Austria's U18 head coach Philipp Pinter has put his faith in backup goalie Patrik Grauscher for the first time in their fourth World Cup game against World Cup hosts Denmark at Icenter Nord. Shortly after starting, the Red-White-Red survived their first count. The Austrians had their first power play opportunity and scored ice-gold through Adrian Gesson, who made it 1-0 (7').
Despite a bumpy start, Austria had more of the game in the first period, eventually killing off a number of special teams penalties and, along with keeper Crasher, taking a narrow lead into the first third.
After the Austrians survived an outnumbered start to the second third with 20 seconds remaining, they followed at the other end: Johannes Neumann made it 2-0 from the slot (22nd). The ÖEHV selection continued the momentum and made it 3-0 through Felix Hibach 30 seconds before halftime (30th).
After conceding the third goal, Denmark keeper Tobias Christensen's day was done and he was replaced by Patrick Tietjen. With three minutes to go in the second period, the outnumbered lines again showed their strength as Austria went into the final third with a 3-0 lead.
There, Austria took advantage of their first majority, Leon Kolarik making it 4-0 (44th). That meant the match was decided, but the red-white-red cracks weren't enough that evening: Johannes Neumann made it 5-0 after 65 seconds, his second straight goal (46th). The Austrians brought home the win, with goalie Patrick Krascher celebrating the shutout in the first World Cup game.
Head coach Philip Pinter His team's performance after the match was over and after the start of the game was very satisfactory: “It was a great win for the team. There was a little bump in the first third and we came out of the locker room and it was an unusual time for the team so late. Of course that shouldn't be an excuse, but our approach is that it would be too easy. We improved as the game progressed and conceded incredibly less in the second third, the cream of the crop with great ice hockey. We were too disciplined, too toxic, too powerful, and we set out to do it. We really gave the Danes very little space and time and created a lot of chances to score. We only gave up a handful of chances in the whole 60 minutes. I am very proud of the way we played today. We are delighted that this young team already has a medal in its pocket before the last day of competition. This is a great unit that has grown together over the past few months! “
Fight for the silver medal on Saturday against Ukraine
The final day will be explosive: Austria already has the bronze medal and will fight for the silver medal against Ukraine on Saturday. This is a must win after 60 minutes. On the final matchday, Ukraine will play Germany in a long-distance battle for promotion to the first division.
The Ukrainians opened the World Cup with a 4-1 win over Japan, followed by a 3-1 win against hosts Denmark before suffering a 1-2 overtime loss in a head-to-head clash with Germany. Ukraine beat Hungary 7-4 on Thursday. The Germans meet Denmark and they could clinch promotion.
The head coach and his team now want more: “The direction of travel is now very clear, we will start tomorrow on Friday a bit calmer and practice shorter. We will prepare and analyze today's game and find things that can be improved. Above all, positive things prevail today. The buffaloes are hungry, we have a medal, but we are not satisfied with the bronze medal, we want the silver medal, accordingly the strategy against Ukraine is clear!
