Four Nations Tour­na­ment: U16 National Team also loses to Slovakia

The team coached by Head Coach Florian Mühlstein had to acknowledge Slovakia's superiority from the outset.

The ÖEHV selection was primarily occupied with defensive duties in its own zone, but was at least able to hold its own for the first 20 minutes. Red-White-Red was powerless against two shorthanded goals. In the second period, Slovakia increased the tempo further and pulled away to 8:0.

Slovakia also had the upper hand in the final period and ultimately won 13:0. Austria, which had won the head-to-head encounter with Germany 4:3, finishes the Four Nations Tournament in Füssen in third place. 

Head Coach Florian Mühlstein after the match: "The opponents dominated the game for 60 minutes and we had to watch as attack after attack overwhelmed us. All in all, it was a very sobering performance that we produced in the two games."

Heavy defeat against Switzerland

The Swiss took a 3:0 lead within two minutes of the opening face-off. Head Coach Florian Mühlstein responded by changing goaltenders. Martin Haim kept a clean sheet until the break, but after the first interval he had to pick the puck out of his net five times.

Switzerland controlled both their opponents and the puck in the second and third periods. This was reflected in 13:4 shots on goal in the middle period and 22:4 in the third. In the end, Switzerland claimed a 12:0 victory.

Opening win against HOST GERMANY

The team coached by Head Coach Florian Mühlstein trailed 0:2 after the first period following two shorthanded goals. In the second period, Johannes Dobrovolny reduced the deficit to 1:2 from close range after a swift counter-attack (26 min.). 

Following the goal that brought them back within one, the Austrians were able to make the game more open, but unfortunately two power plays went unused.

The ÖEHV selection got off to a flying start in the final period: Luc van Ee clinically finished off a swift attack to equalise at 2:2 after exactly 23 seconds (41 min.). Two minutes later, Germany responded to take a 3:2 lead. 

But Austria had the perfect response in the form of a quick double: first, Angelo Dimitrov equalised for 3:3 (45 min.), before Luc van Ee pounced just 40 seconds later to give Red-White-Red the lead for the first time (45 min.).

Austria held on to their narrow lead and ultimately celebrated a 4:3 victory in the prestige clash with Germany.

Head Coach Florian Mühlstein: "At the start of the game, you could see the boys' nerves. We had problems, especially with gap control and forechecking! In the second period, we were able to improve our game and reduce the score to 1:2. In the third period, the boys showed character and battled for every puck. Good forechecking and, above all, good puck management helped us to victory in the end. It should also be noted that the outstanding performance of our goaltender, Martin Haim, contributed to our success."

U16 National Team

15–20 August 2023 tournament in Füssen (GER) featuring Germany, Switzerland and Slovakia

Austria vs. Germany 4:3 (0:2,1:0,3:1)

Wed, 16 August 2023, 16:00, Füssen
Austria goalscorers: Johannes Dobrovolny (26 min.), Luc van Ee (41 min., 45 min.), Angelo Dimitrov (45 min.)

Switzerland vs. Austria 12:0 (3:0, 5:0, 4:0)

Thu, 17 August 2023, 19:30, Füssen

Austria vs. Slovakia 0:13 (0:2,0:6,0:5)
Fri, 18 August 2023, 11:00, Füssen