The Austrian team is not the team from which miracles are expected in the World Cup. Their constant task is not to leave the elite, which they face with varying success. Their last promotion was obtained after the elimination of the Russian and Belarusian teams and they remained in the main division of the tournament for two years in a row.
It seems that the Austrians have decided to play the World Cup of their lives in the Czech Republic. A couple of days ago, Roger Bader’s team took the fight to Switzerland, losing only in the last minute, and the day before they taught Canada a lesson and entered the history of the World Championship as the first team that was able to return. 1:6 and send the game to extra time.
“Championship” collected comments from players, coaches and European media about this outstanding match.
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“I’ve been in the profession for 30 years, but I couldn’t imagine this!”
“Incredible third period, no one expected this. During halftime I told the team that we had to enjoy the game, because we were playing against Canada, the defending champion, in front of 10,000 fans. I told them: let’s have a good time, let’s show good hockey. But of course, I didn’t expect it!
I have been in the profession for 30 years, but in a game like this, against the champions, no one could imagine that we would take the game to extra time. When the score reached 4:6, we realized that we could have a chance and started thinking about eliminating the goalkeeper at the end,” Bader said.
“We had a bad time in the third half. I already played in the World Championship, but before that we didn’t have any difficulties in the group stage. It’s good that we have gone through this now, it can help us more in the tournament. Luckily we have John Tavares, who scored the goal in extra time.
It’s good that they humiliated us like this. This is a good tournament, all the teams have experience. We will learn from this. Tourigny said in the final commercial break to just stay calm. Nobody tries to lose, but it was difficult. The stands cheered us and at the end there was a lot of noise. Sometimes it’s good to be the villain, but you also have to prove yourself when people are against you like that,” defenseman Kayden Goulet said.
Marco Rossi equalizes the score against Canada in the last minute
Photo: iihf.com
“Austria brought Canada to its knees”
“The spectators in the arena had to feel this all-consuming atmosphere. One goal, another… The Canadians got nervous, the stands cheered up. They urged the dwarf, who rushed after the giant. He finally put the finishing touches on it, but he certainly didn’t defeat his weakest opponent.
And Austria was able to write its own fairy tale.
“Crazy match, 1:6 after two halves. We try to play until the end. We scored several goals and believed in ourselves. With the score 4:6 we already realized that we could fight for victory. And in 50 years we will remember this match,” said the main Austrian star, Marco Rossi.
His shot in the last minute tied the score. The Canadian fans were stunned, but everyone else celebrated, including the Czechs, who wished their southern rival a successful revolution.
Austria became the first country to recover five goals in the World Championship elite and send the match to extra time. She brought Canada to its knees,” writes the Czech portal Blesk.
“André Tourigny shook his head, not believing his eyes. Or it was a shock. Probably both. Right before his eyes, Marco Rossi, on horseback, awkwardly passed Binnington, making the score 6:6. Austria scored five goals in the third half to come back from 1:6 down.
Fifteen seconds into overtime, John Tavares beat Austrian goalkeeper David Madlener to prevent the greatest comeback of all time (but will still go down in history as the biggest blown lead in history).
After the first two periods, the Austrians were inferior 12-35 in shots and 1:6 in goals. They could fold their paws and start to relax before the next game. Instead, they took advantage of the Canadians’ numerous slice shots and counterattacked,” notes the match report on the IIHF website.
“The tournament favorite has completely disgraced himself”
“In the 38th minute, Canada leads 6:1 and is heading towards a big victory over Austria. Someone had already turned off the TV and gone about their business.
One, two, three, four and a fifth goal in the last minute. The tournament favorite fell completely out of favor and the match went to extra time. There, captain John Tavares quickly scored the final result, but this victory for Canada had a very bitter aftertaste,” writes Hokej.cz.
“Shocking result! Canada embarrassingly collapsed in the World Cup. They won 6-1 against Austria, but lost the third period 0-5. Austria dominated and scored five goals in a row. This is the biggest surprise on match day,” said Ilta Sanomat.
