From Thursday, the ÖEHV national team will be fighting for its 14th participation in the Winter Olympics. One and a half years before the tournament in Italy, Austria must prevail against host Slovakia, Kazakhstan and Hungary by Sunday to qualify.
The dry spell of the domestic puck hunters has already lasted ten years or two Olympics, and they will start the qualifying tournament on Thursday at 6 p.m. with the key match against host Slovakia in Bratislava. The team proved that Austria can annoy big nations at the World Cup in Prague in May, when they forced Canada into overtime after trailing 1:6 and defeated Olympic champions Finland 3:2. Against the 2022 Olympic bronze medalists, Slovakia, they will need similar performances and probably a bit of luck to be successful. After that, opponents on equal terms await in Kazakhstan (Friday) and Hungary (Sunday), but they can become a stumbling block at any time in the fight for the group victory necessary for qualification. Perhaps it helps to remember the successful 2013 qualifying tournament in Bietigheim, Germany. At that time, Austria beat Italy (3:2) and the Netherlands (6:1). One point in the final against the clear favorites Germany (2:3 after overtime) was enough. At the 2016 and 2021 tournaments, they failed, finishing third in their groups.
ÖEHV team without Raffl, Rossi
Only two of the Bietigheim squad’s stars are still active at the highest national level. KAC captain Thomas Hundertpfund was not nominated, and regular ÖEHV captain Thomas Raffl is not yet fit for the tournament. NHL star Marco Rossi is also unavailable due to preseason training. Team boss Roger Bader is receiving support from overseas legionnaires Marco Kasper and David Reinbacher. From an Upper Austrian perspective, only one Black Wings star, Thomas Höneckl, is on board. In addition, there is another Upper Austrian, Lukas Haudum, who has been with the Graz 99ers since the summer. Other players from Linz such as Emilio Romig, Nico Feldner, Niklas Würschl or Henrik Neubauer are missing from the ÖEHV squad.
Incomprehension for Bader in Linz
One man’s loss is another man’s gain: The Black Wings can focus almost all of their staff on preparing for the season. That is an advantage, says President Peter Nader. But the mood was different in the spring. With the decision not to take Nico Feldner or Emilio Romig to the World Cup, team boss Bader did not make any friends in the Linz environment. But the success proved the 59-year-old Swiss right. Perhaps he made the right decisions this time too.
Also listen to the Icebreaker podcast:
After his first few weeks in Linz, Black Wings newcomer Henrik Neubauer talks about the adjustment phase, his years of training in Färjestad and his experiences in the national teams of Austria and Sweden.
