“We are not finished yet” – Austria’s quarter-final chance remains alive

Finland, most recently world champions on home ice in 2022 and reigning Olympic champions, first need to pick up points against Denmark on Monday evening before facing Switzerland on Tuesday evening. Head Coach Roger Bader is convinced that his fellow countrymen will be determined to secure a positive result after the narrow defeat to Canada ahead of the quarter-finals.

But before they can even look ahead to that game, they must do their own homework. Two years ago in Tampere (FIN), Austria faced Great Britain in a battle to stay in the top division. Austria prevailed 5:3 and sent the British down to Division IA. With seven points now on the board, staying in the top division is no longer an issue. If anyone is under pressure, it is the opposition.

Moreover, the unanimous message in the Austrian camp after the win over Norway was: “We are not finished yet!”

With the comeback against Canada and the win over Finland, Austria have already made history at this World Championship. Another chapter can now gladly be added, Marco Rossi: “We are very satisfied. The first objective was to stay in the top division, and now we still believe we can achieve more. Of course, everything has to go our way now. Our focus is now on Great Britain and our aim is to win the game.”

“It is nice when you can dream. In recent years, it has been a bitter battle to stay in the top division, and this year the dream of the quarter-finals is alive. We must not think any differently than in the previous games. You have to remain patient and respect the opposition as well. If you do not do that, things can quickly go the other way,” adds Dominique Heinrich and Head Coach Roger Bader also warns: “This is absolutely no formality.”

The win in their most recent World Championship meeting in 2022 was Austria’s 13th victory over Great Britain in history. The last of five defeats to date came on 3 March 1961. This was followed by two further draws in 1997.  

2024 IIHF ICE HOCKEY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Current IIHF World Championship standings

Next game:

Austria vs. Great Britain
Tue, 21 May 2024, 12:20, live on ORF 1

Already played:

Norway vs. Austria 1:4 (0:0,0:3,1:1)
Sun, 19 May 2024, 16:20, Prague Arena, 16.565

Norway goalscorer: Sander Engebråten (54 min).
Austria scorers: Peter Schneider (29' / PP1, 34'), Dominic Zwerger (29'), Mario Huber (58' / EN)

Czechia vs. Austria 4:0 (1:0,2:0,1:0)
Fri, 17 May 2024, 20:20, Prague Arena, 17.413
Czechia scorers: Ondřej Kaše (20' / PS), Dominik Kubalík (36' / PP1), Jakub Flek (37' / PP1), David Tomášek (42')

Finland vs. Austria 2:3 (2:0,0:1,0:2)
Thu, 16 May 2024, 16:20, Prague Arena, 15.387
Finland scorers: Saku Mäenalanen (3'), Oliver Kapanen (9')
Austria scorers: Mario Huber (24'), Thimo Nickl (50'), Benjamin Baumgartner (60')

Canada vs. Austria 7:6 OT (3:1,3:0,0:5,1:0)
Tue, 14 May 2024, 20:20, Prague Arena, 14.704
Canada scorers: Dylan Cozens (7'), Kaiden Guhle (10'), Bowen Byram (14'), Jared McCann (23'), Connor Bedard (30'), Pierre-Luc Dubois (38'). John Taveres (61')
Austria scorers: Benjamin Nissner (11'), Benjamin Baumgartner (44'), Peter Schneider (45', 56'), Dominic Zwerger (51'), Marco Rossi (60')

Austria vs. Switzerland 5:6 (2:1,2:3,1:2)
Sun, 12 May 2024, 20:20, Prague Arena, 13.512
Austria scorers: Clemens Unterweger (5'), Paul Huber (15'), Lukas Haudum (22' / PP1, 35' / PP1), Benjamin Baumgartner (53')
Switzerland scorers: Roman Josi (16' / PP2, 30' / PP2), Nico Hischier (23', 41' / PP1, 60' / PP1), Ken Jäger (30' / PP1)

Austria vs. Denmark 1:5 (1:2,0:1,0:2)
Sat., 11 May 2024, 16:20, Prague Arena, 15.719
Austria scorers: Manuel Ganahl (20th)
Denmark scorers: Markus Lauridsen (14th), Frederik Storm (17th/SH1), Joachim Blichfeld (39th, 59th/PP1), Felix Scheel (54th)