NEWS
ÖEHV team concludes Deutschland Cup with another heavy defeat
Three games, three defeats for Austria in Düsseldorf. Furthermore, the ÖEHV squad concedes six goals for the second consecutive game.
Austria's national ice hockey team suffered another heavy defeat in their third and final game of the Deutschland Cup. The ÖEHV side slumped to a 2-6 loss against Latvia in Düsseldorf on Sunday.
The ÖEHV team was the better side at the start of the game, but Thaler (4th minute), Baumgartner on the power play (7th), and Thaler again (8th) missed good opportunities to take the lead.
Austria play, Latvia score
Instead, Latvia scored with their very first chance: Osmanis went five-hole on Wieser to make it 1-0 in the 10th minute. Gavars (13th/PP) added a second goal shortly after, after Wieser failed to clear the puck and then screened the ÖEHV goalie.
Latvia took a 3-0 lead into the first period break. Another power-play goal by former VSV and 99ers forward Krastenbergs put the game firmly out of reach (18th/PP). Stapelfeldt ultimately deflected the puck unluckily into his own net after Wieser had made a good save against Krastenbergs, but the rebound found the mark.
ÖEHV team down 0-5 at one point
It was Krastenbergs again who was left completely unmarked in the right face-off circle in the 27th minute, making it 4-0 on the power play. The fifth goal in the 30th minute came via Polcs, who poked a shot that had hit the post and landed behind Wieser into the net.
Austria woke up after that and pulled goals back within a few minutes: first, Baumgartner found the top corner with a screened shot from the slot (32nd/PP), before Rohrer also scored (34th). Shortly before that, Nissner had failed to convert into a half-empty net.
Another heavy defeat in the end
Although Austria put in a decent performance in the final period, the goal came at the other end: Zabusovs remained down after a hit along the boards. The pass came to the middle, where Vitolins made it 6-2 with a one-timer in the 52nd minute.
The ÖEHV team thus finishes the Deutschland Cup with three defeats (having previously lost 0-3 to Germany and 1-6 to Slovakia) and a goal differential of 3-15.
