U20 World Championship: Austria make amends with a rout of Ukraine
Disappointment was high in the Austrian camp following the previous day's 3:7 defeat to Norway. This made the team all the more determined to take to the ice against Ukraine and preserve their chances of promotion to the Top Division. And they did so successfully. After a turbulent opening period, they extended their lead from 4:2 to 8:2 in the middle period before eventually running out 9:2 winners. On Saturday, they face Kazakhstan, who were relegated from the Top Division last year, in their final game of the 2026 IIHF U20 World Championship Division IA.
2 min read
With the 9:2 win, Head Coach Philipp Pinter's charges showed the right response to the defeat against Norway. While they still need help from elsewhere in the battle for promotion, they have certainly more than fulfilled their own task. If they perhaps lacked a little finishing efficiency against Norway, they improved that rate significantly against Ukraine.
Adrian Gesson scored a brace, while Leon Kolarik made it 3:0 just 40 seconds after his teammate had put Austria 2:0 ahead, sparking celebrations on the bench. However, these were briefly silenced when Ukraine fought back to 2:3 within nine seconds in minute 14. Austria quickly recovered from the shock and responded through David Waschnig to make it 4:2.
Austria were virtually unstoppable in the middle period. They converted four of their numerous chances to pull away to 8:2. There was no longer any doubt about an Austrian victory. Anyone who thought Austria would ease off was mistaken. Whenever Ukraine got in front of the Austrian net, the players threw themselves into the shots without hesitation, before Leon Kolarik capped the performance by making it 9:2 and scoring his third goal of the game.
Head Coach Philipp Pinter: "That was the response we had hoped for from the team after yesterday's strong performance but disappointing result. From the start, the lads played very aggressively and were fully switched on. That makes us very proud, especially when you consider that three more players fell ill today and we had a short bench. But the lads did a superb job, were tactically very disciplined and created plenty of chances offensively. Today, we scored the goals that we unfortunately failed to score yesterday. We will use tomorrow's rest day to prepare. Four games, three wins. We are still playing for gold and will watch the game between Kazakhstan and Norway later today. A lot can still happen. We want to deliver our best performance once again and will prepare the team as well as possible."
2026 IIHF U20 World Championship Division IA
7–13 December 2025, Bled (SLO)
All Austria games will be streamed live on streaming.krone.at streamed live
Fixtures, results, standings
Austria vs. Ukraine 9:2 (4:2, 4:0, 1:0)
Thu., 11 December 2025, 12:30
Austria scorers: Adrian Gesson (3', 11'), Leon Kolarik (11', 37', 51'), David Waschnig (16'), Johannes Neumann (22'), Konstantin Hutzinger (26'), Vasily Zelenov (30')
Ukraine scorers: Mykola Kosarev (14'), Daniil Skorokhod (14')
Game Summary
Kazakhstan vs. Austria
Sat., 13 December 2025, 16:00
Results
Slovenia vs. Austria 2:5 (1:3, 0:2, 1:0)
Sun, 7 December 2025, 16:00
Austria scorers: Jonathan Oschgan (9'), Johannes Neumann (14'), Vasily Zelenov (18'), Paul Oberhauser (37'), Konstantin Hutzinger (38')
Slovenia scorers: Ian Petronijevic Lepsa (2'), Aljaz Hrobat Plemelj (57')
Game Summary
Austria vs. France 4:2 (2:1, 2:0, 0:1)
Mon, 8 December 2025, 12:30
Austria scorers: Konstantin Hutzinger (7', 14'), Jonathan Oschgan (22'), Leon Kolarik (33')
France scorers: Alexandre Monarque (19'), Paul le Lem (50')
Game Summary
Austria vs. Norway 3:7 (0:2, 1:1, 2:4)
Wed, 10 December 2025, 12:30
Austria scorers: Konstantin Hutzinger (26'/PP), Paul Reiner (59'/PP), Johannes Neumann (60'/PP)
Norway scorers: Jorgen Myhre (10'), Elias Vatne (15'), Niklas Aaram Olsen (33', 57'/PP), Lukas Finckenhagen (49'), Ludvik Bakkevig (54'), Didrik Baanerud (58')
Game Summary
