No games in Budapest

The national team players had already been looking forward to meeting new Head Coach Jari Risku in Vienna and to the two international matches against Hungary in Budapest. On Wednesday lunchtime, the entire team gathered in Vienna to undergo a rapid antigen test in accordance with the prevention concept for national teams.

While players and staff were travelling to the meeting point, the Austrian Ice Hockey Federation received news that the Hungarian government had declared a state of emergency, effective from 4 November according to the travel information issued by the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs. Following an assessment of the new situation and intensive consultations with those responsible for the team, the decision was made to cancel the planned national team training camp and the trip to Budapest for social and health policy reasons.

Head Coach Risku and General Manager Martin Kogler nevertheless used the opportunity presented by the players' arrival in Vienna to hold individual discussions, addressing the playing philosophy and further season planning as well as getting to know each other away from the ice.