “Over the full 60 minutes, we played very good ice hockey. There were only very few phases in which we were not consistent in our style of play. We kept the puck simple and got it deep. We showed again today that the forecheck is one of our strengths. It was a very solid performance from all four lines and, above all, from our goalie. The win was very important. We are all in good spirits and want to take that energy into tomorrow. Austria against Germany is always a prestige clash, with a certain rivalry. We are hugely looking forward to it.”

Deutschland Cup 2024

Austria vs. Denmark 3:2 (1:0,1:1,1:1)
Sat, 09 November 2024, 11:00, Landshut, Fanatec Arena

Austria goalscorers: Ali Wukovits (17th), Lucas Thaler (35th/SH1), Ramon Schnetzer (57th)
Denmark goalscorers: Nick Olesen (32th/PP1), Oliver Kjær (48th)

Germany vs. Austria
Sun, 10 November 2024, 15:00, Landshut, Fanatec Arena >> live on ORF SPORT + and ORF ON

Already played:

Austria vs. Slovakia 0:1 (0:1,0:0,0:0)
Thu, 07 November 2024, 12:30, Landshut, Fanatec Arena
Slovakia scorer: Peter Cehlárik (14 min)