Halfway point at the U18 World Championship
In the only Thursday game at the Women’s Ice Hockey U18 World Championship, Poland celebrated a 2:1 victory over Denmark. Austria therefore lead the table with 4 points, followed by Denmark, Chinese Taipei and Poland (each 3) and Korea (2). The organisers also received high praise from IIHF Chairman Igor Nemecek during the second Directorate meeting, as he rated the event as one of the best of this scale.
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Things are back on track on the ice as well – despite the disappointing opener against South Korea, Team Austria are sitting top of the table. The reason is that the Austrians are the only team to have collected points in both games. In each of the five games played so far, there has been a different winner. That speaks for the excitement and balance within the group.
The next difficult task will be Friday evening’s game against Chinese Taipei. The Asians beat Korea, who had defeated Austria, 4:1 and already showed in their opening game against Denmark how they approach games against European teams – with a disciplined defensive wall and plenty of bodies in front. And Coach Mario Bellina has already had an unpleasant experience with that at this tournament: “I expect an opponent that defends with great commitment and extreme discipline. We will need a great deal of patience. At the other end, we also have to watch out for counter-attacks, as they are very strong on the break. It is important that we stick to our game plan. And with the crowd behind us, I am optimistic that we can win the game.”
