In a thrilling game, Clemens Unterweger (5th) and Paul Huber (15th), as well as Lukas Haudum (22nd, 35th) twice in the power play and Benjamin Baumgartner (52nd) scored for the Austrians, who were unrecognizable compared to the defeat against Denmark . The Swiss, led by NHL stars Roman Josi (16th/PP2, 30th/PP2) and Nico Hischier (23rd, 41st/PP), as well as Ken Jäger (30th/PP), turned the game around. With 50.5 seconds left, Hischier decided the game in favor of the favorite with his third goal.
The Austrians narrowly missed out on gaining valuable points in the fight to stay in the league. For the first time at a World Cup in Prague’s O2 Arena, the Austrians left the ice as losers against the Swiss. In 2004 they were separated 4:4, nine years ago the ÖEHV team surprisingly won 4:3 in the penalty shootout. On Tuesday (8:20 p.m. live on ORF Sport +) there will be a reunion with defending champion Canada.
Goal spectacle between Austria and Switzerland
Austria and Switzerland delivered probably the most entertaining game of the Ice Hockey World Cup in the Czech Republic so far with eleven goals – with a dramatic end for the ÖEHV selection. The clearly favored Swiss score the 6-5 winning goal 50 seconds before the end.
Kickert im Tor, Baumgartner fit
Team boss Bader stayed true to at least one line in his fifth A World Cup: the Swiss switched goalkeepers. David Madlener was allowed to recover from the five Danish goals, David Kickert took over. Bader also changed the attack lines a bit. Benjamin Baumgartner was healthy again and replaced Lucas Thaler and stormed alongside Lukas Haudum and Manuel Ganahl. Youngster Vinzenz Rohrer moved into line with Paul Huber and Ali Wukovits.
In the first third, the Austrians definitely refreshed their memories of 2015. Concentrated and moving towards the goal, Bader’s boys went to work and caught the Swiss on the wrong foot. Thomas Raffl almost followed up his Superman pose with a great goal when introducing the players, but narrowly missed the mark (3rd). Less than three minutes later the hammer came out – Reto Berra was powerless in goal (5th). Austria also had the luck of the brave. Nashville star Josi flicked the disc past the goal on a counterattack alone in front of Kickert after a mistake by Nico Brunner (10th).
Unterweger scores to make it 1-0
With a powerful slap shot, the defender gave Austria the lead in the third minute.
Five minutes later it was 2-0 for the underdog. Paul Huber followed up consistently and poked it over the line (15th). However, a lack of concentration almost deprived Austria of the fruits of their labor. After a foul by Dominic Zwerger and a substitution error, Bader’s boys were only three for 1:13 minutes. Josi needed five seconds to shorten the score with a slap shot (16./PP2). Because Calvin Thurkauf only hit the bar just before the break, Red-White-Red went into the break with a lead.
Huber stabs successfully
Paul Huber rewarded himself and the team for his efforts in the fight for the puck with a 2-0 win.
Bader’s troops counter Swiss turnaround
And because the Austrians were allowed to start the second third with one more man and watched Josi’s goal closely, the score was 3-1 after 22 minutes. Haudum used a perfect cross pass from Dominic Zwerger and chased the puck into the net. But the joy about the new two-goal lead didn’t last long. Practically in return, Josi Hischier served him with a Stangl pass and the former number one pick in the National Hockey League (NHL) pushed in (23′).
Haudum takes out the hammer
After a perfect assist from Zwerger, Haudum sank the puck into the net for a 3-1 lead.
The Swiss now clearly felt annoyed enough by the outsiders and increased the number of hits significantly. The shooting statistics shifted towards Team Suisse, the shouts of “Hopp-Schwyz” became louder and the pressure on Kickert in the goal was overwhelming. In the 30th minute, the score turned around within 13 seconds. Again the Austrians were two men less, Josi was there again – this time as a duster. Practically from the next face-off, Hischer served Jäger, who had previously failed at Kickert, and the score was 4:3 for Switzerland.
While the Austrian selection was destroyed by such effective goals, the current team fought its way back into the game with the necessary luck in some tricky situations. Haudum used another power play to score a one-timer from the right (35′). The sides were changed again at 4:4 – also because Kickert shook a candidate for the save of the tournament out of his catcher’s glove against Philipp Kurashev (39th).
Brood doppelt nach
The future striker of the Graz 99ers is once again there in the power play and scores to equalize 4:4.
Hischier wrestles Austria down
Shortly after the restart, Kickert was powerless when Hischier stood alone in front of him on the power play and lofted the puck into the top corner (41′). Ali Wukovits enabled the Swiss to take another power play and take the lead again. But despite visibly mentally and physically tired, the Austrians did not give up. Marco Rossi narrowly missed Akira Schmid just a minute after the fifth Swiss. At least Austria had managed one thing: unnerving veteran Reto Berra in 40 minutes.
But Schmid will also remember the game for a long time. In the 52nd minute, he lost his bearings when Baumgartner shot and was still looking for the window that had been smashed behind him when the Austrians united in celebration. From the red-white-red perspective, the surprise in the form of a points win was very close. But shortly before the end, the referees sent Bernd Wolf to the penalty box after a duel. Hischier said thank you for the renewed superiority, circled around the goal and broke the hearts of the bravely fighting Austrians.
Voices about the game
Roger Bader (ÖEHV team boss): “First of all, I have to deal with the goal conceded 51 seconds before the end. Of course it’s very bitter to lose like that. I think we deserved to end up with something – and not empty-handed. It was a great ice hockey festival in front of 13,000 spectators – and Austria played a part in making it a great ice hockey game. It was one of the best performances from the Austrian national team in recent years. It was an excellent performance, we sold very well. We deserved a point.”
Clemens Unterweger (ÖEHV defender): “I think we played a great game. Switzerland was clever in power plays, they scored five power play goals and that’s how they won the game. I think it was a bitter call against us in the end. It’s a bitter defeat for us because I think we deserved more.”
Ice Hockey World Cup 2024 in the Czech Republic
Sunday:
Group A
Austria – Switzerland 5:6
Threshold, 13,512
(2:1 2:3 1:2)
Tore: Unterweger (5th), P. Huber (15th), Haudum (22nd/PP, 35th/PP), Baumgartner (52nd) bzw. Josi (16th/PP2, 30th/PP2), Hischier (23rd, 41st/PP, 60th), Jäger (30th/PP),
Penalty minutes: 12 and 6 respectively
Group A in Prague
2024-05-12 18:19:23
#Ice #Hockey #World #Cup #Austria #narrowly #bow #Switzerland
