World Cham­pi­onship 2025: Austria ready for Finland and Sweden

For Thimo Nickl the first two training sessions at the Avicii Arena and the adjacent Hovet training arena marked a return to his former stomping ground. From 2021 to 2023, the defenceman played for AIK and was able to play his home games in one of the two arenas: "It feels good to be back, breathing the same air as a few years ago. I had the privilege of enjoying two years of playing in these arenas."

Austria open the World Championship against Finland on Friday with good memories. A year ago, they sensationally beat the four-time world champions 3:2. The scorer of the game-winning goal, Benjamin Baumgartner: "That was one of the finest moments for Austrian ice hockey and for me personally. We are delighted that we can play them again. The atmosphere will certainly be good. The energy will be high and we are looking forward to it."

Despite, or perhaps precisely because of, last year’s outstanding World Championship, Austria travelled to Stockholm with great humility. The overriding objective is to stay in the top division, Head Coach Roger Bader: "We are hugely excited that it is getting under way now. Finland are one of the top teams. We must not kid ourselves just because we beat them last year. They compete for medals every year. We are still closer to fighting to stay in the top division than to fighting for a quarter-final place. We have to be humble and secure our place in the top division before setting our sights on higher goals." 

With Finland and Sweden, Austria face two absolute top nations straight away, who have won a combined 15 World Championship titles (SWE 11x, FIN 4x). Finland most recently won gold in 2022, Sweden in 2018. Sweden last hosted the World Championship in 2013, staging the tournament jointly with Finland, with games played in Helsinki. 

Thanks to strong opponents in their World Championship preparations, Austria feel ready for these two heavyweights at the start, Head Coach Roger Bader: "It is always about space and time. The better the opponent, the less space you have, the less time you have and the more likely you are to make mistakes. You need good puck management, to implement the vertical hockey we always talk about, and to be well organised defensively." 

2025 IIHF ICE HOCKEY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

9 - 25 May 2025, Stockholm, Sweden & Herning, Denmark

Austria vs. Finland
Fri, 09 May 2025, Avicii Arena, 16:20, live ORF 1

Sweden vs. Austria
Sat, 10 May 2025, Avicii Arena, 16:20, live ORF 1

Austria vs. Slovakia
Mon, 12 May 2025, Avicii Arena, 16:20, live ORF 1

Canada vs. Austria
Thu, 15 May 2025, Avicii Arena, 20:20, live ORF SPORT +

Austria vs. France
Fri, 16 May 2025, Avicii Arena, 16:20, live ORF SPORT + and ORF 1

Slovenia vs. Austria
Sun, 18 May 2025, Avicii Arena, 16:20, live ORF SPORT + and ORF 1

Latvia vs. Austria
Tue, 20 May 2025, Avicii Arena, 12:20, live ORF 1

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