U20 national team loses to Hungary in St. Pölten

Austria’s U20 national team had to come from behind three times in regulation time in their final game of the St. Pölten Cup. Bence Horváth gave Hungary the lead on the power play in the first period. In the second period,

Lorenz Lindner scored the 1:1 equaliser in 31 minutes. 

In the final period, András Mihalik put the visitors back in front at 2:1 on the power play. Maximilian Theirich levelled the score at 2:2 just under eight minutes from the end. Hungary proved extremely efficient and clever in attack, with Dobos Bendegúz making it 3:2 five minutes before the final buzzer.

Head Coach Kirk Furey took goaltender Michael Sicher off the ice, and the gamble paid off. Finn Van Ee scored to make it 3:3 with 66 seconds remaining, sending Austria into overtime. There, it took exactly 20 seconds before András Mihalik scored the winner for Hungary in three-on-three play.

Furey commented on the game against Hungary after the final buzzer: "We did not start well, we slept through the start, we took too many penalties in the first period and only woke up in the final five minutes. In the second and third periods, we played with our identity and were clearly the better team. Unfortunately, we lost in overtime, but I am very pleased with the team’s development and with the collaboration in the first week. The lads have good character and I am looking forward to the challenges ahead!"

Defeat against Denmark on Friday

The ÖEHV team again made a strong start against Denmark on Friday, with Luca Auer giving Austria an early 1:0 lead (7 mins). Denmark responded immediately. Jonas Christensen Krabbe scored the 1:1 equaliser in the ninth minute. 

Both teams then engaged in an open end-to-end contest. Austria had several good chances but repeatedly came up against Denmark goaltender Kristers Steinbergs. Hjalte Kruse Thomsen made it 2:1 for Denmark in the 25th minute of the second period. The U20 team then pushed for an equaliser, but Kristers Steinbergs stopped everything and finished with a save percentage of 95,5 per cent.

Head Coach Kirk Furey saw plenty of positives in the first two games: "Latvia on Thursday were a young team, but I believe it was a good first game for our group. We did a great deal in two and a half days, the lads played at a very good pace, were good in the battles, and tactically it was also very good for a first game. Against Denmark, the pace was a little higher, but it was not a good game. When you have a new group, naturally not everything works yet. But we applied quite a lot of pressure and our transition game was pretty good. We made a few mistakes, but that can happen. The lads battled very well and I am very pleased with this group so far. It is a shame that today ended in a defeat, but it was close on both sides."

As Denmark had already narrowly beaten Hungary 3:2 on Thursday, Head Coach Jens Nielsen’s team were confirmed as tournament winners after the second day. 

Win against Latvia

The U20 selection secured its first win in the very first game under new Head Coach Kirk Furey at the St. Pölten Cup at the ice sports hall in the Sportzentrum Niederösterreich. Jakob Engelhart (18 mins), Stefan Klassek (23 mins) and Lorenz Lindner (50 mins) scored in the 3:0 win over Latvia.

Results - St. Pölten Cup 2022

Austria vs. Hungary 3:4 after overtime (0:1,1:0,2:2,0:1)
Sat., 12 November 2022, 13:00
Austria scorers:Lorenz Lindner (31 mins), Maximilian Theirich (52 mins), Finn Van Ee (59 mins)

Austria vs. Denmark 1:2 (1:1,0:1,0:0)
Fri, 11 November 2022, 19:30
Austria goalscorer: Luca Auer (7)

Austria vs. Latvia 3:0 (1:0,1:0,1:0)
Thu, 10 November 2022, 19:30
Austria goalscorers: Jakob Engelhart (18), Stefan Klassek (23), Lorenz Lindner (50)