Historic World Championship opener: Austria face Czechia

The first top-division World Championship in the history of the ÖEHV women’s national team begins with a real challenge. On Friday, 6 November, Alexander Bröms’ team face Czechia at 15:00 in the Granly Hockey Arena in Esbjerg. ORF 1 will broadcast the game live from 14:45, with Gerfried Nagel as commentator and Marlene Brunner as co-commentator. The team is led by captain Anna Meixner, with Tamara Grascher and Antonia Matzka serving as assistant captains alongside her.

Czechia among the world’s best

Czechia, the highest-ranked European team, await in the opener. The Czechs won World Championship bronze in 2022 and 2023, are ranked third in the world rankings and narrowly lost 0:2 to Sweden in the quarter-finals at the 2026 Olympics in Milan. Since May, American Brian Idalski has been the new head coach behind the bench, having most recently coached the Vancouver Goldeneyes in the PWHL.

Austria’s squad has an international make-up. 13 players are based abroad, while Theresa Schafzahl even plays in the PWHL with Seattle Torrent. Six players play at US colleges, including goaltender Magdalena Luggin at Mercyhurst University, who celebrates her 21st birthday on the very day of the World Championship opener. The youngest player is Amelie Suppan (Sabres St. Pölten), aged 17, while the oldest is Eva Beiter (EHC Lustenau), aged 37. There are no injury-related absences.

The games come thick and fast after the opener: Germany await on Saturday, 7 November, followed by the United States on Monday, 9 November, and Switzerland on Tuesday, 10 November, all at 19:00. ORF SPORT + will broadcast these games live from 18:55. The top four teams from each group of five reach the quarter-finals, while the bottom-placed teams in each group will play for survival in the top division in Herning on 13 November.