World Cham­pi­onship prepa­ra­tion: Para national team to play Germany three times

“We want to take the next step,” says assistant coach Gee Goll as he outlines the approach. This weekend, he will stand behind the bench in place of Lucas Herrnegger, who became a father a few days ago – heartfelt congratulations to him!

From Friday to Sunday, the team will take to the ice against a German development squad in Füssen (GER) three times in succession.

For the Austrian squad, this is an important benchmark ahead of the upcoming C World Championship in Bangkok (THA). “The most recent training camps have already been good. We are moving in the right direction. We need to improve our coordination and our transition game from defence to offence. We will also test the line combinations in the three games,” explains Gee Goll.

Particular attention will also be paid to how the respective lines gel and develop. Fitness will also play a role in this packed schedule of friendlies.  

The German side is using the weekend to assess several players and give them their first ice time with the national team. Five players in the 13-player squad have already gained international experience.

Germany assistant coach Michael Gursinsky: “As this is only a very short camp, we have just one training session and a short pre-game skate. In return, we have three games against Austria, which will be the first internationals for some of the lads. The workload of three games in three days will be very high. It will also be an assessment to see who can keep up physically at this level. I am very excited and looking forward to the camp.”

Austria comfortably won the 1st game on Friday evening, 5:2. Gee Goll: “Some things were already better than in the previous friendlies, above all our play without the puck. A few mistakes crept in during the second period, but we did better again in the final period. One of the most important aspects this weekend is the coordination within the lines, and we have already gained some insights in that regard. For today’s game, we will try to be a little quicker again in transitioning from defence to attack. Werner Pouzar will also start in goal instead of Michael Ossimitz.”

The 2nd game also went Austria’s way, 4:3. Gee Goll: “Today’s game was considerably more evenly balanced. You could see that the hosts wanted to make amends for yesterday. Our game was a little inconsistent, which was certainly also due to the small squad. In addition to the long journey and last night’s game, we also had a training session this morning. The fatigue meant that we were at times inaccurate and occasionally a step behind. On the other hand, the coordination between defence and offence worked better again overall, although there is still room for improvement. All in all, the 4:3 away win was deserved. Werner Pouzar also did a very good job in goal, which gives us an alternative in Thailand if needed.”

International games in Füssen

Germany vs. Austria 2:5 (0:2,0:2,2:1)
Fri, 11 October 2024, 21:00

Germany vs. Austria 3:4 (1:1, 1:0, 1:3)
Sat, 12 October 2024, 15:15

Germany vs. Austria
Sun, 13 October 2024, 09:30

Austria squad