U20 World Cham­pi­onship: Austria lose 0:11 to hosts Canada after a strong start

Austria began their third World Championship match against hosts Canada in front of 10.170 ice hockey fans at Halifax's Scotiabank Centre, with Benedikt Oschgan in goal. After their surprising 2:5 defeat to Czechia, Canada had celebrated an 11:2 win over Germany in their second game.

The ÖEHV selection were compact in the opening minutes, closed down the spaces and created attacking moments, without producing any clear-cut scoring chances. After their strong start, Austria had more shots on goal than the Canadians in the opening almost 14 minutes.

It took a magical power-play goal to break the deadlock for the favoured hosts. Brennan Othmann played a no-look backhand pass between his own legs to Dylan Guenther, who fired into the empty net.

With the 1:0 behind them, the Maple Leafs – driven by the once again outstanding Connor Bedard – raised the tempo, and Dean Zach made it 2:0 just 105 seconds later. Shortly before the end of the first period, Shane Wright converted another power play to make it 3:0.

Canada pull away in the second period

Two goals within 31 seconds saw the Canadians race into a 5:0 lead early in the second period, with Connor Bedard curling the puck into the net with an incredible shot for the fifth goal. After Nolan Allen made it 6:0, Logan Stankoven scored to make it 7:0, with the goal only awarded following a video review.

Canada dominated the second period and increasingly pinned the red-white-red selection in their defensive zone. Together with the impressive goaltender Benedikt Oschgan, the players fought vehemently against the Canadians, who had been clearly superior from the second period onwards, battling for every inch of ice.

Adam Fantilli on the power play, Nathan Gaucher, Connor Bedard and Tyson Hinds took the score to 11:0 in the final period. Defenceman Lukas Hörl was named Austria's best player.

Full focus on the Germany game

Just 22 hours after the start of the Canada game, Austria face Germany in their final preliminary-round match today, Friday, from 22:30. A win after 60 minutes would seal a place in the quarter-finals and secure their place in the top division for the first time.

In the event of a defeat, they will have a second chance after New Year in a "best-of-three" relegation series against the fifth-placed team in Group B on 2 January, 4 January and, if necessary, 5 January 2023.

Kirk Furey, Austria Head Coach: "The team can be proud of their performance against a side in which almost every player has been drafted by an NHL team. We stood up to them throughout; naturally, we made mistakes that the Canadians capitalised on. We have taken a big step forward as a group. The fact that we allowed just one shot on goal against this team in the opening almost 14 minutes of the first period is great and says a lot about our team. We need to put this game behind us immediately, take the positives from it and focus fully on the Germany game!"

LIVE.eishockey.at powered by Morawa Digital will exclusively broadcast all matches of the Austrian U20 national team from 26 December 2022 to 06 January 2023!

And the extra treat for red-white-red ice hockey fans: not only will the ÖEHV U20 selection's games from Halifax be streamed live and made available on demand, but the final round, including highlights and LIVE insights, will also be available throughout Austria on the Austrian Ice Hockey Federation's new streaming platform.

2023 IIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

26 December 2022 – 06 January 2023, Halifax and Moncton (CAN)

AUSTRIA vs. Canada 0:11 (0:3,0:4,0:4)
Fri, 30 December 2022, 00:30 (Thu, 29 December 2022, 19:30)

TICKET PRICES & SCHEDULE

The U20 World Championship on LIVE.eishockey.at

• Single-game ticket: EUR 8,90.-
• U20 World Championship Pass 1 (all Austrian U20 national team games – at least five games): EUR 39.-
• U20 World Championship Pass 2 (all of Austria's preliminary-round games + all relegation and final games (14-15 games; with two relegation games – there may also be three games due to the "Best-of-Three" format): EUR 49.-

Fixtures and results of the U20 men's ice hockey national team:

Germany vs. ÖSTERREICH (Commentary: Michael Berger)
30 December 2022, 22:30, Halifax

Already played:

ÖSTERREICH vs. Czechia 0:9 (0:3,0:4,0:2)
28 December 2022, 00:30, Halifax

Sweden vs. ÖSTERREICH 11:0 (2:0,6:0,3:0)
Mon, 26 December 2022, 19:30 (Mon, 26 December 2022, 14:30)

Group A and Group B standings

Final round/Relegation round

Quarter-final 1
02 January 2023, 17:00

Quarter-final 2
02 January 2023, 19:30

Quarter-final 3
02 January 2023, 22:00

Quarter-final 4
03 January 2023, 00:30

Semi-final 1
04 January 2023, 20:30

Semi-final 2
05 January 2023, 00:30

Play-off for 3rd place
05 January 2023, 20:30

Final (Commentary by Michael Berger)
06 January 2023, 00:30

Relegation games (should Austria play in the relegation round)

Relegation round, 1st game
02 January 2023, 15:30

Relegation round, 2nd game
04 January 2023, 17:00