Improve­ment against Sweden

Austria's U20 national team are aiming to improve from game to game at the IIHF U20 World Championship in Canada. They certainly achieved that in their second outing at Rogers Place in Edmonton against fellow favourites Sweden on the night from Monday to Tuesday.

Although the ÖEHV selection lost 0:4 to the Scandinavians, a solid defensive display and an outstanding performance from goaltender Sebastian Wraneschitz prevented further goals. As the USA had done in Austria's first game, Sweden recorded a high number of shots on goal, with the Austrian goaltender producing excellent saves in rapid succession. By the end of the game, Wraneschitz had made almost 60 saves.

Sweden used power plays to score each of their first two goals, while their further goals came after slick combinations. Tim Harnisch had Austria's first tournament goal on his stick following a counter-attacking chance, but his shot narrowly missed the Swedish net. "Our goaltender made incredible saves and earned us this result. After the first period, we played more simply and created a few chances as well," said captain Marco Rossi.

"The team did a good job and played much more simply than against the USA. The players blocked a lot of shots for me," said a satisfied Wraneschitz. Head Coach Roger Bader added: "We made some adjustments to our style of play. We wanted to play more compactly in the neutral zone. We wanted to force the opposition to the outside. We knew that Sweden were very strong skaters. We defended the slot better and with more focus than in the first game. There were again a lot of shots, but many more came from the outside. We want to make progress every day and bring that onto the ice in every respect. I am very pleased with how the team has improved over the past few days. By our standards, we competed well and fought hard. I am proud of the team for that."

Austria had to play this second World Championship game without defenceman Philipp Wimmer, who, after receiving a game misconduct against the USA was suspended for two games by the IIHF Disciplinary Panel. Wimmer received the penalty following a check to an opponent's head and neck area and will therefore also miss the game against Russia on the night from Tuesday to Wednesday.

In their third World Championship game, Austria's U20 selection will face fellow favourites Russia (MEZ: 30.12.2020, 03:30). The preliminary round concludes against the Czech Republic on New Year's Eve (MEZ: 31 December, 20:00), live on ORF Sport+.

2021 IIHF U20 World Championship Top Division

25 December 2020 - 5 January 2021
Venue
Edmonton/Canada

Participants
Group A: Canada, Finland, Switzerland, Slovakia, Germany
Group B: Russia, Sweden, USA, Czech Republic, Austria

Schedule (Edmonton local time, MEZ +8 hours)
25.12.2020, 12:00: Switzerland - Slovakia (0:0,0:0,0:1)
25.12.2020, 16:00: Germany - Finland 3:5 (0:2,2:3,1:0)
25.12.2020, 19:30: Russia - USA 5:3 (1:1,3:0,1:2)

26.12.2020, 12:00: Sweden v Czechia 7:1 (1:1,3:0,3:0)
26.12.2020, 16:00: Germany v Canada 2:16 (1:4,0:7,1:5)
26.12.2020, 19:30: USA v Austria 11:0 (1:0,6:0,4:0)
Goals: Helleson (16), Zegras (25, 32), Farinacci (26), Brisson (29/PP, 44), Boldy (35, 39/PP, 46), Berard (43), Colangelo (50)
Penalty minutes: 4 and 4 respectively, plus a game misconduct penalty (Wimmer)

27.12.2020, 12:00: Finland v Switzerland 4:1 (1:1,1:0,2:0)
27.12.2020, 16:00: Slovakia v Canada 1:3 (0:1,0:0,1:2)
27.12.2020, 19:30: Czechia v Russia 2:0 (0:0,1:0,1:0)

28.12.2020, 16:00: Austria v Sweden 0:4 (0:1,0:2,0:1)
Goals: Gunler (18/PP, 31), Niederbach (25/PP), Raymond (53)
Penalty minutes: 8 and 0 respectively
28.12.2020, 19:30: Slovakia v Germany

29.12.2020, 12:00: USA v Czechia
29.12.2020, 16:00: Canada v Switzerland
29.12.2020, 19:30: Austria v Russia

30.12.2020, 12:00: Finland v Slovakia
30.12.2020, 16:00: Switzerland v Germany
30.12.2020, 19:30: Russia v Sweden

31.12.2020, 12:00: Czechia v Austria (LIVE ORF Sport+)
31.12.2020, 16:00: Canada v Finland
31.12.2020, 19:30: Sweden v USA

02.01.2021: Quarter-finals
04.01.2021: Semi-finals
05.01.2021: Final games

Format
As all other U20 World Championship tournaments for the 2020/21 season have been cancelled, there will be neither promotion nor relegation this year. There will therefore also be no relegation games between the fifth-placed teams in the groups in Edmonton. All participants will also compete in the IIHF Top Division of the U20 World Championship in Canada in the 2021/22 season.

More information at...