"Always want more"

Ice Hockey World Championship: Austria is the biggest sensation!

Austria has had plenty to cheer about at the Ice Hockey World Cup so far.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Austria is the biggest sensation of the 87th Ice Hockey World Championship in the Czech Republic so far. After gaining a point against world champions Canada and beating Olympic champions Finland 3:2 on Thursday, the big goal of retaining their place is already within reach. Even the quarter-finals - albeit still a long way off - are suddenly within reach, as Roger Bader's team in Prague impressed with their morale, self-confidence, strong goalkeepers and unique offensive power. 

In the fight against relegation, Austria has a very good chance against Norway (3), Denmark (3) and Great Britain (0). Since 2016, this haul has always been enough to keep them there, but this year they no longer want to settle for that. Marco Rossi, Austria's only NHL forward, embodies the self-confidence and aspirations for higher things like no other. Class retention secured? "We don't think about that, we always want more and more and more," said the forward in an ORF interview after the victory over Finland.

The tournament in Prague began for him and his colleagues with a bitter disappointment and a 5-1 defeat against Denmark. "Sometimes it takes a slap in the face like that to get the next jolt out of you. Then one thing led to another. Five goals against Switzerland, against Canada it was excellent and today we paid the price at the beginning, but got into the game better and better," said Bader.

Team manager Roger Bader

(Bild: GEPA pictures/ Christian Walgram)

With the final third against Canada (6:7 after overtime), in which a five-goal deficit was overturned for the first time in the history of the World Championship, the team gained confidence in its own strengths. And now also luck. Benjamin Baumgartner scored the winning goal 0.2 seconds before the final buzzer. "Beating Finland was an even better feeling than forcing Canada into overtime," said the match-winner.

In the space of three days, disappointment has turned into elation. "The Canada game did us a lot of good. Since then, we've come even closer together in the dressing room. Against the Finns we knew: Hey, if we play great, maybe there's something there. Now we can be happy, then it's on to the Czech Republic," said Rossi.

"The Lions were humiliated"
There was plenty of praise from the opponents on Thursday evening. "Austria are simply a good team. They made it difficult for us. It's not easy to play against a team that defends so patiently and blocks the center. It was quite difficult to create chances at 5-on-5," team boss Jukka Jalonen was quoted as saying in the newspaper Ilta-Sanomat. The newspaper itself was harsh on the team called "Leijonat" (Lions): "The Lions have been humiliated".

"You need twelve points for the quarter-finals"
Austria can now at least go into the final games against Norway on Sunday and Great Britain on Tuesday with a good points cushion, which had been classified as crucial for survival. Two victories would probably secure the best World Championship placing for 21 years (tenth place in Helsinki), possibly even more. But Bader, the sober and reserved Swiss, puts the brakes on. "It's still presumptuous, you need twelve points for the quarter-finals," he said, calling instead for a focus on performance. "We don't have to act like we're favourites against Norway and Great Britain, we have to play with the same mindset against those two teams and the Czech Republic as we did in the last few games, otherwise things will quickly go in the other direction," the team boss emphasized.

Tournament for the history books
But the tournament is already one for the history books for Austria's team. After the greatest comeback in World Championship history against Canada and the first win against Olympic champions Finland, it will probably be the A-World Championship with the most red-white-red goals. If you exclude penalty shootouts, Austria has scored a maximum of 17 goals in the elite class (1995, 2002 and 2013), but the current team already has 15 goals before the three remaining games.

This is thanks to a finishing efficiency in which the ÖEHV team is number one in the tournament. Out of 76 shots on goal, 15 landed in the net, which is 19.74 percent. In comparison: at the last two World Championships in Tampere, the Austrians scored 7.1% (2023) and 9.88% (2023). "We are able to switch quickly and execute fast attacks," says Bader. He calls it torpedo field hockey.