U20 World Cham­pi­onship: Austria cele­brate sensa­tional victory over promoted Kaza­khstan

Austria also began their final World Championship game at the Tüskecsarnok with first-choice netminder Benedikt Oschgan and made a dream start: Luca Erne fired a superb shot from the slot to make it 1:0 (2 min.).

Kazakhstan quickly equalised to make it 1:1. Alexander Kim followed up after a save by Benedikt Oschgan and put the puck over the line (5 min.). Red-White-Red were fully involved in a fast-paced game and took the lead again. Jakob Lippitsch scored a shorthander to make it 2:1 following a quick counter-attack (11 min.).

However, Kazakhstan could not be shaken off and Semyon Simonov levelled at 2:2 on the power play (14 min.). Two minutes before the first-period buzzer, Maximilian Wurzer delivered a dream pass to Luca Erne, who converted his own rebound to make it 3:2 (19 min.) and netted his second goal.

Austria also made an excellent start to the second period. Thomas Klassek got to the puck in front of the opposition net and increased the lead to 4:2 from the slot (22 min.). The already-promoted side then turned up the tempo and turned the game around, aided by Austria now facing the long change and tiring under Kazakhstan's pressure.

First, Alexander Kim pulled one back, finishing a fine move with a powerful shot to make it 3:4 (25 min.). Kazakhstan pushed for an equaliser and Ruslan Ospanov delivered it on the power play (30 min.). Just under three minutes before the second-period break, the promoted side took the lead for the first time, with Adil Beisembayev beating netminder Oschgan with a precise shot from the left face-off circle (38 min.).

Kazakhstan added another before the buzzer, with Roman Yermak making it 6:4 from close range (40 min.).

Comeback rewarded this time

Austria battled back superbly in the final period. Florian Lanzinger reduced the deficit to 5:6 after a wonderful cross-ice pass from Luca Erne (47 min.), suddenly leaving the game wide open again.

In the end, head coach Philipp Pinter took a risk and pulled netminder Benedikt Oschgan. Johannes Neumann bundled the puck into the net from close range to equalise at 6:6 (59 min.) and send Austria into overtime. No goal was scored during three-on-three overtime, so the game had to be decided in a penalty shoot-out.

Luca Erne and David Cernik scored for Red-White-Red, while netminder Oschgan stopped four Kazakhstan attempts. Austria celebrated a sensational 7:6 victory after a penalty shoot-out to conclude the World Championship. Jakob Lippitsch was named Austria's player of the game. 

The ÖEHV side finished fourth in the final standings. Kazakhstan had already secured promotion to the Top Division before the final matchday. Japan are relegated to Group B after a 1:5 defeat to Denmark. Hosts Hungary celebrated a 4:0 victory over France on the final matchday and retained their place in the division.

Head coach Philipp Pinter reflects on the World Championship

Head coach Philipp Pinter analysed the game after the final buzzer: “It was a real rollercoaster ride, with an incredible amount of good but also bad. Our start was really good; we came out of the dressing room aggressively and perhaps surprised Kazakhstan a little. They then showed on several occasions just how good and technically adept they are. They were difficult to play against; in the second period, we had nothing at all, they really hemmed us in in our own zone. Being two goals down at the start of the final period showed the team's character once again. We battled back, made it to overtime and then the shoot-out, and ultimately came off the ice as fortunate winners!”

The Villach native gave his World Championship assessment after the fifth and final game: “The closing stages against Kazakhstan once again showed the team's character. It made me very proud to see how the team came out, particularly in the third period, in virtually every game. Even when we were behind, they kept pushing, kept applying pressure; one or two games could have gone the other way. Kazakhstan deserved promotion and we ultimately finished fourth. The performances were really very good, but in a tournament like this everything has to come together, and the special teams have to function. That simply did not work at all this time. We tried to represent Austrian ice hockey as well as possible, and we succeeded in doing so. The team showed passion, emotion and commitment, capped off with a fitting finale. Naturally, we were also very pleased to hand the promoted side their only defeat. As a coaching team, we are very satisfied with the team!”

2024 IIHF Ice Hockey U20 World Championship Division IA

Austria vs. Kazakhstan 7:6 n.P. (3:2,1:4,2:0; 0:0; 1:0)
Sat, 16 December 2023, 19:30
Austria scorers: Luca Erne (2 min., 19 min.), Jakob Lippitsch (11 min./SH1), Thomas Klassek (22 min.), Florian Lanzinger (47 min.), Johannes Neumann (59 min.) - Luca Erne and David Cernik score in the penalty shoot-out
Kazakhstan scorers: Alexander Kim (5 min., 25 min.), Semyon Simonov (14 min./PP1), Ruslan Ospanov (30 min./PP1), Adil Beisembayev (38 min.), Roman Yermak (40 min.)

Already played:

France vs. Austria 7:4 (2:1,3:1,2:2)
Thu, 14 December 2023, 16:00
France scorers: Hugo Nogaretto (9'), Valentin Grossetete (12'/PP1, 60'/EN), Antoine Addamo (23'/PP1), Emil Tavernier (24'/PP1), Teo Toubhans-Besnier (36'), Raphael Chauvel (55'/SH1)
Austria scorers: Luca Erne (20'), Maximilian Wurzer (28'), Johannes Neumann (44'), Jonas Dobnig (53')

Austria vs. Denmark 3:4 (1:1,0:1,2:2)
Wed, 13 December 2023, 19:30
Austria scorers: Ian Scherzer (11', 57'), Florian Lanzinger (49')
Denmark scorers: Daniel Olsson (10'), Albert Schioldan (39'/PP1), Oliver Marloth (44'), Hjalte Thomsen (46')

Austria vs. Hungary 3:2 (1:1,1:1,1:0)
Mon, 11 December 2023, 19:30
Austria scorers: David Cernik (10'/PP1, 32'), Gregor Biber (60')
Hungary scorers: László Farkas (6'/PP1), Bendegúz Dobos (39'/PP1)

Japan vs. Austria 2:5 (1:2,0:3,1:0)
Sun, 10 December 2023, 19:30
Japan scorers: Tyler Serino Maxner (20'), Taisetsu Ushio (59')
Austria scorers: Ian Scherzer (9/PP1), Jakob Lippitsch (18), Luca Erne (35), Paul Reiner (37), Jonas Dobnig (38)

Further information, standings and statistics are available on the official IIHF website