Eishockey
Austria’s men’s national team deservedly won a friendly once morest Hungary 2-0 (1-0 0-0 1-0) on Thursday. The two Salzburg Lucas Thaler (5th) and Tim Harnisch (6th) scored the goals for the ÖEHV team, which started with perspective players. Hungary also sent a young selection into the race. Goalie Alexander Schmidt, who was deported to Kitzbühel by VSV, did not concede a goal.
On Friday (6.30 p.m., live on ORF Sport +), the two teams will face each other once more in Kapfenberg, while three ICE Hockey League games will take place on the same day. “It was a very mature and grown-up performance for us being very young,” said Felix Maxa, who captained the team of six debutants onto the ice. The average age of Austrians was 22.3 years.
“All in all, we played a good game and deservedly won,” said team boss Roger Bader, who saw some details that needed improvement in an ORF interview. The motto of such courses is to do things better in the next game. “I want to see how a player develops. Is he getting better or is he getting weaker? That’s a calling card he’s giving.”
Bader regrets the situation for Schmidt
Despite the impeccable goalkeeping performance, Bader refused to send advice to Villach. “I’m just saying, Ali Schmidt has now played three international matches and won all three. Two of them with ‘shut-out’, I don’t know who has had that before.” The 22-year-old, who has only played three games for VSV this season and is currently gaining match practice in the 2nd division with Kitzbühel, is a goalkeeper with great potential, emphasized Bader.
“I am very sorry to see what is happening to him. I’m all the happier for him that he showed once more today that he’s a very good goalie.” Schmidt, who was voted player of the game, said following the game with a few highlight saves: “It’s like that, it has to be I bite through. I’m either broken or I’d better get out of it.”
