Fantastic! Austria take a point off the USA

Image info: Austria – Lukas Haudum, Ali Wukovits and goalscorer Paul Huber celebrate in the second World Championship game against the USA – Photo: GEPA pictures/Daniel Goetzhaber

Just under 26 hours after the 1:3 defeat to Sweden, the ÖEHV team faced another blockbuster in the game against the USA. Austria's record against the USA in ÖEHV history before this World Championship encounter stood at two wins, two draws and 27 defeats. However, the 3:0 victory at the 2001 World Championship in Cologne remains unforgettable. The last meeting had taken place seven years earlier and went to the US boys 4:1 in Vienna.

The USA beat Latvia 4:1 in their opening game and seamlessly continued their strong 2021 World Championship campaign, where they won bronze. Matt Boldy – still alongside Marco Rossi in the "Rookie Lap" on his NHL debut on 6 January – of the Minnesota Wild, his forward team-mate Ryan Hartman and Wild defenceman Jon Merrill were called up by the USA, but are not expected in Tampere until the beginning of next week.

Compared to the Sweden game, Head Coach Roger Bader made two changes to the line-up. Bernhard Starkbaum was given a rest, with Austria starting the game with keeper David Kickert. Brian Lebler lined up with Lukas Haudum and Marco Kasper on the first forward line this time, while the second attacking unit of Thomas Raffl, Benjamin Nissner and Peter Schneider remained unchanged. Manuel Ganahl joined Benjamin Baumgartner and Nico Feldner on the third line. As against Sweden, Ali Wukovits, Oliver Achermann and Paul Huber played on the fourth line.

On defence, Dominic Hackl and David Maier, as well as Dominique Heinrich and Kilian Zündel, were again deployed together. Bernd Wolf formed a defensive pairing with Erik Kirchschläger, while Philipp Wimmer defended alongside Nico Brunner. David Madlener was in the line-up as the back-up goalie.

The opening minutes, in front of 4.228 fans in Tampere, were played at a high pace. The Austrians matched the USA very well, with play going back and forth but initially without any clear-cut scoring chances. Brian Lebler then tested USA keeper Strauss Mann for the first time with a good shot. At the other end, David Kickert denied Kieffer Bellows.

Backed by the strong David Kickert in goal, Austria's players grew increasingly confident as the first period progressed. In the 13th minute, Marco Kasper drew applause from the crowd after bamboozling the USA defence with wonderful stickhandling and his skating skills, but his shot was stopped by goalie Mann.

Three seconds after Austria's first power play had expired, Marco Kasper burst through brilliantly down the left on a solo run and fed Benjamin Nissner perfectly from behind the net, with Nissner scoring Austria's 1:0 lead from close range (15.). A world-class goal! Towards the end of the first period, the ÖEHV selection killed off a penalty, with David Kickert playing strongly in tandem with the defence to keep a clean sheet.

The Americans raised the tempo again in the second period. Austria's players defended well, battled superbly and threw themselves in front of every shot. The red-white-red team also came through their second penalty kill unscathed and displayed good penalty killing. From the midway point of the period, Austria created more going forward again, with Haudum and Lebler having good chances. The USA selection became increasingly physical in the battles, and Benjamin Baumgartner had to head to the dressing room after a knee check.

Austria suddenly led 2:0 after another world-class move. Following a powerful burst from Lukas Haudum, Austria played tic-tac-toe hockey, with the puck reaching Paul Huber via Ali Wukovits, who completed a dream combination (35.). The USA responded immediately. Just 17 seconds after the 2:0, Kieffer Bellows caught keeper David Kickert off guard, with the puck rebounding off his back and into the net for 1:2 (35.).

At the start of the third period, Austria killed off their third penalty, though they were fortunate when the Americans hit the post. The USA now applied heavy pressure, while Austria shut up shop at the back and were occasionally able to launch relieving counter-attacks. The USA equalised on the power play. With Paul Huber in the penalty box, Adam Gaudette fired a powerful wrist shot into the net for 2:2 (49.).

Austria then battled superbly until the end, had a power play in the final minute of regulation and held on to 2:2 until the final buzzer. They went into overtime with one minute of a 4:3 power play remaining! And Austria were unlucky again! Peter Schneider picked out the post with his shot, with victory and a sensation within reach.

At the other end, Luke Hughes went one-on-one with David Kickert and coolly scored the 3:2 winner (63.). But Austria had secured their first point after a fantastic performance. Marco Kasper was named Austria's Player of the Game.

Head Coach Roger Bader was delighted with the magnificent performance against the USA: "I enjoyed that. When you see the goals, how we scored them, who scored them and how the team performed as a team, as a group. It was incredible fighting spirit, incredible solidarity, incredible energy. And it is also remarkable how we can match these teams physically. I am very proud of the team. Of course, we would have liked the second point, but it was a great performance!"

Also keeper David Kickert, who faced 39 shots on his net, praised the Austrian team's spirit: "As a team, we showed how we stick together. The USA are a world-class team, and they showed that too. They had possession of the puck for a very long time, they spent a long time in our zone and had plenty of shots. But for the most part, we were able to keep them well to the outside and minimise their chances. This is a very important point for us, we are heading in the right direction, but we must not let up now and have to keep going like this!"

After a free Monday, the ÖEHV side continue against the Czech Republic on Tuesday at 15:20 (16:20 local time). ORF Sport+ will once again broadcast live.

Austria vs. USA 2:3 AET (1:0,1:1,0:1,0:1)
Sun, 15 May 2022, 15:20, Nokia Arena Tampere
Austria goalscorers: Benjamin Nissner (15), Paul Huber (35)
USA goalscorers: Kieffer Bellows (35), Adam Gaudette (49/PP1), Luke Hughes (63)

13–29 May 2022
Hosts: Finland (Tampere & Helsinki)
Defending champions: Canada

Austria fixtures

Czech Republic vs. Austria
Tue, 17 May 2022, 15:20, live on ORF Sport+

Norway vs. Austria
Wed, 18 May 2022, 15:20, live on ORF Sport+

Latvia vs. Austria
Fri, 20 May 2022, 19:20, live on ORF Sport+

Austria vs. Finland
Sat, 21 May 2022, 15:20, live on ORF Sport+

Austria vs. Great Britain
Mon, 23 May 2022, 19:20, live on ORF Sport+

Already played:

Sweden vs. Austria 3:1 (2:1,1:0,0:0)
Sat., 14 May 2022, 11:20, Nokia Arena Tampere
Sweden goalscorers: Joel Kellman (3), Max Friberg (17), Joakim Nordström (33)
Austria goalscorer: Peter Schneider (20)

Austria vs. USA 2:3 AET (1:0,1:1,0:1,0:1)
Sun., 15 May 2022, 15:20, Nokia Arena Tampere
Austria goalscorers: Benjamin Nissner (15), Ali Wukovits (35)
USA goalscorers: Kieffer Bellows (35), Adam Gaudette (49/PP1), Luke Hughes (63)