photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / ANDRE RINGUETTE
Not every World Championship game is about winning medals. But if Saturday’s early action between newly-promoted Britain and playoff hopeful Austria lacked star names, it was in no way short of entertainment in a five-goal first period.
The Austrians took the final verdict, winning it 5-2. There were two-point contributions from five players – Benjamin Nissner, Peter Schneider, Thimo Nickl, Dominic Zwerger and Bernd Wolf – as the offence fired. Britain, with seven players making World Championship debuts, produced a pair of quick goals from David Clements and Liam Kirk.
Saturday’s win - the first opening day victory since 2015 - boosts Austria’s hopes of repeating last year’s run to the quarterfinals, and avenges the team’s 2-4 loss to GB in preliminary round play in Prague in 2024. Newly-promoted Britain, meanwhile, lost defender Josh Tetlow early in the game to an upper body injury and suffered a rough return to the top flight.
The opening stages went entirely to Roger Bader’s script. His Austrian team stormed out of the blocks to leave Britain shellshocked. Nissner did the early damage, finding acres of space in front of the net to open the scoring on 2:50, then whipping in a shot from the boards that captain Schneider deflected home on 6:00. For goalie Mat Robson, in his first competitive action since becoming a naturalized Brit this season, it was a nightmare start.
Britain’s day got worse before it got better: a big rebound off a Nickl shot allowed Paul Huber to pot a third inside 10 minutes.
“I liked our compete level right from the get-go,” Nissner said. “The first goal we scored, the bench had energy.
“We scored three goals, but they came back. So we made a step back, but in the second period, things came back for us. I think we're a competitive team, and that's what we expect for the next games too.”
But GB’s recent history at World Championships tells us Pete Russell’s team never lacks fight. Reviving the forecheck and getting to David Kickert’s net brought rewards – to the tune of two goals in 37 seconds. Defender Clements isn’t a natural goalscorer, but he connected with a Brett Perlini pass to roast a shot home from the right-hand circle for his first World Championship goal at any level. Kirk is a natural goalscorer, and his trademark snipe from the left-hand dot put this game right back on the boil.
“We were just trying to work them low and find that soft pocket,” Kirk said of his goal. “I was in the right place, and Cade [Neilson] made a nice little dive pokecheck to get it to me. I just tried to hit the net, hoping it went in, and it did.”
However, in the second period Austria resumed its control of the game and rebuilt its three-goal advantage. Schneider celebrated his first game as captain with a second goal, getting on a two-on-one rush and using Nissner as a decoy before lifting a backhand shot over Robson. That moved Austria’s captain to 34 points in World Championship play.
Nissner paid tribute to his captain. “He’s a great leader, a great captain. In the first period, he scored a goal and made a big hit afterwards. That’s what you need your captain to do: go be a leader, hit some guys, score goals. He’s just a perfect example for that.”
Then came a first World Championship goal for Leon Wallner. Robson made a great diving glove save to deny the 23-year-old’s first shot, but the Vienna Capitals man reacted well to squeeze home the rebound from a tight angle, evading a despairing stick from Clements.
Wallner is one of several youngsters emerging for Austria, something noted by Clemens Unterweger: “Our young group has a lot of speed and intensity. Taking this win now, we have a good confidence boost for sure.”
Britain was unable to find another fightback. Robson remained the busier of the two goalies through the third period as the Austrians controlled the closing stages. The Coventry Blaze man pulled off some big saves to keep the scoreline respectable – notably denying Maximilian Rebernig with a strong pad after Leon Kolarik’s effort was blocked five minutes into the third.
Life gets no easier for GB when it continues tomorrow lunchtime against defending champion Team USA. Austria faces Hungary in the second game of the day in Zurich.
“I think we’re realistic: we’ll be playing a lot in the D-zone!” admitted Kirk. “But it’s exciting. Coming to these tournaments, our job is to survive and try to avoid relegation. We’re playing the USA, a team full of NHL players, so we've just gotta work hard, do the right things at the right times, and play our best.”
Meanwhile, Unterweger is preparing for another better against Austria’s neighbour. “I expect another hard-fought game,” he said. “They know us, we know them. I think there’s no secrets to the game. We have to stick with our game plan, play with a lot of speed and intensity. I expect a very skilled Hungarian team.”
