Austria's Vinzenz Rohrer scores the opening goal of his team's win over Hungary.
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / ANDRE RINGUETTE
Two goals in 44 seconds secured a second win in two days for Austria. Once again, Hungary battled hard and stayed in this game until the end, but goals from Dominik Zwerger and Thimo Nickl paved the way for a 4-2 verdict.
Austria’s perfect start is its best opening to a World Championship since 1947, but Benjamin Nissner reckons there is still work to do.
“It’s just a great moment for all of us to get two wins in the first two games,” he said. “We can enjoy it for one day, and then we'll see what happens on Tuesday against Latvia.
“But we started really badly in the first and second periods, I would say. We just stuck with it, kept it simple in the third, and managed to score some goals. They came back a little bit, but I had no doubt we were going to win this game.”
Hungary falls to back-to-back losses. But the Magyars can take confidence from another solid performance after yesterday’s hard-working loss to Finland.
“Unfortunately, penalties killed us,” reflected Vilmos Gallo. “And we have to, of course, score on our chances. We created a lot of Grade-A scoring chances, and we couldn't get it into the net.”
There are few derbies in international hockey quite like this one. While there’s no shortage of rivalries between neighbouring countries, Austria vs Hungary is a more than usually internecine affair.
The rosters tell the story: ten of Hungary’s players ply their trade in the cross-border Austrian ICE League. Roger Bader’s Austrian line-up draws on a further 19 players from that competition.
That made for an unpredictable encounter: on paper, Austria would seem the stronger outfit, but the familiarity factor puts the Magyars firmly in contention. Plus, the stakes were high for Gergely Majoross’s team in its bid to avoid relegation. After newly-promoted Great Britain lost to the Austrians yesterday, any kind of result here would give Hungary a huge boost ahead of Tuesday’s meeting with the Brits.
Lucas Thaler admitted Hungary proved as stubborn as the Austrians had anticipated.
“They battled hard,” he said. “I think it was exactly what we expected. It was a hard game, and I think we stuck with it. And in the end, the goals came.
“I think the penalty kill was good for us. The power play was also good, even if we didn't score sometimes, but we had some great looks. The special teams played a big role in this game today.”
Austria made a bright start, converting the first power play of the game for a lead after five minutes. Vinzenz Rohrer, a Habs prospect who played most of the season in this building with Zurich Lions, was on target, batting home a rebound after he effectively screened Bence Balizs as a Peter Schneider shot came in. Schneider’s assist takes him to 35 World Championship points, placing him second overall in Austrian scoring at this tournament.
But Hungary did not buckle. Instead, it responded with a power play goal of its own six minutes later. Veteran Istvan Sofron, 38, lashed home a one-timer from the top of the circle off a Marko Csollak feed from the point.
That 1-1 scoreline held to the first intermission – and well beyond. Both teams smartened up their PK in the second period: Austria killed Paul Huber’s trip moments before the hooter; Hungary neutralized three Austrian power plays in the middle frame with minimal fuss.
Regardless of the numbers on the ice, chances were hard to come by for much of the second period. However, in closing stages Austria was able to generate some pressure, and Balizs twice had to be alert to deny Schneider.
And that momentum carried into the third, with Austria getting in front on another power play goal. Zwerger had very little to aim at but his shot from the left-hand circle threaded the needle as Rohrer again screened Balizs.
Moments later, it was 3-1. Thimo Nickl, who had two assists in Saturday’s 5-2 win over GB, was credited with the goal after the luckless Balizs saw his save fly into Roland Kiss and bounce into the net.
There was still time for Hungary to save the game, and it got a huge boost with a five-on-three power play for 1:54. After lulling the Austrian defence into a sense of false security with a series of back-and-forth behind the net, play came out front for Peter Vincze to smash home to make it 2-3.
With a further 65 seconds on the power play, Austria still had work to do. After killing the rest of the penalty, Schneider came close to restoring the two-goal cushion. But with two to play Bence made way for a sixth skater and Hungary called a time-out.
In a frantic finish, Gallo could not quite get his stick to a glorious chance in front of an open net, then Bence Horvath was denied in a scramble. Instead of a tying goal, an empty-netter from Nickl wrapped up the win.
Next up for Hungary is a possible survival showdown against Britain. Csanad Erdely insists that the focus won’t change despite the high stakes.
