World Cham­pi­onship 2024: Austria lose to Great Britain and miss out on quarter-final oppor­tu­nity

For the final game of the group stage against Great Britain, Austria head coach Roger Bader placed his trust in goaltender David Kickert. David Madlener was in the line-up as the backup. The ÖEHV side started with purpose, with Dominic Zwerger firing a good shot into the side netting. Marco Rossi had the next good opportunity from close range. The game then became somewhat disjointed, with Austria initially controlling the match from a solid defence. 

As the first period progressed, Austria repeatedly pinned the British in their own defensive zone, with only a goal missing. Austria had their first power play three minutes before the end of the opening period, but were unable to make their numerical advantage count.

Soon after the restart, Austria had another power-play opportunity. This time, head coach Roger Bader’s team made the most of the situation: Clemens Unterweger fired home to give them a deserved 1:0 lead (23.). 

3:5 penalty kill turns the momentum

Then came the first penalty kill, and it was immediately a 3:5 situation for a full two minutes. David Kickert made spectacular saves straight away, while the post also came to Austria’s rescue. The Austrian netminder had no chance against Ben O’Connor’s powerful shot from the slot as Great Britain levelled at 1:1 (28.). 

Head coach Peter Russell’s team now enjoyed their best phase and played with greater attacking confidence. Goaltender David Kickert made good saves to preserve the draw. Following a fine pass from Peter Schneider, Marco Rossi had the lead on his stick but was denied from close range

The final period began with Austria on the penalty kill after just a few seconds. Brett Perlini scored from close range to make it 2:1, with Great Britain turning the match around (42.). The ÖEHV side then had luck when Oliver Betteridge hit the crossbar. Austria tried to find their way back into the game and regain an attacking foothold. Great Britain struck again, with Evan Mosey scoring for 3:1 (51.). 

Austria then had a power play and the opportunity to get back into the match, but the attacking units could not get the puck into the opposition net. Head coach Roger Bader took an early risk and pulled goaltender Kickert, with the British scoring through Robert Dowd into the empty net for 4:1 (56.). 

In the final minute, Mario Huber scored on the power play to make it 2:4 (60.), but it was merely a consolation goal. Clemens Unterweger was named Austria’s Best Player. The ÖEHV’s three best players of the tournament were goaltender David Kickert, defenceman Clemens Unterweger and forward Marco Rossi. Austria finish the Group A preliminary round in fifth place after seven games with seven points. Overall, Austria rank tenth at this World Championship!

Head coach Roger Bader is very satisfied with the World Championship

Head coach Roger Bader analysed the defeat against Great Britain shortly after the final siren: "We certainly did not play our best game today. I think we were nervous. I think the starting position, knowing that we could achieve something very big with a win, made the team determined at the start of the game. But then, when it remained goalless for a long time and especially after that five-on-three, they simply showed nerves and never really got going again. In the end, you have to say that the British deserved to win the game, although quite a few pucks went their way. The second and third goals were deflections off bodies that fell straight onto the British sticks; that does not have to happen, but that was the case today. You could also see that the British had nothing left to play for; tactically, they did a few things that were very risky, which they probably would not have done had it been an all-or-nothing game, but of course they had every right to do so. But after the five-on-three, we never really found our rhythm again. We prepared the players for it to be a tough game, and the five-on-three turned the momentum!"

Bader offered an initial brief assessment of the World Championship and is already looking to the future: "The World Championship was sensational. People in Austria have to understand that what we achieved here is not normal, even if we have now lost the last game. The performances we produced against Switzerland, Canada, Finland and Norway were outstanding and truly excellent. We made many people proud. I know that many people watched ice hockey who would not otherwise watch ice hockey. I think everyone who was here can be proud, and Austria can be proud that we had such a great team here. It also showed us that we have a chance in Olympic qualifying. We know that we will face strong Slovaks there. If this defeat has one positive aspect, it is that it serves as a reminder not to get carried away. And that at the next World Championship, staying in the top division will once again be the main objective!"

Defenceman Dominique Heinrich said after the final World Championship game: "I think we were a little tense from the start today. We had a big goal in sight, but unfortunately we did not manage to give ourselves a chance of reaching the quarter-finals today. Overall, though, we still have to be proud of ourselves; we played a great, an outstanding World Championship. Naturally, the disappointment is there so soon after the game, but I think in a few hours or a few days we can look back with our heads held high and a smile on our faces. There were many ups and downs, starting with the first defeat against Denmark, which of course we had imagined differently. That was not our best game, but in my view the Danes played a very good game. And then there were the games that followed, with great moments. We will remember the comeback against Canada for a long time. The win against Finland likewise. And then the game against Norway was outstanding. We must not let this one game ruin the whole memory and experience for us now!"

Forward Benjamin Nissner was satisfied with the entire World Championship tournament after the initial disappointment: "The opposition deserved it more. Our puck management was not good enough. We were a little nervous and conceded silly goals at silly times today. But the tournament was incredible, the team was great. I really would have wanted the team to progress. We have to put it behind us; the tournament was sensational and the team has grown together so much!"

2024 IIHF ICE HOCKEY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Austria vs. Great Britain 2:4 (0:0,1:1,1:3)
Tue, 21 May 2024, 12:20, Prague Arena, 16.306
Austria goalscorers: Clemens Unterweger (at 23/PP1), Mario Huber (at 60/PP1)
Great Britain goalscorers: Ben O’Connor (at 28/PP2). Brett Perlini (at 42/PP1), Evan Mosey (at 51), Robert Dowd (at 56/EN)

Austria lined up with:

Goaltenders: 30 Kickert David; 31 Madlener David (backup)
Line 1: 91 Heinrich Dominique - 78 Thimo Nickl; 5 Raffl Thomas (C) - 70 Nissner Benjamin - 96 Huber Mario
Line 2: 92 Unterweger Clemens - 32 Wolf Bernd; 16 Zwerger Dominic - 23 Rossi Marco - 3 Schneider Peter
Line 3: 24 Strong Steven - 12 Maier David; 17 Ganahl Manuel - 98 Baumgartner Benjamin - 21 Haudum Lukas
Line 4: 18 Stapelfeldt Paul - 20 Brunner Nico; 52 Huber Paul - 9 Wukovits Ali - 19 Rohrer Vinzenz

Current IIHF World Championship standings

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 (at 54).
Austria goalscorers: Peter Schneider (at 29/PP1, at 34), Dominic Zwerger (at 29), Mario Huber (at 58/EN)

Czechia vs. Austria 4:0 (1:0,2:0,1:0)
Fri, 17 May 2024, 20:20, Prague Arena, 17.413
Czechia goalscorers: 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 goalscorers: Saku Mäenalanen (3), Oliver Kapanen (9)
Austria goalscorers: Mario Huber (24), Thimo Nickl (50), Benjamin Baumgartner (60)

Canada vs. Austria 7:6 AET (3:1,3:0,0:5,1:0)
Tue, 14 May 2024, 20:20, Prague Arena, 14.704
Canada goalscorers: Dylan Cozens (7), Kaiden Guhle (10), Bowen Byram (14), Jared McCann (23), Connor Bedard (30), Pierre-Luc Dubois (38). John Taveres (61)
Austria goalscorers: 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 goalscorers: Clemens Unterweger (5), Paul Huber (15), Lukas Haudum (22/PP1, 35/PP1), Benjamin Baumgartner (53)
Switzerland goalscorers: 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 goalscorer: Manuel Ganahl (20.)
Denmark goalscorers: Markus Lauridsen (14.), Frederik Storm (17./SH1), Joachim Blichfeld (39., 59./PP1), Felix Scheel (54.)