Full success in Villach

The Austrian women's national team had to wait ten months before finally taking to the ice together again. Under new Head Coach Jari Risku, things clicked immediately, and the two international matches against Slovakia in Villach were a success, with one win and one defeat.

The fact that the players were particularly looking forward to joining the national team in these unusual times is demonstrated by the fact that there were only three withdrawals in total due to injury or professional commitments. A total of 14 different clubs from five different countries, including international top clubs such as ZSC Lions Zürich (SUI), Brynäs IF and HV 71 (both SWE), released players for this training camp.

"It was very important for us to be able to take to the ice again after such a long time. We found very good conditions in Villach this week. The matches against Slovakia were attractive, and with two live broadcasts on ORF and LAOLA1.at, we were able to bring them closer to ice hockey fans," says President Dr. Klaus Hartmann, who was able to persuade NHL player Michael Raffl to take part in Thursday's on-ice training.

The two international matches were held entirely in accordance with the Covid-19 prevention concept and the Austrian Ice Hockey Federation's rules of conduct. Every team member, whether player or staff member, had to provide a negative PCR test before arriving at the camp. Antigen rapid tests were then carried out daily – opponents Slovakia also followed a similar testing programme. The fact that there was not a single positive test result within the national team also underlines the ÖEHV's well-conceived and effective prevention concepts.

"The cooperation and communication with the clubs worked very well in advance, and they willingly released their players for this camp. I would like to thank them for that. With a well-functioning mix of experienced and young players, we were able to deliver a good performance against Slovakia twice and are already looking forward to the next tasks in 2021," says General Manager Martin Kogler.

NATIONAL TEAM FIXTURES 2020/21

(CANCELLED) 04. - 07.11.2020: Training camp and international matches
Venue: Budapest/Hungary
Participants: Hungary, Austria

05.11.2020, 16:30: Austria - Hungary
06.11.2020, 16:30: Hungary - Austria

16. - 20.12.2020: Training camp and international matches
Venue: Villach
Participants: Austria, Slovakia

16.-18.12.2020: Training days

Both matches LIVE on LAOLA1.at
19.12.2020, 16:00: Austria – Slovakia 3:1 (0:0,1:1,2:0)
Goals: Wittich (31./PP), Meixner (47., 58.) and Kubekova (33.) respectively
Penalty minutes: 6 and 4

20.12.2020, 12:30: Austria – Slovakia 1:2 (1:0,0:2,0:0)
Goals: Trummer (8th/PP) and Istocyova (31st/PP), Kubekova (38th)
Penalty minutes: 2 and 4