The World Cham­pi­onship live on ORF Sport+

Photo credit: Copyright: GEPA pictures/Walter Luger

The World Championship opener against Finland, the clash with the Czech Republic and the battle for a quarter-final place against Germany are all on the schedule. This will be supplemented by a possible quarter-final or relegation game. 

“The standard at a U20 World Championship in the top division is incredibly high. Some experts even believe it is higher than at an adult A World Championship. Our players can measure themselves against the very best in the world and future top stars there,” emphasises ÖEHV Men's Sports Director Roger Bader the sporting significance.

Head Coach Marco Pewal analyses the group: “The top nations Finland and Canada are certainly the favourites in the group, followed by the Czech Republic. Germany, too, must be rated above us on paper.”

Even though their neighbours go into the clash as favourites, they see a chance to put their big brother in their place, Marco Pewal: “Our big goal is to beat Germany. On a good day, when everything goes right for us, with a very good goaltending performance and, of course, a little luck, it is possible!”

Similarly, Roger Bader assesses the situation: “We are underdogs; in fact, we are still newcomers because there was an exceptional situation at the last World Championship and no teams were promoted or relegated. Until last year, it had been ten years since we last took part in this tournament. We believe we have the best chance against Germany, who do not have their strongest players with them because they are playing in the North American leagues.”

This likely showdown on New Year's Eve at 20:00, as well as the World Championship opener against Finland on 27 December at 20:00 and the game against the Czech Republic on 30 December at 22:30, will be broadcast live on ORF Sport+.

In a recent statement, Hockey Canada announced that the province of Alberta is limiting spectator capacity at indoor sporting events due to the COVID situation. According to information from the organisers, games at the U20 World Championship may be played at a maximum capacity of 50 per cent. Around 9.000 spectators will therefore be permitted at Rogers Place, home of the Edmonton Oilers, where Austria will play its preliminary-round games.

Start of preparations: on 15 December, the Austrian delegation moved to Red Deer, Canada, for World Championship preparations. The final World Championship squad will be named after the warm-up game against Sweden on 23 December. 25 players, plus the coaching staff, will then move into the World Championship accommodation in Edmonton on 24 December.

Austria vs. Sweden
Fri, 24 December 2021, 03:00 (Thu, 23 December, 19:00 local time)

Austria vs. Finland
Mon, 27 December 2021, 20:00 (12:00 local time)
Live on ORF Sport+

Austria vs. Canada
Wed, 29 December 2021, 01:00 (Tue, 28 December, 17:00 local time)

Czech Republic vs. Austria
Thu, 30 December 2021, 22:30 (14:30 local time)
Live on ORF Sport+

Germany vs. Austria
Fri, 31 December 2021, 20:00 (12:00 local time)
Live on ORF Sport+

The final series and relegation will follow after New Year.