“I think we approach it like every game is the same for us,” he said. “We came here to play 21 good periods. I think we've played about six so far. We try to go shift by shift, and this is our mindset for the whole tournament.”
Austria faces Latvia on Tuesday evening looking to improve to three from three.
Austria’s perfect start is its best opening to a World Championship since 1947, but Benjamin Nissner reckons there is still work to do.
“It’s just a great moment for all of us to get two wins in the first two games,” he said. “We can enjoy it for one day, and then we'll see what happens on Tuesday against Latvia.
“But we started really badly in the first and second periods, I would say. We just stuck with it, kept it simple in the third, and managed to score some goals. They came back a little bit, but I had no doubt we were going to win this game.”
Hungary falls to back-to-back losses. But the Magyars can take confidence from another solid performance after yesterday’s hard-working loss to Finland.
“Unfortunately, penalties killed us,” reflected Vilmos Gallo. “And we have to, of course, score on our chances. We created a lot of Grade-A scoring chances, and we couldn't get it into the net.”
There are few derbies in international hockey quite like this one. While there’s no shortage of rivalries between neighbouring countries, Austria vs Hungary is a more than usually internecine affair.
The rosters tell the story: ten of Hungary’s players ply their trade in the cross-border Austrian ICE League. Roger Bader’s Austrian line-up draws on a further 19 players from that competition.
That made for an unpredictable encounter: on paper, Austria would seem the stronger outfit, but the familiarity factor puts the Magyars firmly in contention. Plus, the stakes were high for Gergely Majoross’s team in its bid to avoid relegation. After newly-promoted Great Britain lost to the Austrians yesterday, any kind of result here would give Hungary a huge boost ahead of Tuesday’s meeting with the Brits.
Lucas Thaler admitted Hungary proved as stubborn as the Austrians had anticipated.
“They battled hard,” he said. “I think it was exactly what we expected. It was a hard game, and I think we stuck with it. And in the end, the goals came.
“I think the penalty kill was good for us. The power play was also good, even if we didn't score sometimes, but we had some great looks. The special teams played a big role in this game today.”
Austria made a bright start, converting the first power play of the game for a lead after five minutes. Vinzenz Rohrer, a Habs prospect who played most of the season in this building with Zurich Lions, was on target, batting home a rebound after he effectively screened Bence Balizs as a Peter Schneider shot came in. Schneider’s assist takes him to 35 World Championship points, placing him second overall in Austrian scoring at this tournament.
But Hungary did not buckle. Instead, it responded with a power play goal of its own six minutes later. Veteran Istvan Sofron, 38, lashed home a one-timer from the top of the circle off a Marko Csollak feed from the point.
That 1-1 scoreline held to the first intermission – and well beyond. Both teams smartened up their PK in the second period: Austria killed Paul Huber’s trip moments before the hooter; Hungary neutralized three Austrian power plays in the middle frame with minimal fuss.
Regardless of the numbers on the ice, chances were hard to come by for much of the second period. However, in closing stages Austria was able to generate some pressure, and Balizs twice had to be alert to deny Schneider.
And that momentum carried into the third, with Austria getting in front on another power play goal. Zwerger had very little to aim at but his shot from the left-hand circle threaded the needle as Rohrer again screened Balizs.
Moments later, it was 3-1. Thimo Nickl, who had two assists in Saturday’s 5-2 win over GB, was credited with the goal after the luckless Balizs saw his save fly into Roland Kiss and bounce into the net.
There was still time for Hungary to save the game, and it got a huge boost with a five-on-three power play for 1:54. After lulling the Austrian defence into a sense of false security with a series of back-and-forth behind the net, play came out front for Peter Vincze to smash home to make it 2-3.
With a further 65 seconds on the power play, Austria still had work to do. After killing the rest of the penalty, Schneider came close to restoring the two-goal cushion. But with two to play Bence made way for a sixth skater and Hungary called a time-out.
In a frantic finish, Gallo could not quite get his stick to a glorious chance in front of an open net, then Bence Horvath was denied in a scramble. Instead of a tying goal, an empty-netter from Nickl wrapped up the win.
Next up for Hungary is a possible survival showdown against Britain. Csanad Erdely insists that the focus won’t change despite the high stakes.
“I think we approach it like every game is the same for us,” he said. “We came here to play 21 good periods. I think we've played about six so far. We try to go shift by shift, and this is our mindset for the whole tournament.”
Austria faces Latvia on Tuesday evening looking to improve to three from three.