Women’s national team lose 1:11 to the USA

ÖEHV’s women’s national team lost 1:11 to the USA in their third group-stage game of the IIHF Women’s World Championship 2026 in Esbjerg, Denmark. Annika Fazokas scored Austria’s consolation goal against the world number one from 5:66 shots on goal – the USA’s first goal conceded at this World Championship. Sport State Secretary Michaela Schmidt was among the 571 spectators at Hockey Arena Esbjerg.

Austria faced the world number one in the USA: the Americans won Olympic gold in Milan in February, defeating Canada 2:1 after overtime in the final. They also entered the World Championship as defending champions. In Esbjerg, they had previously beaten Switzerland 7:0 and Germany 5:0. All but one of the Americans play in the PWHL, including record goalscorer Hilary Knight. Austria had lost 1:4 to Czechia and 0:2 to Germany in their opening games.

Head coach Alexander Bröms made several changes from the Germany game: Magdalena Luggin made her World Championship debut in goal, with Selma Luggin as her backup. Defender Charlotte Wittich also made her first appearance at this World Championship, while Hanna Obermayr returned to the forward line. Emma Pfeffer and Amelie Suppan were not in the squad. Bröms also rearranged the lines, with Vanessa Picka joining Anna Meixner and Theresa Schafzahl on the first line.

55 saves on Luggin’s debut

The USA applied pressure from the outset, while Austria fought back resolutely. Magdalena Luggin made several good saves, but was beaten by Caroline Harvey in the 10th minute as she raced in alone on goal at full speed. Superstar Hilary Knight made it 0:2 in the 13th minute, before Harvey and Tessa Janecke scored 0:4 within 22 seconds following an Austrian turnover shortly before the first intermission.

The start of the second period also went badly, with Janecke making it 0:5 after just nine seconds following a lightning-fast passing combination. The Austrians came through a penalty kill unscathed, but 0:6 followed shortly afterwards. Impressively, the Americans did not ease off despite their clear lead and extended it to 0:8 by the second intermission, with Megan Keller, the Olympic final winner, scoring with a fine long-range shot.

Fazokas breaks through USA defence

The Americans remained on the front foot in the final period, but the Austrians held firm for a long time before Knight scored her second goal with a deflected shot in the 49th minute. Tamara Grascher won the puck in the 54th minute but was denied by Gwyneth Philips. Shortly afterwards, Harvey completed her hat-trick to make it 0:11.

But the Austrians were rewarded: following good forechecking, Annika Fazokas fired a quick-release shot into the near top corner in the 55th minute to seal the 1:11 final score. It was the USA’s first goal conceded at this World Championship. The Austrians continued to give their all until the final buzzer and also came through another penalty kill. Fazokas was named Austria’s best player, while Luggin made 55 saves on her debut.

Switzerland await tomorrow

As early as Tuesday (at 19:00, live on ORF SPORT +), the women’s national team face Switzerland in their final group-stage game. The Swiss lost 0:7 to the USA in their opener, but then beat Czechia 2:1 after overtime and have two points, while Austria are still without a point. Only a win after 60 minutes keeps Austria’s quarter-final hopes alive, with the top four teams in each group of five qualifying. The bottom teams in the groups will play for survival in the top division in Herning on 13th November.

Alexander Bröms, head coach of ÖEHV’s women’s national team: "We knew it would be a huge challenge against the best team in the world, and that is exactly what we got. But it is also a good experience; you have to play against them to see how good they are. Annika’s goal in the final period was a special moment for the team, as we were the first to score against them. That gives us confidence for tomorrow. We expect a close game against Switzerland with plenty of physical contact, in which we will be more involved than today."

Anna Meixner, captain of ÖEHV’s women’s national team: "We saw that we were playing against 25 full professionals. They were one step ahead of us in everything they did and punished every mistake. Nevertheless, we fought as hard as we could. If we are to stay at this level and eventually compete with opponents like this, the details have to be right for 60 minutes. We can take away the fact that we encouraged each other for 60 minutes, regardless of what was on the scoreboard. Hopefully, that will give us momentum for tomorrow."

Annika Fazokas, ÖEHV defender: "We fought well, but some small details were not right at times, and that was punished quickly. 1:11 is a tough result, but it has to be put into perspective: when you consider how many girls play ice hockey in the USA, we have no reason to hide. Everything happened quickly for my goal, the puck came to me and I got it on goal as quickly as possible. Tomorrow, it is important that we play more freely and confidently with the puck."

Match report

IIHF Women’s World Championship 2026
Austria – USA 1:11 (0:4, 0:4, 1:3)
Hockey Arena Esbjerg, Esbjerg, Denmark, attendance: 571

Goals:

• HARVEY (Fox, Winn) (09:08)
• KNIGHT (Barnes, Eden) (12:59)
• HARVEY (O’Brien) (16:46)
• JANECKE (Guilday, Dunne) (17:08)
• JANECKE (Carpenter, Dunne) (20:09)
• DUNNE (Fox, Bilka) (25:04)
• EDEN (Harvey, Janecke) (35:49)
• KELLER (Dunne, Pannek) (37:08)
• KNIGHT (Edwards, Keller) (48:46)
• GUILDAY (Edwards, Murphy) (51:17)
• HARVEY (53:40)
• FAZOKAS (Dauböck) (54:35)

Penalty minutes: 4 and 0, respectively

Austria: Magdalena Luggin (Selma Luggin); Matzka – Fazokas, Billa – Schröfl, Tekin – Mörtl, Nagy – Wittich; Meixner – Schafzahl – Picka, Trummer – Lintner – Hofbauer, Dauböck – Grascher – Obermayr, Kutzer – Linzbichler – Beiter

The remaining ÖEHV matches

• Tuesday, 10 November, 19:00: Switzerland – Austria (ORF SPORT + from 18:55)