Second place at "Beat Covid-19"
The Austrian national team finished the "Beat Covid-19 Tournament" in second place. To round off the season, Austria claimed a narrow but deserved 3:2 win over France on Friday.
2 min readSource: Eishockey.at
The final game of the 2020/21 season began with a 15-minute delay, as the Slovenian medical service arrived late at Ljubljana Ice Hall. This did not faze the Austrian national team, which laid the foundations for this 3:2 victory over France with a strong first period.
Lukas Haudum made it 1:0 in the third minute, immediately after serving a penalty, on his 24th birthday. The Klagenfurt forward comfortably topped the scoring charts at this tournament with four goals and five assists. Three minutes later, Mario Huber made it 2:0 before France pulled one back unexpectedly straight from the opening face-off. Martin Ulmer underlined the first-period dominance in the 14th minute with a precise shot following a defensive error by the French.
As the game progressed, Austria kept their opponents well under control and could also rely on goalkeeper Bernhard Starkbaum as a safe pair of hands. The closing stages nevertheless became tense after France pulled within one goal on the power play six minutes from the end. However, the ÖEHV side saw out their lead, secured their fourth win from the last five meetings against France and can celebrate second place at this six-nation tournament behind hosts Slovenia.
"That was certainly the best game played by both teams at this tournament. It was a hard battle right to the end. I am pleased that the team saw the win out," said head coach Roger Bader. "The young team played very well this week and also learned against France how to see out a game. We can be satisfied with the result. Many players were able to showcase themselves and play their way into our books."
After eleven internationals in the past six weeks, a short and intense 2020/21 season for the Austrian national team now comes to an end. However, the next major highlight is already waiting in the wings: the final round of Olympic qualification takes place from 26 to 29 August. In Bratislava, Austria will battle hosts Slovakia, Belarus and Poland for a ticket to the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in China.
