Four Nations Tour­na­ment: Austria’s U18 women lose to Germany in Fondo

For the second match within 24 hours in Fondo, Head Coach Arto Sieppi relied on goaltender Lara Reisinger, with Kiara Matt serving as the backup. Germany had convincingly won its opening game against Italy 9:0 on Thursday and also made a lightning start against Austria: after exactly 40 seconds, Rebekka Multerer scored to make it 1:0 (1.). Shortly afterwards, the ÖEHV selection went shorthanded for the first time and Mathilda Heine added Germany’s second goal to make it 2:0 (4.). 

After falling behind early, the Austrians initially tried to get the match under control, and they succeeded. The DEB team remained the more dominant side, but Rot-Weiß-Rot also managed to test Germany goaltender Milana Lutz more often in the offensive zone. Towards the end of the first period, the Austrian defence came through its second penalty kill unscathed. 

In the second period, the Germans were once again more efficient in front of goal: Charleen Poindl extended the lead to 3:0 on the next power play (27.), and two minutes later Emilija Birka made it 4:0 (29.) in what appeared to be an early decisive moment. Austria’s U18, meanwhile, were unable to beat the strong DEB goaltender Milana Lutz on their first power-play opportunity, while another power play towards the end of the period also yielded no goal. After 40 minutes, the score in Trentino was 0:4.

In the final period, Austria were again unable to convert a power play into their first goal, but shortly afterwards the ÖEHV women struck for the first time: Amelie Suppan scored to make it 1:4 (47.). And it got even better. Almost two minutes later, Hanna Pap made it 2:4 (49.), with Austria showing character and suddenly reducing the deficit to two goals. 

However, around seven minutes from the end, Anabel Seyrer ended hopes of another Rot-Weiß-Rot comeback by making it 5:2 (54.). Austria had two more power plays, but Germany, who play in Division IA at the World Championship, did not allow the Austrians another goal in the closing minutes. 

Head Coach Arto Sieppi was very pleased with the strong comeback in the final period: "It was a very good ice hockey match at this level. Germany are a strong team with many good players; they made a good start and scored a power-play goal. We came back into the match well in the first period and also had some really good scoring chances. Particularly in the second period on our power plays, but we did not score. To win, you have to score goals. Germany then got an easy goal and another one on the power play. After it was 0:4, we set ourselves the target of coming back strongly in the final period and winning it. I am very pleased and proud of my players and my team; they battled hard and we won the final period 2:1. Now we need to recover well again, carry out a good video analysis, and then we will be ready for the match for third place against Italy!"

The tournament at the ice rink by Lake Smeraldo marks the start of preparations for the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship Division IB, which will be held in Katowice, Poland, from 5 January to 11 January 2026. Italy await on Saturday afternoon from 13:15. The Italians lost their opening match against Germany 0:9, before recording a 2:3 result against Hungary. This means Austria and Italy will play for third place in the standings, while Hungary and Germany will compete for the tournament title. The Four Nations Tournament is an agreement between the four nations and will be held until 2026. Italy are the hosts this year, and Hungary will host in 2026.

U18 Women’s Four Nations Tournament (Fondo, Italy)

Germany vs. Austria 5:2 (2:0,2:0,1:2)
Fri, 29 August 2025, 16:00
Austria goalscorers: Amelie Suppan (47.), Hanna Pap (49.)

Next match:

Austria vs. Italy

Sat, 30 August 2025, 13:15 - >> to the Italia Hockey live statistics

Already played:

Austria vs. Hungary 1:2 n.P. (0:0,0:1,1:0,0:0,0:1)
Thu, 28 August 2025, 16:00
Austria goalscorer: Artemis Tekin (43.)

U18 Women’s Squad