U20 World Cham­pi­onship: Gold dream shat­tered after 4:5 defeat to Kaza­khstan

"Ultimately, this is a disappointing result," admits Head Coach Philipp Pinter, who makes no secret of the fact that the team had wanted more. A draw would have secured silver, but three full points were required to keep the chance of gold alive.

And after the first 20 minutes, it looked as though they would get them. Austria put Kazakhstan under considerable pressure, played fast, direct hockey and led 4:0 through goals from David Waschnig (4), Leon Kolarik (8), Jakob Schnabl (9) and Jonathan Oschgan (16). Kazakhstan pulled back to 2:4 before the break.

Austria allowed little in the second period but were unable to get the puck into the opposition net despite numerous chances. Kazakhstan, meanwhile, used a power play at the very start of the final period to cut the deficit to 3:4, before levelling the score at 4:4 shortly afterwards, again on the power play. 

Austria then had two power-play opportunities of their own to force a decision, but could not capitalise. As they absolutely needed three points, Pinter pulled goaltender Patrick Grascher late on. Kazakhstan took advantage after winning possession to score the winning goal for 5:4. 

Austria therefore finish the U20 World Championship Division IA in Bled, Slovenia, with three wins and two defeats and take bronze. 

Head Coach Philipp Pinter: "We had an excellent start. The boys implemented exactly what we had planned. They put Kazakhstan under considerable pressure. After the first period, we fell into bad habits, played a little too riskily, were no longer physical enough and allowed Kazakhstan into the game. Then there is the mental aspect, with the boys becoming nervous and unsettled. We tried to counter that, but took two penalties which Kazakhstan ruthlessly exploited. We ourselves did not have the necessary luck on the power play and missed some great chances. At 4:4, we had to pull the goalie because we tried everything to compete for gold. We would have had silver with a draw, but we knew we needed three full points. The disappointment is enormous. Nevertheless, the boys have won a medal, and they deserve it. The entire coaching staff is proud of how they came together as a team and performed."

2026 IIHF U20 World Championship Division IA

7 - 13 December 2025, Bled (SLO)
All Austria games will be streamed live on streaming.krone.at live
Schedule, results, standings

Kazakhstan vs. Austria 5:4 (2:4, 0:0, 3:0)
Sat, 13 December 2025, 16:00
Austria goalscorers: David Waschnig (4), Leon Kolarik (8), Jakob Schnabl (9), Jonathan Oschgan (16)
Kazakhstan goalscorers: Alisher Sarkenov (18), Korney Korneyev (20, 59), Semyon Cherkassov (42), Mstislav Shipilin (45), 
Game Summary

Results to date
Slovenia vs. Austria 2:5 (1:3, 0:2, 1:0)
Sun, 7 December 2025, 16:00
Austria goalscorers: Jonathan Oschgan (9), Johannes Neumann (14), Vasily Zelenov (18), Paul Oberhauser (37), Konstantin Hutzinger (38)
Slovenia goalscorers: 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 goalscorers: Konstantin Hutzinger (7, 14), Jonathan Oschgan (22), Leon Kolarik (33)
France goalscorers: 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 goalscorers: Konstantin Hutzinger (26/PP), Paul Reiner (59/PP), Johannes Neumann (60/PP)
Norway goalscorers: Jorgen Myhre (10), Elias Vatne (15), Niklas Aaram Olsen (33, 57/PP), Lukas Finckenhagen (49), Ludvik Bakkevig (54), Didrik Baanerud (58)
Game Summary

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