On Zwerger's 100th inter­na­tional: goal and victory over hosts Germany at the Deutsch­land Cup

It was a more than convincing performance by the ÖEHV side. From the outset, they implemented the coaching staff's instructions almost perfectly and without error – hard forechecking coupled with direct play. Hardly had the puck hit the ice for the first time when Germany's Phillip Sinn was handed a two-minute penalty for bringing down Peter Schneider. Austria were unable to capitalise on the power play, although Lukas Haudum tested Germany's netminder Dustin Strahlmeier for the first time following a cross-ice pass from Peter Schneider. Shortly afterwards, Mario Huber sent the puck dangerously into the slot, but it initially remained 0:0. At 4, Atte Tolvanen was then called upon for the first time.

Ten minutes later, Austria found themselves shorthanded for the first time, but they were equally clinical on the penalty kill. So much so that Paul Huber won the puck and set up Vinzenz Rohrer, who went in alone on Strahlmeier and scored for 1:0. The hosts could count themselves fortunate to be only at this score after the first period.

At 27, a shot by Paul Stapelfeldt almost found the net, but instead of 2:0, Germany equalised through Moritz Müller at 30. And although the hosts missed two clear-cut chances immediately afterwards, the momentum remained with Austria. Leon Wallner played a perfect cross-ice pass to Paul Huber, who made it 2:1 at 32.

Just 49 seconds had been played in the final period when Wallner himself added his name to the scoresheet with a powerful shot. Austria came through two penalty kills unscathed in the middle of the third period. At 52, Dominic Hackl took matters into his own hands, with Vinzenz Rohrer deflecting his shot beyond reach for 4:1. The referees took another close look at the goal, but ultimately ruled that it stood.

By that point, the 4.200 fans in the sold-out Landshut Arena had already fallen silent, while the approximately 40 travelling UFTA fans created an atmosphere. Dominic Zwerger gave them cause to celebrate once again at 55, contributing 5:1 in his 100th international. Philipp Preto added a consolation goal.

For Austria, the 5:2 victory is their first over the hosts at the Deutschland Cup.

Head Coach Roger Bader: “Beating Germany in Germany in a sold-out arena feels good. I have to admit that. I am happy and proud of the win. Even more than the fact that we won, I am pleased with the performance, because I believe the victory was deserved. Even by this margin. We built on the two periods against Slovakia. The performance was outstanding. That makes me proud.”

Dominic Zwerger: “An incredible feeling, winning in Germany in front of a full house. What the team achieved today, and being able to play my part in it, makes me all the happier. We have not needed to hide from the big nations for a few years now. We have proven often enough that we can compete with anyone and, when we deliver our best performance, as we did today and in the final 40 minutes against Slovakia, then you can see what comes of it. Now we want to recover well and continue against Latvia tomorrow exactly where we left off today.”

Deutschland-Cup 2025 Men

06 - 09 November 2025, Landshut (GER)

Germany vs. Austria 2:5 (0:1,1:1,1:3)
Sat, 08 November 2025, 18:45
Germany scorers: Moritz Müller (30), Philipp Preto (59)
Austria scorers: Vinzenz Rohrer (15, SH1; 52), Paul Huber (32), Leon Wallner (41), Dominic Zwerger (55)

Austria lined up with:

Goaltenders: 31 Tolvanen Atte; 1 Vorauer Florian (backup)
Line 1: 32 Wolf Bernd (A) - 8 Nickl Thimo; 16 Zwerger Dominic (A) - 21 Haudum Lukas - 3 Peter Schneider (C)
Line 2: 5 Hackl Dominic - 2 Sablattnig Tobias; 27 Huber Paul - 19 Rohrer Vinzenz - 7 Wallner Leon
Line 3: 4 Schnetzer Ramon - 14 Zündel Kilian; 10 Schwinger Simeon - 23 Thaler Lucas - 28 Huber Mario
Line 4: 24 Stapelfeldt Paul - 8 Söllinger Patrick; 13 Maier Oskar - 26 Achermann Oliver - 15 Kainz Lukas

Next game:

Latvia vs Austria
Sun, 09 November 2025, 11:00, live on ORF SPORT +

Already played:

Austria vs Slovakia 2:6 (0:5,1:0,1:1)
Thu, 06 November 2025, 12:15, VR-Bank Landshut Arena
Austria scorers: Peter Schneider (36'), Lucas Thaler (49')
Slovakia scorers: Maxim Čajkovič (2'), Peter Cehlárik (5'/PP1), Matúš Sukeľ (7', 19'/PP1, 59'/SH1), Viliam Čacho (11')