Strong finish: Austria cele­brate second win over Denmark at the Deutsch­land Cup

Head Coach Roger Bader had to do without several players for the final Deutschland Cup game against Denmark, fielding just 17 players plus two goaltenders. David Madlener got his opportunity today and made the most of it, stopping 30 shots.

Although they had less recovery time than the Scandinavians after their late game against hosts Germany on Saturday evening, Austria looked fresher and quicker on their skates. Stefan Gaffal’s 1:0 in the 12th minute was fully deserved. Austria subsequently pushed for 2:0. Patrick Antal was unlucky with a shot as the puck bounced over the Danish goaltender, but was crucially deflected in mid-air by a defender.

In the 17th minute, the referees sent Thimo Nickl to the penalty box for elbowing, and for five minutes at that. Denmark took advantage of the power play to equalise at 1:1. Austria otherwise came through the remaining penalty kill, including after play resumed, unscathed, even when Marco Kasper received a two-minute penalty for tripping in the 26th minute.

Haudum puts Austria 2:1 ahead

A few hectic moments followed. First, Mads Eller was sent to the penalty box for interference, shortly afterwards Tim Harnisch received a five-minute major plus game misconduct. Austria’s response: during four-on-four play, Ramon Schnetzer set up Lukas Haudum perfectly, who bundled the puck over the line for 2:1.

Denmark tried to find an equaliser on the power play, but the Danes’ shots were repeatedly blocked by Austria, who once again showed that they were determined to achieve their stated target of two wins.

No sooner were they back at full strength than Austria virtually pinned the Danes in their own zone. The Scandinavians had their netminder George Sorensen to thank for heading into the final period only one goal behind, after he made a fine save from Lukas Haudum’s shot.

In the final period, with Austria continuing to apply pressure, the deserved third goal came. Marco Kasper converted a power play in the 48th minute to seal the 3:1 final score. Austria conclude their first appearance at the Deutschland Cup with five points, following a 3:2 overtime win over Slovakia, a 0:3 defeat against hosts Germany and the 3:1 win over Denmark.

Head Coach Roger Bader: “I am very, very happy, very, very satisfied with today’s game. We actually had less recovery time than the Danes, so we should have been the more tired team. In addition, we faced the situation this morning of having just 17 skaters available, which is normally impossible in an international game. Then we also lost Tim Harnisch, and another player in the final period, and were able to finish the game with just three lines. We were very disciplined and fought very hard. An all-round superb performance; I am impressed. We always set ourselves optimistic targets and achieved our internal target of two wins. I think we represented Austria very, very well.”

Lukas Haudum: “After yesterday, we needed a good game. It looked better in every respect. We kept the game simpler, made things easier for ourselves defensively and did not give the Danes as much space. It was not perfect, but we definitely did better than yesterday. I think we did a good job on the penalty kill and did not give up so many quality chances. We achieved our internal target and can be very satisfied.”

Deutschland Cup 2022 result:

Austria vs. Denmark 3:1 (1:1,1:0,1:0)
Sun, 13 November 2022, 11:00 am, live on ORF Sport+
Austria goalscorers: Stefan Gaffal (12), Lukas Haudum (29), Marco Kasper (48/PP1)
Denmark goalscorer: Christian Wejse (18/PP1)

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