Austria triumphs! Ice hockey national team defeats France 5: 2

Austria triumphs! Ice hockey national team defeats France 5: 2

Klagenfurt, Österreich - On May 16, 2025, the Austrian national ice hockey team over France triumphed 5-2 and thus achieved the second victory at the ongoing ice hockey world championship. The team urgently needed this victory to avoid relegation after suffering two tight defeats against Finland and Sweden as well as a victory after penalty shooting against Slovakia and a clear defeat against Canada (1: 5). Austria's last victory over France in a World Cup game dates back astonishing 21 years.

The course of the game was exciting: Marco Kasper opened the game with his goal in the 39th second. In the 7th minute, Vinzenz Rohrer increased to 2: 0, followed by Ramon Schnetzer, who took 3: 0 in the 16th minute. France was finally able to shorten in the 51st minute by Jordann Perret to 1: 3. Kasper scored his second goal in the 58th minute before Pierre-Édouard Bellemare shortened to 2: 4. Peter Schneider made the final score of 5: 2 shortly before the end.

meaning for the World Cup

This victory against France is not only an important step in the course of the tournament, but also of historical importance. In the history of the ice hockey world championships, Austria has repeatedly shown promising services. In 2024, the appearance of the national team in Prague was remarkable: they achieved a record pick-up against Canada, catching up a 1: 6 deficit in the final third and ultimately winning 3: 2. Austria took 10th place there, the best placement since 2003.

The U-teams also had a lot. The U18 men won bronze at the World Cup Division IA in Frederikshavn, while the U20 men missed the promotion to the top division after lost 4: 5 in the decisive game against Denmark. The U16 men were recently part of a 3 × 3 tournament at the Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, South Korea.

The development of ice hockey in Austria

The recent successes in different age groups reflect the growing importance and the interest in ice hockey in Austria. This development is also supported by the founding of Win2day Austrian Women’s Hockey League, which is intended to help promote women's ice hockey in the long term. Win2day is committed to the title sponsor and works closely with the Austrian ice hockey association, whose presidium was re -elected in June 2024 for another four years.