Wittich fires Austria to 2:1 opening win over the Netherlands
Austria’s women’s national ice hockey team opened the World Championship Division IA with a 2:1 shoot-out win over the Netherlands.
2 min readSource: Eishockey.at
Image information: Once again in a class of her own: Charlotte Wittich leads Austria to a 2:1 opening win over the Netherlands - Copyright: GEPA pictures/Patrick Steiner
What a World Championship opener! Despite a number of absences due to injury or work commitments, Austria’s women showed they were in World Championship form. Leading the way was veteran Charlotte Wittich. The Netherlands were an awkward opponent in the opening game. Both teams initially struggled, while the Netherlands also showed some nervousness. In the second minute, they had one player too many on the ice, resulting in a two-minute penalty, which they survived unscathed, as they did the one in the 13th minute.
Austria held a slight edge but were unable to turn it into goals. It was not until the second period that Charlotte Wittich put her team ahead with the deserved 1:0 power-play goal. However, they made too little of their eight power plays in total. The Netherlands succeeded in restricting the Austrians to shooting from difficult positions. The equaliser for 1:1 finally came in the 47th minute.
The ensuing overtime produced no decision, despite another power play for Austria. In the shoot-out, Charlotte Wittich once again held her nerve and gave her team cause to celebrate. Next Wednesday, they face Norway, whom they also beat 5:4 in a shoot-out in their final World Championship warm-up game last Thursday.
Charlotte Wittich: "The Netherlands were a very awkward opponent. They have many tall players in their ranks and are also physically strong. It was difficult to create scoring chances. We had plenty of shots but few clear-cut opportunities. There was naturally a lot of excitement ahead of the first World Championship game, especially as only nine or ten players had previously played at a World Championship. We had really been looking forward to this opener and are of course relieved now that we can take the two points with us."
24–30 April 2022, Angers (FRA)
Netherlands vs. Austria 1:2 after a shoot-out (0:0,0:1,1:0)
Sun, 24 April 2022, 16:00
Austria goalscorer: Charlotte Wittich (32th minute/PP) Charlotte Wittich (65th minute/decisive shoot-out attempt)
Norway vs. Austria
Wed, 27 April 2022, 16:00
Austria vs. France
Thu, 28 April 2022, 19:30
Austria vs. Slovakia
Sat, 30 April 2022, 16:00
