Strong! Austria’s U16 team wins thriller against Germany after commanding lead

Austria began their second tournament game against Germany at the EZO Eissportzentrum-Oberthurgau with goaltender Lucas Fritz, while Luc Schneider served as backup. As against Slovakia on Wednesday, ÖEHV Sporting Director Roger Bader was once again on site to watch the U16 players live. Both teams gave nothing away from the opening shift and produced an intense contest from the outset.

Unlike the previous day, the Austrians were far more efficient from the start and used their first power play to take an early 1:0 lead: Matteo Filippitsch converted a fine cross-ice pass from Lucas Gritznig with a one-timer (6.). The team coached by Head Coach Johannes Leitner initially failed to capitalise on their second power-play opportunity with a second goal, but struck impressively again shortly afterwards: Paul Partl took possession of the puck and fired home from the right face-off circle to make it 2:0 (13.).

And it got even better: while shorthanded, Felix Dabringer won the puck and, in a 2:0 situation against DEB netminder Damian Lutz, set up the advancing Fynn Oberrauner perfectly to score for 3:0 (16.). At the other end, the ÖEHV selection, backed by the impressive Lucas Fritz in goal, gave the Germans—who had narrowly won their opening game against hosts Switzerland 2:1—nothing to work with in the first 20 minutes.

Germany raised the tempo in the second period, and the Austrians quickly took a penalty, which the DEB selection cancelled out with a penalty of their own. Austria failed to score at four-on-four and during a subsequent brief 5:4 advantage. Two further penalty kills followed, but the Austrians came through them unscathed. Erik Stöckl stepped straight out of the penalty box and, following a clinical counter-attack, made it 4:0 shortly after the midway point of the game (31.).

After their 0:8 opening defeat to Slovakia, the young red-white-red selection again showed an impressive response in the second period and matched the physically strong Germans in every respect. At an unfortunate time, Austria had to concede their first goal: with 46 seconds remaining in the period, Filip Tvardik embarked on a superb solo run and made it 1:4 (40.).

Late thriller after Austria’s commanding lead

The goal inspired the Germans, who emerged from the dressing room with purpose at the start of the final period. Hugo Giese scored from the slot after almost three minutes to make it 2:4 (44.), suddenly making the game highly exciting. Both teams battled hard as the match became more emotional. Austria then had another penalty kill, which Tim Pischoff used to fire home Germany’s goal to make it 3:4 (47.). What had been an exciting game had turned into a thriller in no time.

Just under three minutes from the end, the DEB selection pulled goaltender Damian Lutz for a sixth skater. The ÖEHV players held on to their narrow lead before captain Anton Wandaller scored into the empty net with ten seconds remaining to seal the 5:3 final score (60.). Following their victory over their German counterparts, Austria’s U16 go into the final day in second place, with hosts Switzerland awaiting them on Friday.

Leitner: “A hard-fought win, but thoroughly deserved!”

Head Coach Johannes Leitner was pleased with his team after the narrow victory: “Compared to yesterday, it was a good response and a major improvement in performance. Our attitude and compete level were consistently high throughout 60 minutes. Tactically, the points discussed yesterday and today after the Slovakia game were implemented well today. There were many clear improvements. Overall, a hard-fought win, but thoroughly deserved!”

U16 Four Nations Tournament (Romanshorn, Switzerland):

Austria vs. Germany 5:3 (3:0,1:1,1:2)
Thu, 21 August 2025, 18:30
Austria scorers: Matteo Filippitsch (6./PP1), Paul Partl (13.), Fynn Oberrauner (16./SH1), Erik Stöckl (31.), Anton Wandaller (60./EN.)

Next game:

Switzerland vs. Austria

Fri, 22 August 2025, 15:30 >> to the RED+ livestream

Already played:

Austria vs. Slovakia 0:8 (0:2,0:4,0:2)
Wed, 20 August 2025, 15:00

Squad: