Austria's ice hockey team starts with a fresh squad against the Czech Republic!

Austria's ice hockey team starts with a fresh squad against the Czech Republic!

Znojmo, Tschechien - Today, on April 17, 2025, an important test is scheduled for the Austrian ice hockey national team. In the World Cup preparation, the team around team boss Roger Bader meets the Czech Republic. The game starts at 7 p.m. and is broadcast live to Krone.tv and in the live stream. This game is the first part of a double game against the Czechs; The second leg is planned for April 19 in Linz.

For today's encounter, Bader has nominated nine new players. These include goalkeepers David Kickert, Benedikt Oschgan and Florian Vorauer as well as the defenders Dominique Heinrich, Patrick Söllinger and Niklas Würschl. Three attackers, Benjamin Baumgartner, Nico Feldner and Lukas Haudum, also join the team. These changes bring a total of 633 caps in experience with ÖEHV selection, which is intended to increase competitiveness. Co-captain Manuel Ganahl, on the other hand, will not be there because he canceled for the rest of the World Cup preparation and the World Cup.

preparation and expectations

Austria starts the third week of preparation for the World Cup 2025. Bader emphasizes that the first phase of preparation aimed at giving players who have not been on the ice for a long time. So far, however, the team has not yet won the World Cup preparation and previously lost to Latvia and Hungary in two games.

the Czech Republic is like a strong opponent: You won two games against Germany last week and can have three players who won gold at the home World Cup in Prague last year. Bader expects a high pace because many players from the Czech team are active in Europe's top leagues. Austria wants to present itself as a good opponent and constantly improve his performance.

challenges

After the double game against the Czech Republic, Austria will complete another test double against Germany at the end of April. A reception of Canada in Vienna is also on the program. These games are crucial for the team to optimally prepare for the World Cup, which takes place in Denmark and Sweden from May 9th to 25th, 2025.

Further information on the game and the World Cup preparation are on Krone , Laola1 and Sportschau available.