The Austrians took the final verdict, winning it 5-2. There were two-point contributions from five players – Benjamin Nissner, Peter Schneider, Thimo Nickl, Dominic Zwerger and Bernd Wolf – as the offence fired. Britain, with seven players making World Championship debuts, produced a pair of quick goals from David Clements and Liam Kirk.
Saturday’s win - the first opening day victory since 2015 - boosts Austria’s hopes of repeating last year’s run to the quarterfinals, and avenges the team’s 2-4 loss to GB in preliminary round play in Prague in 2024. Newly-promoted Britain, meanwhile, lost defender Josh Tetlow early in the game to an upper body injury and suffered a rough return to the top flight.
The opening stages went entirely to Roger Bader’s script. His Austrian team stormed out of the blocks to leave Britain shellshocked. Nissner did the early damage, finding acres of space in front of the net to open the scoring on 2:50, then whipping in a shot from the boards that captain Schneider deflected home on 6:00. For goalie Mat Robson, in his first competitive action since becoming a naturalized Brit this season, it was a nightmare start.
Britain’s day got worse before it got better: a big rebound off a Nickl shot allowed Paul Huber to pot a third inside 10 minutes.
“I liked our compete level right from the get-go,” Nissner said. “The first goal we scored, the bench had energy.
“We scored three goals, but they came back. So we made a step back, but in the second period, things came back for us. I think we're a competitive team, and that's what we expect for the next games too.”
But GB’s recent history at World Championships tells us Pete Russell’s team never lacks fight. Reviving the forecheck and getting to David Kickert’s net brought rewards – to the tune of two goals in 37 seconds. Defender Clements isn’t a natural goalscorer, but he connected with a Brett Perlini pass to roast a shot home from the right-hand circle for his first World Championship goal at any level. Kirk is a natural goalscorer, and his trademark snipe from the left-hand dot put this game right back on the boil.
“We were just trying to work them low and find that soft pocket,” Kirk said of his goal. “I was in the right place, and Cade [Neilson] made a nice little dive pokecheck to get it to me. I just tried to hit the net, hoping it went in, and it did.”
However, in the second period Austria resumed its control of the game and rebuilt its three-goal advantage. Schneider celebrated his first game as captain with a second goal, getting on a two-on-one rush and using Nissner as a decoy before lifting a backhand shot over Robson. That moved Austria’s captain to 34 points in World Championship play.
Nissner paid tribute to his captain. “He’s a great leader, a great captain. In the first period, he scored a goal and made a big hit afterwards. That’s what you need your captain to do: go be a leader, hit some guys, score goals. He’s just a perfect example for that.”
Then came a first World Championship goal for Leon Wallner. Robson made a great diving glove save to deny the 23-year-old’s first shot, but the Vienna Capitals man reacted well to squeeze home the rebound from a tight angle, evading a despairing stick from Clements.
Wallner is one of several youngsters emerging for Austria, something noted by Clemens Unterweger: “Our young group has a lot of speed and intensity. Taking this win now, we have a good confidence boost for sure.”
Britain was unable to find another fightback. Robson remained the busier of the two goalies through the third period as the Austrians controlled the closing stages. The Coventry Blaze man pulled off some big saves to keep the scoreline respectable – notably denying Maximilian Rebernig with a strong pad after Leon Kolarik’s effort was blocked five minutes into the third.
Life gets no easier for GB when it continues tomorrow lunchtime against defending champion Team USA. Austria faces Hungary in the second game of the day in Zurich.
“I think we’re realistic: we’ll be playing a lot in the D-zone!” admitted Kirk. “But it’s exciting. Coming to these tournaments, our job is to survive and try to avoid relegation. We’re playing the USA, a team full of NHL players, so we've just gotta work hard, do the right things at the right times, and play our best.”
Meanwhile, Unterweger is preparing for another better against Austria’s neighbour. “I expect another hard-fought game,” he said. “They know us, we know them. I think there’s no secrets to the game. We have to stick with our game plan, play with a lot of speed and intensity. I expect a very skilled Hungarian team.”
Great Britain vs Austria - 2026 IIHF Men's World Championship
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