Victory over Denmark! U20 national team finishes fifth at the U20 Super Chal­lenge

After beating Vålerenga Ishockey on Saturday, Head Coach Philipp Pinter’s team faced Denmark in the final placement game on Sunday. David Cernik was named Player of the Game after finding the Danish net three times. The score remained 0:0 for a long time at Löfbergs Ice Arena before David Cernik opened the scoring on the power play.

Nielsen Schmidt quickly equalised for 1:1, before David Cernik once again converted the next power play to give Austria a 2:1 lead (in the 31st minute). Victor Gade equalised for the Danes shortly after the start of the third period. Austria then pulled away to 5:2 within just under five minutes through goals from Alexander Rupnik (in the 48th minute), David Cernik (in the 50th minute) and Ian Scherzer (in the 53rd minute).

Denmark then made the game exciting again with two goals in succession, but the ÖEHV selection held on to their narrow lead. Fifth place at the U20 Super Challenge was secured.

Victory over Vålerenga Ishockey

After good performances in the group stage against France, Färjestad and Italy, all of which ended in narrow defeats, the team celebrated their first, thoroughly deserved victory against Valerenga in the crossover game for places 5 - 8.

Luca Erne gave his team a 1:0 lead after just 2:08. A few minutes before the first intermission, they survived an almost six-minute penalty kill thanks to effective penalty killing. Valerenga did equalise shortly after the restart. Austria had the upper hand overall in the second period, recording a total of ten shots on goal.

Patience was required. In the final period, Austria were clearly the better team, applying plenty of pressure and were eventually rewarded. Ian Scherzer converted the power play for 2:1 in the 45th minute. In the final minute, Valerenga threw everything at it and pulled their goaltender. Patrick Söllinger took advantage of the opportunity to seal the 3:1 final score.

U20 NATIONAL TEAM FALLS 4:5 TO ITALY AT U20 SUPER CHALLENGE

Another strong performance from Head Coach Philipp Pinter’s charges in Karlstad, and once again they were not rewarded. Lorenz Hofer was preferred in goal against Italy and faced a total of 20 shots. Austria dictated play at times and created plenty of chances. However, it was the Italians who scored in the first period and held a 2:0 lead after the opening 20 minutes. 

Austria turned the score around in a scintillating second period. The Austrians appeared in front of the Italian goal and scored almost every minute. Jakob Lippitsch made it 1:2 just 25 seconds after the puck drop. After the Italians extended their lead again to 3:1, it was almost exclusively Austria who had their say. Luca Erne, Ian Scherzer and David Cernik secured a 4:3 lead after the second period. 

But there was to be no happy ending for Philipp Pinter and his team once again. Italy turned the game around. Pinter pulled goaltender Hofer 82 seconds before the end, but was not rewarded for the gamble. Austria finish the group stage in last place and will now face Valerenga Ishockey in Saturday’s crossover game.

1:3 defeat to Färjestad after 1:0 lead

For their second appearance in Sweden, Head Coach Philipp Pinter selected Mika Haim in goal, and he justified his selection with a very good performance. The hosts were dominant in the opening 20 minutes and registered more shots, but Haim kept his net clean and the score goalless for a long time. Ian Scherzer gave Austria a late 1:0 lead in the second period (in the 37th minute).

26 seconds before the end of the period, the puck literally rang in behind goaltender Haim as Lucas Kling made it 1:1 (in the 40th minute). Maximilian Kirchebner was sent to the penalty box in the final period, and Sweden needed only seven seconds on the power play to take a 2:1 lead through Albin Sterner (in the 46th minute). Sweden were dominant, and the final shot statistics spoke clearly in Fjärestad’s favour.

Head Coach Philipp Pinter pulled goaltender Haim in the final minute, and Austria even had two extra skaters on the ice for the final 47 seconds after the hosts were penalised for too many men on the ice. Gabriel Melin sealed the 3:1 result with an empty-net goal eleven seconds before the final siren (in the 60th minute). Austria face Italy in their final group-stage game on Thursday at 16:00.

NARROW DEFEAT IN OPENING GAME

Head Coach Philipp Pinter’s team made a good start to the preparatory tournament and took an early 1:0 lead through David Cernik (in the 5th minute). A thrilling and closely contested game then developed at Löfbergs Arena, with France ultimately holding the edge in shots on goal (43:31).

Austria’s goaltender Benedikt Oschgan delivered a strong performance, making a total of 41 saves. Just past the halfway point, Valentin Grossetete equalised for France to make it 1:1 (in the 31st minute). Austria held firm and the score was 1:1 after 60 minutes. The game went to overtime, where Emil Tavernier scored France’s 2:1 winner after just 41 seconds (in the 61st minute). France had finished third at the most recent U20 World Championship Division I Group A in Norway in December.  

U20 SUPER CHALLENGE IN SWEDEN

14 - 20 August 2023, U20 Super Challenge in Karlstad (SWE) featuring Denmark, Hungary, France, Italy, Färjestad BK (SWE), Valerenga IF (NOR) and Brook Bandits (USA)

Game for 5th place:

Denmark vs. Austria 4:5 (0:0,1:2,3:3)
Sun., 20 August, 14:15
Austria scorers: David Cernik (26th, 31th/PP1, 50th), Alexander Rupnik (48th), Ian Scherzer (53rd)

All final-round results

Placement game 5–8:

Vålerenga Ishockey vs. Austria 1:3 (0:1, 1:0, 0:2)
Sat., 19 August 2023, 16:15
Austria scorers: Luca Erne (3rd) Ian Scherzer (45th), Patrick Söllinger (60th)

Group A:
France vs. Austria 2:1 after overtime (0:1,1:0,0:0,1:0)
Tue., 15 August 2023, 16:00, Karlstad
Austria scorer: David Cernik (5th)

Färjestad BK vs. Austria 3:1 (0:0,1:1,2:0)
Wed., 16 August 2023, 19:15, Karlstad
Austria scorer: Ian Scherzer (37th)

Austria vs. Italy 4:5 (0:2,4:1,0:2)
Thu., 17 August 2023, 16:00, Karlstad
Austria scorers: Jakob Lippitsch (21st), Luca Erne (26th), Ian Scherzer (30th), David Cernik (32nd)

Group A table