But the well-worn cliché — if you don't take your chances, you'll pay for it — came true. After a turnover in the attacking zone, a 2-on-1 counter-attack for Latvia led to the 0-1 opener. It was the first serious scoring chance for the Baltic side.
"That's extremely bitter," Huber emphasizes, "if we lead 1-0, maybe even 2-0, it's a completely different game."
"Luckily we still scored two goals"
As the first period progressed, the momentum shifted to Latvia, partly due to Austrian penalties.
The fact that Bader's squad failed to sort out their penalty-killing issues in the final game as well did not help matters. After two power-play goals, Latvia led 3-0 by the first intermission, and extended their lead to 5-0 after 30 minutes of play.
"Even in the second period we were the better team, although 0-5 looked brutal. Despite that, we dominated Latvia at times and created chance after chance," said the head coach, "luckily we still scored two goals."
Baumgartner on the power play with a fine shot into the top corner, followed by Rohrer, who snapped one into the far corner without hesitation, cut the deficit to 2-5.
2-6 looks harsh again
The head coach was also happy with the final period: "We played with real intensity there and also created more chances."
Only the final goal conceded to make it 2-6 dampened the mood slightly. "We fought back well, but a 2-6 scoreline looks harsh again," a disappointed Huber said.
While the final result is bitter, Bader noted, "we put in a good performance in many areas."
Mir ist es trotzdem lieber, drei Mal gegen solche Mannschaften zu verlieren. Das bringt uns weiter als wenn wir gegen gleichwertige Gegner spielen.
The result needs to be put into proper perspective, Bader said: "We played our best game today. We applied a lot of pressure, played physically, and created many scoring chances."
Better to lose three times against teams like this
While the result counts in competitions, "when it comes to the team's development, we have to put performance first," the Swiss native stated.
In that regard, the 61-year-old is glad Austria competed in the Deutschland Cup again. "When you play against three teams like this, who are all better than us, you have to expect to lose three times."
Bader elaborated: "I still prefer losing three times to teams like this. It helps us progress more than playing against opposition at our own level."
Huber agreed: "Throughout the tournament, you could see how high the standard of international ice hockey is and how much we still need to improve heading into the World Championship. We can only learn from this tournament."
ÖEHV's future at the Deutschland Cup?
Given the disappointing outcome, Bader cannot yet say what Austria's future at the Deutschland Cup holds: "We negotiate that with Germany on a year-by-year basis."
Ich bin guten Mutes, dass es der Fall sein wird.
He pointed to the good relationship with the German Ice Hockey Federation, against whom Austria has been playing two exhibition games during World Championship preparations for some time now. That will also be the case again in 2027.
In his role as ÖEHV sports director, Bader will in any case request that the Red-White-Red team participates again next year. "I am confident that will be the case," said the Swiss coach, even though there is international competition from Denmark and Norway.
In addition, there remains a big question mark over Russia's participation in IIHF competitions. The decision on whether the ÖEHV team will be allowed to take part in the storied tournament again next year "will be made in the near future," Bader said.
