Deutschland Cup: Austria open with prestige clash against hosts

Austria’s men’s national team begin the Deutschland Cup with a prestige clash. On Thursday (5 November), the team coached by sporting director and head coach Roger Bader face hosts Germany at 19:45 at the PSD BANK DOME in Düsseldorf. ORF SPORT + will broadcast the game live from 19:40. Clemens Unterweger is captain, with Lukas Haudum and Benjamin Nissner serving as assistant captains.

At the Deutschland Cup 2025 in Landshut, Austria recorded a 5:2 win over Germany. Vinzenz Rohrer scored twice, while Paul Huber, Leon Wallner and Dominic Zwerger also found the net.

However, the record from the past five meetings clearly favours Germany. Austria won only one of them: that 5:2 victory in Landshut. The other four games went to the DEB selection, most recently 6:2 at the World Championship in Zurich in May. The aggregate score from those five games is 12:22.

Head-coaching debut with the DEB

For Germany, the clash with Austria marks a first. André Rankel, Harold Kreis’ successor, will be behind the bench for the first time as head coach. The long-serving captain of Eisbären Berlin has named three debutants for his first tournament, including Max Calce of Adler Mannheim. He is considered a candidate for the first round of the upcoming NHL Draft.

The most experienced players in the defending champions’ squad are Yasin Ehliz, with 121 international appearances, and Fabio Wagner, with 111. They are joined by Maximilian Kastner and Tobias Rieder, who spent a long time in the NHL. All four play for EHC Red Bull München, alongside Austria’s Lucas Thaler. Rankel will be without the injured Dominik Kahun.

After the opener against Germany, Austria have Friday off. On Saturday (7 November), the team face Slovakia at 15:00. They conclude against Latvia on Sunday (8 November) at 11:00. ORF ON will show this game in full on livestream from 10:55, with ORF SPORT + joining the live coverage from 11:55. Daniel Warmuth will provide commentary, with Peter Znenahlik as co-commentator.

Roger Bader, sporting director and head coach of the ÖEHV men’s national team: "The Deutschland Cup is a tournament with a long tradition, and it is something special that we can take part for the fifth time. We are playing against three top-10 nations, all of whom have competed at the Olympic Games. These are precisely the two things we want to achieve ourselves one day. Our aim is to deliver a top performance in each of the three games and demand everything of our opponents. Playing against Germany is always a particular motivation, especially as we were able to win the game last year. We will also begin the World Championship against Germany."

Clemens Unterweger, captain of the ÖEHV men’s national team: "Every one of us is looking forward to the game, and there will certainly be a great atmosphere in the arena. We have a very good team and, if we play our hockey, we will certainly have a good chance tomorrow. Germany probably still have a score to settle from last year, but we are going into the game to win it. We want to play with great intensity and skating power, show a good forecheck and exit our own zone cleanly at the back."

The squad at a glance:

GOALTENDERS

KICKERT David | aged 32 | EC Red Bull Salzburg
VORAUER Florian | 26 | EC-KAC
WIESER Nicolas | 29 | Moser Medical Graz99ers

DEFENCE

HACKL Dominic | 29 | Vienna Capitals
LINDNER Luis | 25 | Steinbach Black Wings Linz
MAIER David | 26 | Moser Medical Graz99ers
NICKL Thimo | 24 | EC-KAC
SÖLLINGER Patrick | 22 | Steinbach Black Wings Linz
STAPELFELDT Paul | 28 | Moser Medical Graz99ers
UNTERWEGER Clemens | 34 | EC-KAC
WIMMER Philipp | 24 | Steinbach Black Wings Linz
WÜRSCHL Niklas | 27 | Steinbach Black Wings Linz

FORWARDS

ACHERMANN Oliver | 32 | HC La Chaux-de-Fonds (SUI)
BAUMGARTNER Benjamin | 26 | SC Bern (SUI)
HARNISCH Tim | 25 | Moser Medical Graz99ers
HAUDUM Lukas | 29 | HC TPS Turku (FIN)
HUBER Paul | 26 | Moser Medical Graz99ers
NEUBAUER Henrik | 29 | Steinbach Black Wings Linz
NISSNER Benjamin | 28 | EC Red Bull Salzburg
REBERNIG Maximilian | 26 | EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV
ROHRER Vinzenz | 22 | EV Zug (SUI)
SCHWINGER Simeon | 29 | EC-KAC
THALER Lucas | 24 | EHC Red Bull München (GER)
WALLNER Leon | 24 | Vienna Capitals
WUKOVITS Ali | 30 | EC Red Bull Salzburg