U18 Women’s World Championship: Austria lose 1:3 to Norway in final game
Austria’s U18 women’s national ice hockey team lost 1:3 to Norway in Ritten in their final game of the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women´s World Championship Division IA. They had already secured their place in the division on Friday by picking up a point against Hungary.
2 min read
Austria started their final game against Norway at the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women´s World Championship Division IA with Davina Falmbigl in goal. Even before the opening face-off, it was clear that the ÖEHV selection had already put all relegation concerns behind them on Friday by picking up a point against Hungary.
Norway took a 1:0 lead in the ninth minute of a lively game, with Gina Kristiansen scoring from close range. The Scandinavians held a slight edge in the first period, with the shots on goal standing at 11:6 in Norway’s favour after 20 minutes.
Little changed in the nature of the game in the second period, as play went quickly from end to end. Austria now played with greater risk and fired more shots at the Norwegian goal, guarded by Marthe Kongstorp, in the opening minutes.
Norway made it 2:0 exactly halfway through the game, with Ida Haave converting a rebound. Magdalena Luggin then took over from Davina Falmbigl in goal, with the two sharing the workload evenly. 21 seconds before the end of the period, Gina Kristiansen scored her second goal to make it 3:0 for Norway.
Leonie Kutzer scores consolation goal
Austria were initially unfortunate in the final period when Tamina Schall hit the post following a quick burst of pace. At 54 minutes, Austria got on the scoreboard: Anna Billa set up Leonie Kutzer perfectly, and she converted from close range to make it 1:3. Austria pulled goaltender Magdalena Luggin in the closing minutes, but could not find another goal.
Following the 1:3 defeat to Norway, Austria finish the World Championship in Ritten in fifth place with four points from five games and will also compete in the IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women´s World Championship Division IA next year. Goaltender Magdalena Luggin was named Austria’s best player of the tournament.
Head Coach Mario Bellina: "Our expectations for this World Championship were higher. Throughout the tournament, we were always chasing the game after falling behind. That makes things difficult overall. The players fought from the first minute to the last. We cannot fault ourselves in that respect. We will analyse the games closely and learn our lessons from them."
2023 IIHF ICE HOCKEY U18 WOMEN´S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION I, GROUP A
9–15 January 2023, Ritten/Italy
Fixtures and results
AUSTRIA vs. Norway 1:3 (0:1,0:2,1:0)
Sun., 15 January 2023, 13:00
Austria goalscorer: Leonie Kutzer (53:57 Min.)
Already played:
Hungary vs. AUSTRIA 3:2 n.V. (1:0,1:2,0:0,1:0)
Fri., 13 January 2023, 20:00
Austria goalscorers: Leonie Kutzer (24:41 Min./SH1), Serena Unger (38:59 Min.)
Germany vs. AUSTRIA 2:0 (0:0,1:0,1:0)
Thu, 12 January 2023, 13:00
France vs. AUSTRIA 2:3 after penalty shoot-out (1:1,1:0,0:1,0:0,0:1)
Tue, 10 January 2023, 16:30
Austria scorers: Lena Artner (12:06/PP1), Zoey Hobitsch (42:32), in the penalty shoot-out: Anna Billa (65:00), Leonie Kutzer (65:00)
AUSTRIA vs. Italy 0:1 after overtime (0:0,0:0,0:0,0:1)
Mon, 9 January 2023, 20:00
