Bitter start to the World Cup

Austria vs Denmark LIVE from 16:20

First defeat in the first game for Austria's ice hockey team

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Disappointing start for Austria's national ice hockey team at the World Championships in the Czech Republic. Roger Bader's team was defeated by Denmark 1:5 on Saturday.

Austria's ice hockey team went into the opening game of the A World Championships in Prague on Saturday with high hopes - but after 60 minutes they were brought down to earth: Denmark, who have been in the concert of the greats for 15 years, played out all their routine against the ÖEHV selection and also benefited from many of their opponents' lack of concentration. In the end, a well-deserved 5:1 victory was the result. Austria must improve significantly - ideally on Sunday, when the heavy favorites Switzerland await in the second match (20:20).

Rossi blunder with serious consequences
Benjamin Baumgartner was surprisingly missing from the Austrian squad for the opening game against Denmark - his colleagues then made a classic false start to the tournament. With Marco Rossi as the tragic figure: The NHL crack picked up a two-minute penalty for obstruction immediately after he put the puck next to the goal from a promising position (9th), and picked up another unnecessary bench penalty in the course of the opening period (13th) - lapses in concentration similar to those of some of his teammates. The experienced Danes capitalized on this and already set the course for victory in the opening period: True's first top chance was saved by goalie Madlener after 45 seconds, as were further shots by True (10th) and Lauridsen (12th). The latter, however, broke the spell a little later with 4-4 on the ice, scoring in a scramble to make it 1:0 for the Scandinavians (13). In minute 17, Madlener and Rossi made a mistake together - and on the power play! The goalie played a risky pass behind the goal to the striker, who promptly misplayed the disk right in front of the goal and lost it to Storm - who only had to backhand it into the virtually empty goal (17.).

Manuel Ganahl (r.) in a duel with Denmark's Oliver Lauridsen

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Roger Bader's team came back in the first period: Ganahl scored from the blue line 25 seconds before the end of the opening period to make it 1:2, finally breathing life into the game of the error-prone ÖEHV team. However, Team Austria also struggled to get going in the second period, making life difficult for themselves with disc losses in their own third and lack of concentration in the passing game. The Danes dictated the rhythm, but created few real chances to score - Austria did not get a single shot on goal for a long time, only Rossi broke the spell with two shots in the powerplay (33').

Manuel Ganahl (l.) scored to make it 1:2.

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The third Danish goal was in the air, especially at the end of the middle period - it finally came 1:05 minutes before the end: Blichfield surprised Madlener with a shot into the short corner. Apart from Paul Huber's shot off the stick, Denmark was also the dominant team in the final period, with From also scoring off the stick. Madlener initially prevented 1:4 with a foot save against Storm, but the goal was scored with the next attack: Scheel had no trouble finishing in the attacking zone against far too passive Austrians, bending the disc high into the net (54'). Blichfeld added the 5:1 in the powerplay (59.) - the bitter end of a failed first appearance in Prague!

Reinforcements are coming
Reinforcements are urgently needed - and are apparently on the way: defenceman Thimo Nickl, who failed to make the play-offs in the East Central Hockey League (ECHL) with the Wheeling Nailers, is set to strengthen the team in Prague. However, he is of course not yet an issue for Sunday's second clash with Switzerland (20:20).