U18 set to begin "Mission Promotion" with confidence
The 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship Division IB gets under way in Bled, Slovenia, on Easter Monday. Austria will battle Poland, Estonia, Slovenia, Italy and South Korea for promotion to Division IA and, not least due to their 3:0 win over Italy in their final warm-up game, are confident of accomplishing this mission. Head Coach Philipp Pinter has selected 20 skaters and two goaltenders.
3 min read
In July 2022, in temperatures of around 30 degrees in the shade, Philipp Pinter took up his role as head coach of the U18 national team at the summer camp in Ferlach. The gunsmith town has also been the venue for the final preparations for the Division I Group B World Championship in recent days. Following their success in staying up at the last World Championship in Asiago (ITA), the focus is on the future, and a new spirit has entered the dressing room, as Pinter explains with great confidence: “Since last summer, we have made very good progress with the November camp and in February. We have found a good core of players who are an excellent fit both in terms of character and on the ice. The lads are buying in, they want it and they also have a goal: promotion.”
Austria already delivered good performances at the tournament in Gjovik, Norway, against U18 top nations Norway and Latvia, as well as Denmark. Pinter: “The players are ready.” The Villach native rates hosts Slovenia highly, “but Italy and the other nations must not be underestimated either. We are very solidly set up as a team, from the goaltenders through to the forwards.”
Italy were the final warm-up opponents on Good Friday. The 3:0 win provided another confidence boost for the week ahead.
Head Coach Philipp Pinter: “Over the next few days, our focus will be on the special teams; there is certainly room for improvement on the power play. The way the team performed as a collective, the way the guys worked, was a very good start. The practice game against Italy was a good test for us, and both goaltenders played very well. The penalty kill also worked very well. I was very satisfied with our compactness and tactical discipline. Now the full focus is on the start of the World Championship on Monday; we still have a training session and team-building on Saturday. We travel on Sunday, then have one final practice and get under way on Monday at 12:30. We are feeling confident, everyone is healthy and well, the mood within the team is very good, and the week-long training camp in Ferlach was perfect!”
U18 Men's National Ice Hockey Team roster
Surname | First name | Pos | Height | Weight | Date of birth | L/R | Club | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
25 | MÜLLER | Patrick | GK | 182,0 | 74,0 | 19.08.2005 | L | EC-KAC (AUT) |
1 | OSCHGAN | Benedikt | GK | 186,0 | 80,0 | 04.07.05 | L | Steinbach Black Wings Linz (AUT) |
3 | BAUMANN | Fabian | D | 186,0 | 86,0 | 11.10.06 | R | EC Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) |
22 | BIBER | Gregor | D | 188,0 | 77,0 | 09.08.2006 | L | EC-KAC (AUT) |
5 | FLICK | Josef | D | 185,0 | 88,0 | 19.06.2005 | L | EAC Junior Capitals (AUT) |
2 | GEBHARDT | Marius | D | 181,0 | 85,0 | 15.02.2005 | L | Eishockey - Akademie Steiermark (AUT) |
12 | KIRCHEBNER | Maximilian | D | 181,0 | 77,0 | 04.04.2005 | R | EC Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) |
23 | KLASSEK | Thomas | D | 183,0 | 80,0 | 18.02.05 | L | EC-KAC (AUT) |
18 | REINER | Paul | D | 171,0 | 73,0 | 04.07.2006 | R | Eishockey - Akademie Steiermark (AUT) |
7 | WEMPE | Laurin | D | 178,0 | 73,0 | 14.10.05 | L | EC Bregenzerwald (AUT) |
10 | AIGNER | Raffael | F | 182,0 | 76,0 | 14.01.2005 | L | Eishockey Akademie Oberösterreich (AUT) |
21 | HAIBÖCK | Felix | F | 186,0 | 85,0 | 10.06.06 | L | EC Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) |
14 | KOGLER | Luca | F | 174,0 | 65,0 | 25.02.06 | L | EC Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) |
8 | LAM | Oliver | F | 183,0 | 80,0 | 26.12.2005 | L | EC-KAC (AUT) |
16 | LAMEREINER | Leon | F | 175,0 | 73,0 | 19.01.2005 | L | EC-KAC (AUT) |
11 | LANZINGER | Florian | F | 178,0 | 77,0 | 05.01.05 | R | EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV (AUT) |
15 | NEUMANN | Johannes | F | 170,0 | 69,0 | 10.05.2006 | L | Rögle BK (SWE) |
9 | NOLL | Paul | F | 187,0 | 91,0 | 23.02.2005 | L | EC-KAC (AUT) |
24 | RUPNIK | Alexander | F | 173,0 | 68,0 | 18.08.2005 | R | SCL Tigers (SUI) |
4 | SANDHOLZER | Laurin | F | 180,0 | 85,0 | 10.09.2005 | R | EC Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) |
13 | SCHWARZ | Maximilian | F | 187,0 | 83,0 | 04.02.2005 | R | Ice Hockey Academy Styria (AUT) |
19 | WASCHNIG | David | F | 177,0 | 67,0 | 24.04.2007 | L | EC-KAC (AUT) |
Ø | 180,6 | 77,8 | ||||||
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2023 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship Division I, Group B
10 April 2023 - 16 April 2023, Bled (SLO)
Poland vs. Austria
Mon, 10 April 2023, 12:30, Bled Ice Rink
>> to the livestream
Austria vs. Estonia
Tue, 11 April 2023, 12:30, Bled Ice Rink
>> to the livestream
Slovenia vs. Austria
Thu, 13 April 2023, 19:30, Bled Ice Rink
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Austria vs. Italy
Sat, 15 April 2023, 19:30, Bled Ice Rink
>> to the livestream
Austria vs. South Korea
Sun, 16 April 2023, 16:00, Bled Ice Rink
>> to the livestream
All information and the full schedule can be found at www.iihf.com
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