U20 World Cham­pi­onship: Austria lose first rele­ga­tion game against Latvia

Austria began the first relegation game against Latvia in front of 4.879 ice hockey fans at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax with Thomas Pfarrmaier in goal and without the ill defenceman David Reinbacher.

For the first time at this World Championship, the ÖEHV side took the lead: Ian Scherzer sent Luca Auer clear with a wonderful pass, and the Graz native cut in front of goal before lifting the puck into the top corner with his backhand for 1:0 in the sixth minute.

Latvia then took control, while Austria tried to manage the game and keep their opponents out of the danger area. The Latvians equalised at 1:1 on their second power play in the 17th minute, with Dans Locmelis beating goalkeeper Pfarrmaier with a low shot.

Austria responded perfectly and were back in front just 97 seconds later: once again, Ian Scherzer provided the perfect pass, this time for Vinzenz Rohrer. The Vorarlberg native beat Latvian goaltender Patriks Berzins from a tight angle for 2:1 in the 18th minute.

Austria made the opening minutes of the second period more open – aided by two power plays – and Latvia were no longer as dominant on the ice. After the midway point of the game, however, the Baltic side regained more possession of the puck.

Austria focused on counter-attacks but did not finish them decisively enough. Austria were fortunate when Latvia hit the post. After a strong spell of pressure towards the end of the period, Emils Veckaktins equalised at 2:2 for Latvia three minutes before the second buzzer.

Latvia strike in the final period

In the final period, Latvia raised the tempo and pushed Austria increasingly onto the defensive. Latvia initially failed to make use of a power play, but Emils Veckaktins scored for 3:2 shortly afterwards. Austria's Finn van Ee was then sent off for a knee check, leading to a five-minute penalty kill. Latvia did not let this opportunity slip and Sandis Vilmanis made it 4:2 in the 52nd minute.

With 3:16 remaining, Head Coach Kirk Furey pulled goalkeeper Pfarrmaier. Just under a minute before the final buzzer, Bogdans Hodass sealed the result with an empty-net goal for 5:2 for Latvia, who took a 1:0 lead in the series. Goaltender Thomas Pfarrmaier, who made 41 saves from 45 shots, was named Austria's best player.

Austria now need a win on Wednesday, 04 January, from 16:00 to avoid relegation to Division I, Group A.

Kirk Furey, Austria Head Coach:"We started the game very well, and it was fairly even until the midway point. We went into the final period at 2:2, then took too many penalties and weakened ourselves as a result. If you give your opponent too many opportunities, they will find a way to take advantage of them. I think we played well on the penalty kill, but it takes its toll and gets harder and harder. We now need to regroup as a team, correct a few things, talk about certain things and then focus fully on Wednesday!"

2023 IIHF WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

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

TICKET PRICES & Relegation - "Best-of-Three":

Latvia vs. AUSTRIA 5:2 (1:2,1:0,3:0)
Mon, 02 January 2023, 15:30
Austria goalscorers: Luca Auer (05:20), Vinzenz Rohrer (17:53)

The U20 World Championship on LIVE.eishockey.at

• Single-game ticket: EUR 8,90.-
• U20 World Championship Pass 1 (all games of the Austrian U20 national team - at least five games): EUR 39.-
• U20 World Championship Pass 2 (all of Austria's preliminary-round games + all relegation and final-round 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 for the U20 men's national ice hockey team:

Relegation – "Best-of-Three":

Further fixtures:

AUSTRIA vs. Latvia
Wed, 04 January 2023, 16:00 (Wed, 04 January 2023, 11:00)

Latvia vs. AUSTRIA
Thu, 05 January 2023, 16:00 (Thu, 05 January 2023, 11:00)

Already played:

Germany vs. AUSTRIA 4:2 (1:0,3:1,0:1)
Fri, 30 December 2022, 22:30 (Fri, 30 December 2022, 17:30)
Austria goalscorers: Ian Scherzer (29:24/PP1), Jonas Dobnig (46:00)

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

AUSTRIA vs. Czech Republic 0:9 (0:3,0:4,0:2)
28 December 2022, 00:30, Halifax

Sweden vs. AUSTRIA 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

Quarter-final 1: Finland vs. Sweden 2:3
02 January 2023, 17:00

Quarter-final 2: Czech Republic vs. Switzerland 9:1
02 January 2023, 19:30

Quarter-final 3: USA vs. Germany 11:1
02 January 2023, 22:00

Quarter-final 4: Canada vs. Slovakia 4:3 after overtime
03 January 2023, 00:30

Semi-final 1: Czechia vs. Sweden
04 January 2023, 20:30

Semi-final 2: USA vs. Canada
05 January 2023, 00:30

Small final for 3rd place
05 January 2023, 20:30

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