Head Coach Roger Bader ahead of World Cham­pi­onship opener: “Relying on our strengths”

“Denmark are a good opponent. They have been in the top division for 15 years; that is no coincidence,” stresses Head Coach Roger Bader. Austria lost 2:6 to Denmark in Tampere last year. Most of their players compete in Europe’s top leagues, many of them in Sweden.

They met again at the Deutschland Cup in Landshut last autumn, where Denmark also prevailed 6:1. “We need to have that underdog mentality in every game; we need to go into the match as outsiders, keep the game simple, sacrifice ourselves and win every battle. That will be very important. Keeping the game quick and simple will be the key to success,” says Manuel Ganahl in outlining Austria’s approach to the World Championship.

Head Coach Roger Bader also insists that the team will focus on its own strengths: “We know that we play better when we use our speed and can play with intensity. We will try to impose our game.”

The head coach is still keeping his cards close to his chest on exactly what the line-up for the opener will look like: “I already have an idea in mind, but I will let the final training session pass and sleep on it for another night.”

No longer wanting to sleep is Clemens Unterweger: “It finally gets underway tomorrow. Everyone feels comfortable, and there is a great atmosphere in the team. The arena is awesome, and a top-division World Championship is always something special. I can hardly wait any longer. Everyone is excited. We want to put into practice what we have worked on in training. Tomorrow, it is finally time to bring that onto the ice.”

2024 IIHF ICE HOCKEY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

10–26 May 2024
Hosts: Czechia
Group A – Prague: Canada, Finland, Switzerland, Czechia, Denmark, Norway, Austria, Great Britain
Group B – Ostrava: USA, Germany, Sweden, Slovakia, Latvia, France, Kazakhstan, Poland

Schedule

Austria vs. Denmark
Sat., 11 May 2024, 16:20, live on ORF 1

Austria vs. Switzerland
Sun., 12 May 2024, 20:20, live on ORF SPORT +

Canada vs. Austria
Tue., 14 May 2024, 20:20, live on ORF SPORT +

Finland vs. Austria
Thu., 16 May 2024, 16:20, live on ORF SPORT +

Czechia vs. Austria
Fri., 17 May 2024, 20:20, live on ORF SPORT +

Norway vs. Austria
Sun., 19 May 2024, 16:20, live on ORF SPORT +

Austria vs. Great Britain
Tue., 21 May 2024, 12:20, live on ORF SPORT +