U20 national team defeat Latvia's senior national team in a penalty shoot-out at the St. Pölten Cup

The team led by Head Coach Philipp Pinter were determined to make amends for the defeat against Denmark from the outset, with both teams engaging in an intense battle.

Paul Sintschnig gave Austria a 1:0 lead in the first period (11th minute). Toms Mots quickly equalised to make it 1:1, beating ÖHV netminder Patrick Müller just under two minutes later. Austria matched the high tempo of Latvia’s senior national team, who will be competing at the World Juniors in Ottawa in December, and engaged in intense battles with the favourites.

Little changed in the second period, with Austria throwing themselves into the battle and repeatedly breaking quickly into the Latvian defensive zone. Only the clinical edge in front of the opposition goal was lacking, but the U20 team showed character in response to the game against Denmark. At the other end, goaltender Patrick Müller produced a very good performance, repeatedly denying Latvian chances.

At the start of the third period, Red-White-Red had to negotiate a tricky phase with two penalties in quick succession, but held on to the draw. The ÖEHV selection also survived a third spell shorthanded, with the penalty kill working very well. 

Austria then had a power play in the final two minutes of regulation, but were unable to take this great chance to win. The game went to overtime, in which Austria and Latvia could not score. This was followed by the ultimate decider, the penalty shoot-out, in which Leon Kolarik and David Waschnig scored for Austria to secure the victory. Austria’s U20 therefore finished third at the St. Pölten Cup with four points, behind Denmark and Norway.

Head Coach Philipp Pinter was delighted with his team’s performance after the game: "That was exactly the response to the game against Denmark that we wanted and hoped for. It was a really compact, consistently good team performance over 60 minutes. Patrick Müller was outstanding in goal. We played high-pressure ice hockey from the first through to the fourth line. We were absolutely on a par with the Latvians, who were naturally clear favourites as a senior national team."

Pinter can head into the World Championship in December with confidence alongside his team: "The mood in the team is very good, and we now know what we need to work on tactically. We need to play more compactly and tightly in the defensive zone and neutral zone; the forechecking was really very good. Situations exactly like the defeat against Denmark can happen at a World Championship; you have to be able to deal with poor performances. The players then have to provide an answer, and they did so impressively today!"

U20 men’s national team – St. Pölten Cup 2024

Austria vs. Latvia 2:1 after a penalty shoot-out (1:1,0:0,0:0,0:0,1:0)
Sat, 09 November 2024, 15:30, Sportzentrum Niederösterreich
Austria scorers:Paul Sintschnig (11), David Waschnig (65/decisive penalty) – Leon Kolarik also scored for Austria.

Previously played:

Austria vs. Denmark 1:7 (0:5,1:2,0:0)
Fri, 08 November 2024, 19:30, Sportzentrum Niederösterreich
Austria scorer: Luca Kogler (39.)

Norway vs. Austria 2:3 after a penalty shoot-out (1:0,1:0,0:2,0:0,0:1)
Thu, 07 November 2024, 19:30, Sportzentrum Niederösterreich
Austria scorers: Maximilian Kirchebner (49/PP1), Thomas Klassek (55), Johannes Neumann (65/decisive penalty shot)

2025 IIHF Ice Hockey U20 World Championship Division IA

9 December 2024 – 15 December 2024, Bled (SLO)

Participants: Norway, France, Denmark, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia

Austria vs. France
Mon, 09 December 2025, Ledena dvorana Bled, 12:30
 
Norway vs. Austria
Tue, 10 December 2025, Ledena dvorana Bled, 16:00
 
Slovenia vs. Austria
Thu, 12 December 2025, Ledena dvorana Bled, 16:00

Austria vs. Hungary
Fri, 13 December 2025, Ledena dvorana Bled, 12:30

Denmark vs. Austria
Sun, 15 December 2025, Ledena dvorana Bled, 12:30

All information on the official IIHF website: https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2025/wm20ia