Austria also loses the second World Championship warm-up game against Germany

The Austrian national ice hockey team also lost the second warm-up game in preparation for the World Championship against Germany on Saturday. Two days after the 3:4 in Zell am See, the ÖEHV team was defeated 2:5 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. For long stretches, Germany set the pace, and Austria only found its way into the game better in the final third – but the deficit from the first 40 minutes was too great.

First and Second Period

Germany set the course early. Maximilian Kastner scored the lead in the 8th minute, Alexander Blank increased to 2:0 in the 13th minute. Austria was already under pressure in the first period, rarely managed to keep the puck for longer periods in offense, and had to do a lot of defensive work.

The picture continued in the middle period: Germany remained dominant, Austria's goalkeeper Florian Vorauer initially prevented worse, but had to concede a third goal in the 40th minute. Dominik Kahun made it 3:0 with a deflected shot. After two periods, the period results from Austria's perspective were 0:2 and 0:1.

Coach Statements

Head coach Roger Bader assessed the first 40 minutes clearly: "In the first 40 minutes we were inferior, especially athletically and physically. Germany put a lot of pressure on us. We could hardly get the puck around them. They were clearly superior. The last period was on equal footing, if you look at it in isolation."

Final Period and Conclusion

Austria's response came in the final period. Lucas Thaler reduced the score to 1:3 in the 45th minute, Mario Huber even made it 2:3 in the 49th minute. Suddenly the game was open – and exactly this phase was evaluated by the coaching staff as an indication that structure and courage with the puck are fundamentally present when the intensity is right.

Bader said: "The last period was positive. We showed that we can also play ice hockey."

However, the comeback ultimately brought no reward. Daniel Fischbuch scored in the 56th minute to make it 4:2, Tim Brunnhuber set the final point at 5:2 with an empty-net goal in the 60th minute. The final period thus ended 2:2 – too little to make up for Germany's clear advantages in the first two periods (0:2, 0:1).

Thaler also clearly saw the focus on the details: "We have to improve those now before the World Championship. We fought well, unfortunately it wasn't enough in the end."

Outlook for the World Championship and Further Test Matches

Before the World Championship, which begins on May 15 in Switzerland, Austria still has one dress rehearsal: Next Saturday (4:20 p.m.) in Klagenfurt, the final of a total of eight test matches against Slovenia will take place. In the current series, from Austria's perspective:

• Wins:
  • 4:3 against Latvia
  • 3:2 after overtime against Italy
• Losses:
  • 0:1 against Latvia
  • 1:5 and 0:4 against Czechia
  • 3:4 and 2:5 against Germany

Looking ahead to the tournament, the opening already takes on special significance: Austria starts on May 16 (12:20 p.m.) against Great Britain – a match that could be decisive in the fight to stay in the top division. Germany will meet Austria again in the group stage on May 23 (8:20 p.m.) in Zurich.

From Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Austria mainly takes away the realization that a game "on equal footing" is possible if the intensity is maintained for 60 minutes. At the same time, Germany's clear superiority in the first 40 minutes showed what needs to be worked on most urgently in the last days of preparation: stability under pressure, physical presence, and cleaner solutions to break out of the forecheck and more often enter the offensive zone in a controlled manner.