Para Ice Hockey World Cham­pi­onship: Austria claim bronze with victory over Australia

Austria started the third-place match against Australia with goaltender Michael Ladstätter in net and had an early power-play opportunity, during which Kai Habeler swept a rebound over the line from close range to make it 1:0 (3 min.). 

After taking the early lead, the ÖEHV side found it difficult offensively at five-on-five against the committed Australians, whom the red-white-red team had clearly beaten 15:0 in the preliminary round. Once again, it took a power play to extend the lead: Timo Ropp sent the puck into the net for 2:0 (10 min.). 

Austria quickly made it 3:0 in the second period. Following a superb pass from Michael Sauer, David Bilgeri perfectly deflected the puck in front of goal (16 min.). The team coached by head coach Erik Vikström remained dominant, but did not convert their chances efficiently enough. Until Kai Habeler took matters into his own hands following a swift attack involving Timo Ropp and fired the puck into the net to make it 4:0 (26 min.). Fabian Burtscher added the 5:0, getting the puck towards the opposition goal with his final effort (29 min.).

Little changed in the character of the game in the final period, as Kai Habeler bundled the puck over the line following a scramble in front of the Australian net to make it 6:0 (34 min.). Austria continued to pin the Australians back, with Kevin Siess setting up Michael Sauer, who scored from the slot for 7:0 (35 min.). The Austrians were now far more efficient in front of goal and took their chances: Kai Habeler – his fourth goal – sent the puck from behind the net towards goaltender Peacock, who deflected it into his own goal for 8:0 (39 min.). 

Fabian Burtscher put the finishing touch on the World Championship, emphatically scoring a power-play rebound to make it 9:0 (45 min.). Austria’s national para ice hockey team won the third-place match against Australia 9:0, securing the bronze medal at the World Championship in Bangkok. 

Kai Habeler, who scored four goals and provided two assists, was named Austria’s "Best Player". Team Austria’s top scorer at the World Championship was Timo Ropp with 14 points (5 goals, 9 assists), ahead of Habeler with 13 points (9 goals, 4 assists).

Erik Vikström, who stood in for head coach Lucas Herrnegger on an interim basis, reflected after the third-place match: "I promised Lucas that we would bring home a medal for him, and I am very proud of that. He essentially lent me his team, his players and his staff for a week. We worked very hard this week, but had our problems against Finland and Thailand. Looking ahead, the players need to work even harder on themselves every day, not only at club level but also individually in training and in the gym, improving the small details in order to become better para ice hockey players."

Austria’s best player against Australia – Kai Habeler analysed the match and offered a brief look ahead: "At the start, we struggled to get into the game. We were looking to see who was available for a pass and who was not. The first period was really difficult, but from the second period onwards we communicated more. We looked up more, saw where the other player was and where we could pass the puck, and then it slowly started to work and we gradually found our way into the game. In future, we have to become stronger and better, stick together even more as a team and make such a leap over the next two years that we can earn promotion to the B World Championship again!"

Team manager Libor Fischer gave his assessment of the World Championship following the intensive week in Thailand: "We are taking home the bronze medal. The World Championship was a great tournament, and everything was well prepared and organised by the Thai Ice Hockey Association. We had a lot of ice time. It reinforces my determination to continue advancing para ice hockey in Austria; a community has developed throughout the year. We had a good finish, although naturally we expected a little more. We did not necessarily underestimate Thailand, but we also did not rate them as highly as they really are or appreciate how much they have developed over the past two years – respect to them. But it also shows that we have to keep going, step up a gear, so that we do not lose touch. It is the basics that we have to keep working on time and again. We can take away the time we spent together and another piece of para ice hockey experience from here!"

Para Ice Hockey World Championship, Pool C

26–30 November 2024, Bangkok, Thailand

Third-place match: 

Austria vs. Australia 9:0 (2:0,3:0,4:0)
Sat, 30 November 2024, 08:00 (14:00 local time), Bangkok
Austria scorers: Kai Habeler (3rd/PP1, 26th, 34th, 39th), Timo Ropp (10th/PP1), David Bilgeri (16th), Fabian Burtscher (29th, 45th/PP1), Michael Sauer (35th) 

Final: 

Thailand vs. Finland 0:1 (0:0,0:0,0:1)

Sat, 30 November 2024, 14:00 (local time 20:00), Bangkok

Already played:

Austria vs. Thailand 0:13 (0:4,0:4,0:5)
Fri, 29 November 2024, 08:00 (14:00 local time), Bangkok
Thailand scorers: Arbe Sae-Lu (6', 10'), Tawatchai Saennai (9'/PS, 12', 35'/SH1, 36', 41'/SH1), Mathee Yenkuan (22'/PP1, 27', 29', 30', 43'/SH1), Manot Khemma (42'/SH1)

Australia vs. Finland 0:23 (0:11,0:6,0:6)
Fri, 29 November 2024, 11:30 (17:30 local time), Bangkok

Finland vs. Thailand 0:2 (0:0,0:2,0:0)
Wed, 27 November 2024, 11:30 (17:30 local time), Bangkok

Austria vs. Australia 15:0 (5:0,4:0,6:0)
Wed, 27 November 2024, 08:00 (14:00 local time), Bangkok
Austria scorers: Thomas Schilcher (3'/SH1), Kai Habeler (5'/SH1, 14', 21', 25', 37'), Michael Sauer (5', 17', 41'), Timo Ropp (9', 37', 38', 42'), Fabian Burtscher (28'/PP1, 40')

Finland vs. Austria 9:1 (4:1,2:0,3:0)
Tue, 26 November 2024, 11:30 (17:30 local time), Bangkok
Finland scorers: Nemo Pajula (9'/PP2), Juhamatti Himanen (11', 13', 33'), Aaron Hanninen (12', 20'/PP1, 33'), Tuomo Niskanen (19'), Harri Kangastie (34')
Austria scorer: Kevin Siess (3'/PP1)

Thailand vs. Australia 25:0 (6:0,9:0,10:0)
Tue, 26 November 2024, 08:00 (14:00 local time), Bangkok