Ice Hockey World Cup: Austria holds the lead with confidence

Peter Schneider (29/PP) and Dominik Zwerger (29) took the initial decision within 40 seconds in front of 16,565 fans at the O2 Arena, and Schneider finally put Austria on the path to victory with his second goal (34). Mario Huber put the final point with a shot into the empty Norwegian goal after Sander Ingebraten (54th) had made it 1:3. For Austria, it was their first World Cup win over Norway since 1999 and their first win in an official match since the 3-1 win. At the Sochi 2014 Olympics.

With their second win of the tournament, the Austrians not only secured early relegation, but now have a chance to reach the quarter-finals. The calculation is simple: if Bader’s team also beats the British on Tuesday (12:20 p.m., live on ORF1) and the Finns go away empty-handed against Denmark on Monday or Tuesday evening in the match against Switzerland, the World Cup will go to Austria. In K.-o.- tour continues. Because thanks to winning the head-to-head duel, red, white and red have the advantage over Finland if there is a tie on points.

Goalkeeper Kickert Anniversary Game

The Austrians had to play the first two main matches with a slightly different line-up. Captain Thomas Raffl’s difficult matches against Finland and the Czech Republic left a lot of marks on his body. So the 37-year-old had to watch the Norway match, and perhaps also so that he could play in what could be a crucial match against Great Britain. Ali Wokovits moved to the first line, and substitute Lukas Thaler moved to the fourth line. Recovering from his impressive exploits against Finland, David Kickert is back in goal this time around – for the 100th time in his international career.

In his anniversary match, Kickert and his teammates clearly had home advantage on their side. The Norwegian battle pioneers barely stood out among the more than 16,000 fans. In the first few minutes, he showed the audience how much self-confidence the Austrians had gained through their recent performances. Because the first few minutes were red, white and red. Stephen Strong tested Henrik Haukland in goal for the first time (second), Vinzenz Rohrer narrowly missed after a solo shot, and Thaler missed the rebound (third).

As usual, the Norwegians stood strong and, above all, waited for mistakes. For example, someone like Dominik Zwerger, who had an almost fatal bad pass in his third on the power play, cleaned up Clemens Unterweger (13th). The fact that the score was 0-0 for the first time was due on the one hand to Kickert, who made a brilliant save against “Grandpa” Patrick Thoresen when outnumbered (17), and on the other hand to Lukas Hudom, who this time outnumbered pucks by a short distance ( nineteenth).

Austria pulls away with a double blow

In the second third, the Austrians slowly but surely took control of the match, also because the Norwegians switched to a kind of wait-and-see mode, albeit with a much tougher pace in the duels. A penalty kick against Johannes Johansson, who had lost his nerve a bit, gave Austria the long-awaited lead: Sneijder shot straight after Marco Rossi’s pass and gave Hakeland no chance (29th).

Exactly 40 seconds later, the DJ was allowed to play the Zillertal Wedding March track again. Zwerger, under pressure from Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, made his way into the Norwegian area and just managed to volley the ball towards goal before it hit the boards behind. The puck slid off a Norwegian skater and into the goal (29th place), giving Austria a two-goal lead.

Zwerger’s goal and perhaps also his celebration in the face of Brandisj Nygaard did not leave a good impression on the Norwegians. Things became more difficult, as the Austrians repeatedly engaged in skirmishes and accepted them. The penalty boxes were full. Sneijder gave the correct answer to the Norwegian’s deposit. In an almost exact copy of his first goal, the Salzburg striker shot the puck into the Norwegian goal when the opponent was awarded a penalty kick (34th minute).

Austria achieves victory on its soil

The Austrians themselves showed the Canadians that they should not be content with a three-goal lead. Especially when you start with a third of a half minute with lower legs. Mario Huber and Vinzenz Rohrer were awarded two penalties shortly before half-time. But not only did the Austrians come close, Huber also had the chance to score Austria’s fourth goal from the penalty area, but Haukland was cautious (41′).

The Norwegians now increasingly took the lead, but the Austrians still had better chances. Haukland blocked Rossi from close range (47), then the crossbar helped the Norwegian goalkeeper with a shot from Stephen Strong (49). Amid increasingly loud chants of “Austria again and again”, Ingbraten made things more interesting and also missed Kickert’s chance (54).

But it was the only goal he conceded in the match. The Norwegians took their goalkeeper off the ice about three minutes before the end, but Zwerger fought for the ball in the attacking third and used Mario Huber, who was alone in front of an empty goal (48th position). This meant that the resistance of the Scandinavians had finally been broken. With the final siren, it was certain: Austrian officials were cleared to plan A-WM 2025 in Sweden and Denmark.

Voices about the game:

Roger Bader (Austria team captain): “In the end you could say he was confident. But we knew and prepared that it was going to be a very difficult and balanced game, and that was exactly the case in the first third, maybe the first five minutes were with us, but after that the score was completely even. We were We know we need a lot of patience and discipline as well. I’m very happy.”

Marco Rossi (Austria striker): “We are very satisfied. The first goal was to stay in the league. Now we have faith that we can always do more. Of course everything must go smoothly for us now, our focus is of course on beating Great Britain. Then we will see what happens to Finland next. We have been at the top for three years now, and this is an award, and we can be very proud.

Ice Hockey World Cup 2024 in the Czech Republic Group A in Prague

The final result:

Austria – Norway 4:1

(0:0 3:0 1:1)

Prague, 16.565

Goals: Schneider (29th, 34th), Zwerger (29th), M. Hooper (58th place, 58th place), Ingbraten (54th place).

Penalties: 10 and 12 respectively

Norway: Haukeland-Johansson, Solberg; Norstebo, Hansen; Krogdahl, Casastoll; Ingbraten – Zuccarello, Thorsen, Brandisg-Nygaard; Martinsen, Salsten, Petersen; Steen, Vikingstad, Berg Poulsen; ronild, ustrem salsten, olsen; Bucky Olsen

Austria: Kickert-Nickel, Heinrich; Wolff, Unterweger; Strong, Mayer. Brunner, Stiebelfeldt – M. Huber, Nisner, and Walkowitz; Schneider, Rossi, Zwerger; Janal, Baumgartner, Hudom; Thaler, Rohrer, P. Huber

Group A in Prague