First win in World Cham­pi­onship prepa­ra­tions – Austria see off Italy in a shootout

As two days earlier, the Red-White-Red team dominated proceedings from the opening face-off, creating several high-quality chances which Italy's goalkeeper Gianluca Vallini was at times able to deny spectacularly.

That was not the case in the twelfth minute, when Felix Maxa buried the puck from a perfect position to give Austria a deserved 1:0 lead. Austria remained the dominant side, continuing to launch attack after attack on Italy's net and were rewarded again in the 18th minute: Simeon Schwinger was perfectly picked out by a pass from behind the net and scored for 2:0.

Austria stick to the game plan

In a fiercely contested second period from Italy, the visitors pulled one back to make it 1:2 in the 27th minute. This was the only phase in which Italy were able to compete on equal terms. Austria were not unsettled by conceding, stuck to their game plan and repeatedly came close to making it 3:1.

However, Italy managed to equalise a few minutes before the end of the game in an intense final period. Austria then had the winner on their stick, but were denied once by the crossbar and by the Italian netminder.

Overtime also belonged to the Red-White-Red side, with the Italians hanging on until the end. The shootout therefore had to decide the match and, as he had throughout the game, David Madlener was outstanding, while Dominic Zwerger scored the decisive goal as the third shooter.

Head Coach Roger Bader: "I am pleased with the win, but I would have wanted it after 60 minutes. Overall, the victory was deserved in any case; we were the better team, had significantly more shots on goal and only had ten poor minutes in the game. We improved every day this week and the training sessions were at a good level. We dominated Italy twice, which was not to be expected."

Felix Maxa, Austria's Best Player: "The win obviously feels very good. Winning is the team's top priority. I don't think anyone is happy when you play well but still end up losing. The win is good for the team's mental strength and for us as individual players, as it shows us that our performance is being rewarded. I think everyone can take something away from the games. Finishing with a win gives the next camp and the entire preparation a boost."

Dominic Zwerger: "The win does us a lot of good. It does not hurt your confidence when you can contribute to the team's victory, but all that matters is the win. The plan was for the first two weeks to be intense; now it is more about games against top opponents at world-class level."

Friendly:

Austria vs. Italy 3:2 after a shootout (2:0,0:1,0:1,0:0,1:0)
Fri, 14 April 2023, 17:30, Innsbruck
Austria goalscorers:Felix Maxa (12th), Simeon Schwinger (18th), Dominic Zwerger (decisive shootout goal)
Italy goalscorers: Marco José Antonio Magnabosco (27th), Alex Petan (58th)

Further World Championship schedule:

Germany vs. Austria
Thu, 20 April 2023, 19:30, Deggendorf (GER)
Live on ORF Sport+

Germany vs. Austria
Sat, 22 April 2023, 17:00, Landshut (GER)
Live on LIVE.eishockey.at

Austria vs. Czech Republic
Thu, 27 April 2023, 18:30, Vienna
Live on ORF Sport+

Czech Republic vs. Austria
Sat, 29 April 2023, 16:00, Brno (CZE)
Live on ORF Sport+

Austria vs. Slovakia
Thu, 4 May 2023, 18:30, Kapfenberg
Live on ORF Sport+

Slovakia vs. Austria
Sat, 6 May 2023, 16:00, Trencin (SVK)
Live on ORF Sport+

Already played:

Italy vs. Austria 2:0 (0:0,1:0,1:0)
Wed, 12 April 2023, 20:00, Bruneck (ITA)
Italy goalscorers: Marco Defrancesco (30), Peter Spornberger (50/PP1)

Austria vs. Slovenia 3:5 (1:2, 2:1, 0:2)
Thu, 6 April 2023, 17:30, Villach
Austria goalscorers: Emilio Romig (20/PP1), Nico Feldner (25/PP1, 28)
Slovenia goalscorers: Blaž Tomaževič (7), Jan Drozg (15), Ken Ograjenšek (31), Robert Sabolič (52/PP1), Žiga Pance (59/SH1/EN)