U18 Women's World Championship: Austria remain in the title race after 8:0 win over Spain

Eight goals, a shot ratio of 46:15 and a shutout for goaltender Rosalie Hohenwarter-Sodek. In their fourth game at the 2026 IIHF Women's U18 World Championship Division IB, Austria recorded a comfortable 8:0 victory over Spain, keeping their chances of winning the title and promotion to Division IA alive. To do so, they need to beat hosts Poland in their final game on Sunday at 20:00, as well as receive help from Spain in their game against China.

10 January 20262 min read

The latter in particular is likely to be no more than a faint hope given China's performances so far. They have dropped only one point in the tournament to date, in their 4:3 overtime win over Poland, and also won the head-to-head clash against Austria 4:2. Nor is a win over Poland anything close to a certainty for the ÖEHV selection. The hosts suffered their only defeat of the tournament so far against China.

In any case, they gained further confidence for the final game. Against Spain, they controlled the puck and their opponents, taking a 2:0 lead after the first period through goals from Vanessa Picka and Emma Lintner. Britta Bachler made it 3:0 in the middle period. They could have forced the decision in those 20 minutes, but saved it for a spectacular finish.

In the final almost seven minutes of play, they scored virtually once a minute to seal an 8:0 win. Given the course of the game and Austria's clear dominance, it was a fully deserved victory by that margin.

Head Coach Arto Sieppi: "The team rose to the challenge superbly. We were favourites in this game, and it is never easy to perform in that role. We controlled the game and led 2:0 after the first period. We missed a few chances in the second, but things then went almost perfectly in the final period. We are now looking forward to the final game against Poland."

2026 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship Division IB

05 January 2026 - 11 January 2026, Katowice (POL)
Participants: Austria, Poland, Spain, China, Australia, Great Britain
Event website

Spain vs. Austria 0:8 (0:2, 0:1, 0:5)
Sat., 10 January 2026, 20:00, Katowice
Austria scorers: Vanessa Picka (7), Emma Lintner (17, 54, 59), Britta Bachler (24), Florentina Rumpl (54, 55/PP), Emma Kleinlercher (58/PP)
Game Summary

Austria vs. Poland
Sun., 11 January 2026, 20:00, Katowice

Already played
Great Britain vs. Austria 0:4 (0:0, 0:2, 0:2)
Mon., 05 January 2026, 13:00, Katowice
Austria scorers: Florentina Rumpl (21', 45'), Emma Lintner (32'/PP, 59')
Game Summary

Austria vs. China 2:4 (0:1, 2:1, 0:2)
Tue, 06 January 2026, 13:00, Katowice
Austria goalscorers: Vanessa Picka (38'), Florentina Rumpl (39')
China goalscorers: Yufei Xin (14'), Keyu Chen (26'), Mi Dai (42'), Yifan Wang (44')
Game Summary

Austria vs. Australia 11:0 (6:0, 1:0, 4:0)
Thu, 08 January 2026, 13:00, Katowice
Austria goalscorers: Johanna Sintschnig (2', 57'), Hanna Pap (2'), Vanessa Picka (9', 33'), Emma Lintner (12', 51', 54'), Florentina Rumpl (14'), Amelie Suppan (19'), Leandra Pirker (52')
Game Summary

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