Olympic Qual­i­fying prepa­ra­tion: NHL prospects inspire team

Both already have World Championship experience under their belts. Marco Kasper travelled to Tampere in 2022, with David Reinbacher following a year later. Both made their mark at their respective World Championships and were drafted shortly afterwards. Kasper by the Detroit Red Wings in 2022 at No. 9, Reinbacher by the Montreal Canadiens in 2023 at No. 5.

For both, Thursday evening's game in Bled (SLO) marked something of a comeback for the national team, one that was successful both on and off the ice. Both therefore emphasise: "It is always something special and wonderful to be with the national team."

"They are two of our very great young talents, who bring great individual quality. We know that. Marco showed his talent in Tampere in 2022 and David Reinbacher did so a year later. They were drafted in the top ten and both play in the top two lines for their respective farm teams in the America Hockey League. They are on the doorstep of the NHL. The national team will benefit from having two such strong players," enthuses Head Coach Roger Bader.

According to the head coach, Thursday evening's win was good for morale. Particularly the way in which the victory came about, Roger Bader: "Even if the success came late, it is a good experience to pull the goalkeeper, still score the equaliser and then go on to win the game."

Nevertheless, they should have forced the decision in regulation time, as Bader stresses.

For the Olympic Qualifying, the Swiss coach is putting the results to one side: "Everything starts from zero there."

Nevertheless, the team will be playing for victory in front of its home crowd in Graz in order to conclude the preparations with another positive result. Captain Thomas Raffl will definitely still be absent, having been unable to join the national team due to illness. Ali Wukovits has, however, been with the team in Graz since Wednesday evening.

2024 Olympic Men´s Ice Hockey Final Qualification, Group D

29.08. – 01.09.2024, Bratislava (SVK)

The Slovak federation has designated dedicated Austria sections for two games: for the opening game against Slovakia on 29 August, sections B11 and B12. For the Sunday game, Austria vs. Hungary, sections A5, A6, A7 and A9. The Slovak federation has issued no recommendation or requirement for the Friday game against Kazakhstan. 

The Olympic Qualifying will be played at Bratislava's Ondrej Nepela Arena, which has a capacity of more than 10.000 spectators and was also a venue for the 2019 World Championship.

Ticket prices for the SVK vs. AUT game
Sections A3, A5, A9, A11, B3, B4, B9, B10 - € 20.-
Sections A4, A10 - € 29.-
Sections A1, A2, A6, A7, A8, A12, B1, B2, B5, B6, B7, B11, B12 - € 15.-
VIP - € 149.-

Ticket prices for the games vs. KAZ & HUN
Sections A3, A4, A5, A9, A10, A11, B3, B4, B9, B10 - € 20.-
Sectors A1, A2, A6, A7, A8, A12, B1, B2, B5, B6, B7, B8, B11, B12 - € 10.-

TICKET LINK

Schedule

29.08., 14:00: Kazakhstan vs Hungary
29.08., 18:00: Slovakia vs Austria

30.08., 14:00: Kazakhstan vs Austria
30.08., 18:00: Hungary vs Slovakia

01.09., 14:00: Austria vs Hungary
01.09., 18:00: Slovakia vs Kazakhstan

Preparation

Austria vs Slovenia
Sat, 24 August 2024, 16:00, Graz
Live stream
Ticket link

Already played:

Slovenia vs Austria 1:2 after overtime (0:0,1:0,0:1,0:1)
Thu, 22 August 2024, 19:00, Bled
Slovenia scorer: Rok Macuh (37.) 
Austria scorer: Marco Kasper (60., 63./PP1)