Ice Hockey World Championship: Austria beats Belarus in relegation duel

The first game against Belarus has come at the best time. Austria’s national ice hockey team won the relegation duel 4-0 (1:0.3:0.0:0) at the World Championships in Copenhagen on Saturday and for the first time in 14 years managed to maintain its class. The ÖEHV selection is the first rising star in ten years who does not have to relegate immediately.

Team boss Roger Bader’s team solved the ticket for the 2019 World Cup in Slovakia (Bratislava and Kosice) even before the final match on Monday (8.15 pm) against the Czech Republic. An early goal from defender Layne Viveiros (5th) and a one-hundred-percent power play win in the middle third brought Austria’s first victory at this tournament. Konstantin Komarek (31st), Michael Raffl (35th) and Dominic Zwerger (40th) each met red-white-red fans to the delight of the hundreds who travelled with them.

Bader had to do without striker Brian Lebler (broken fingers) and defender Dominique Heinrich (knee injury). Goalkeeper Bernhard Starkbaum, who was criticised after Bader’s France match, regained his confidence – and paid it back with a flawless performance and a “shut-out”.

After a nervous start, Austria took the lead with the first goal shot, as they did against France. A Viveiros shot was fended off by goalkeeper Mikhail Karnauchov so unhappily that the target jumped into the goal from his own defender (5th).

In contrast to the previous day, however, the leadership did not turn into uncertainty. The Belarusians, always in the A-WC since 2005, had more of the game, but also a lot of luck. Lukas Haudum hit only the crossbar after a nice single action (10th). Thanks to good penalty-killing in two under-numbered games, the Bader team brought the lead into the break.

In the middle third the Belarusians initially put a lot of pressure. With enormous fighting spirit and a little luck Captain Thomas Hundred Pounds and his colleagues survived this period and used the first penalty of the opponent.

After a patient build-up Komarek, also criticised by Bader the day before, scored his first goal at this tournament (31st). Next powerplay, same game, but this time Raffl faked the Komarek shot (35.). And 24 seconds before the second break, Dwarf fired a shot into the corner of the back.

The question of relegation was practically decided, at the end stood the highest red-white-red victory at an A-WM for nine years (6:0 against Hungary 2009). Austria does not have to return to the second performance level immediately for the first time since Prague 2004.