U20 World Cham­pi­onship in Bled: Third win for Austria – 3:2 against hosts Slovenia!

Austria once again started their third World Championship game at Ledena dvorana Bled with Benedikt Oschgan in goal. Following their two defeats at the start of the World Championship, the hosts made a brisk start, while Austria initially looked to bring the game under control. It took exactly 15 seconds of their first power play for Florian Lanzinger to finish off a fine combination involving Gregor Biber and Vasily Zelenov from close range to make it 1:0 (at 7).

The game was evenly balanced thereafter, with chances at both ends. Austria extended their lead at the ideal time with a superb goal: following a swift counter-attack initiated down the left by captain Thomas Klassek and a wonderful cross-ice pass from Leon Kolarik, Felix Haiböck scored on the backhand to make it 2:0 (at 14). In the final two minutes of the first period, Red-White-Red were unable to make another numerical advantage count, carrying 19 seconds of it into the second period.

In the opening minutes of the middle period, the team coached by Head Coach Philipp Pinter looked good offensively and repeatedly displayed fluid attacking play. After five minutes, Austria had to kill their first penalty. Goaltender Benedikt Oschgan kept the shutout intact with two outstanding saves within tenths of a second. Oliver Lam also blocked a Slovenian slap shot that visibly caused him pain.

Following a powerful drive, Alexander Rupnik had the 3:0 on his stick, but the forward was unable to put the puck in the opposition net. Felix Haiböck made it 3:0 shortly afterwards. Following a face-off, Leon Kolarik fired the puck towards goal and Haiböck deflected it out of the air (at 32). The hosts then got on the scoreboard, with Filip Sitar converting his own rebound to make it 1:3 after a fine save by Oschgan (at 34). In the final two minutes of the second period, the ÖEHV side missed the chance to restore their three-goal lead.

The opening minutes of the final period were fast-paced from end to end, although neither side created any major scoring chances. Oschgan displayed the composure he has already become known for at this World Championship when facing Slovenian shots. Austria then failed to capitalise on another power play, but at least ran down the clock.

With just under six minutes remaining, Austria were shorthanded when Mark Sever scored Slovenia's goal to make it 2:3 at the near post (at 56). Suddenly, the game was highly exciting again. With a minute and a half remaining, Slovenia pulled goaltender Jon Dukarič. Austria held on to their narrow lead, secured their third win from three World Championship games with the 3:2 result and sealed their place in the division early. Defenceman Gregor Biber was named Team Austria's Best Player.

Head Coach Philipp Pinteranalysed the third World Championship win after the final buzzer: "It was another great fight right to the end, but it was a mixed performance today. There was also a bit of nervousness, especially at the start. We made a few unnecessary mistakes through a lack of concentration and often made life difficult for ourselves because we made the wrong decisions in managing the puck. In those moments, goaltender Benedikt Oschgan was the reliable and necessary support. We scored the goals at the right times, which was very important for the course of the game today. The second period then became an open exchange, and things got heated again after the goal in the final period. We then defended with a lot of heart, and Oschgan was there in the important moments too. We had some big blocks, the players threw themselves in front of the shots. All in all, it was a solid performance, and the three points are what count for us!"

Hungary await the ÖEHV side on Friday

Red-White-Red are back in action against Hungary in Bled on Friday. The team coached by Head Coach Balázs Ladányi narrowly lost their opening game against Denmark 1:2 on Monday, before suffering a 2:5 defeat to France on Tuesday. Hungary were beaten 0:4 by Norway on Thursday.

The match will be live again from 12:30 on krone.at from __OEHV_NUM_M_A__. Pinter is expecting a difficult game against Hungary: "The focus is already on Friday. Hungary are a very bruised opponent and therefore very dangerous. The Hungarians are playing against relegation, while we are playing for promotion, so it will be a fiery contest. As a team, we need an even more compact and focused performance. The focus is on this game, and then we will see what happens!"

2025 IIHF ICE HOCKEY U20 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION IA

9 December 2024 – 15 December 2024, Bled (SLO)
Participants: Norway, France, Denmark, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia

Slovenia vs Austria 2:3 (0:2,1:1,1:0)
Thu, 12 December 2024, 16:00, Ledena dvorana Bled
Slovenia scorers: Filip Sitar (at 34), Mark Sever (at 56, PP1)
Austria goalscorers: Florian Lanzinger (7th/PP1), Felix Haiböck (14th, 32nd)

Further fixtures:

Austria vs. Hungary
Fri, 13 December 2024, 12:30, Ledena dvorana Bled
Live on krone.at

Denmark vs. Austria
Sun, 15 December 2024, 12:30, Ledena dvorana Bled
Live on krone.at

Already played:

Norway vs. Austria 1:3 (0:2,1:0,0:1)
Tue, 10 December 2024, 16:00, Ledena dvorana Bled
Norway goalscorer: Niklas Aaram-Olsen (31st)
Austria goalscorers: Gregor Biber (3rd/PP1), Adrian Gesson (19th), Alexander Rupnik (46th)

Austria vs. France 4:2 (0:0,4:0,0:2)
Mon, 09 December 2024, 12:30, Ledena dvorana Bled
Austria goalscorers: Ian Scherzer (22nd), Paul Sintschnig (25th), Thomas Klassek (32nd), David Waschnig (38th)
France goalscorers: Teo Toubhans-Besnier (45th/PS), Paul Le Lem (46th/PP1)

All information on the official IIHF website: https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2025/wm20ia