Austria’s Baumgartner: I thought the siren sounded before the puck ended up in the net

There is no shortage of surprises at this year’s World Cup of Hockey. After a draw with Canada and an excellent third period, Austria also showed off against Finland, which led by two goals but eventually scored in the last two tenths of a second. The lucky goal scorer Baumgartner described his feelings after the game.

Austria fell to Denmark in the opener of the World Cup, but since then they have shown that they are a force to be reckoned with and could well be fighting for a place in the knockout phase in the second group.

In fact, they fought Switzerland until the last minute and eventually fell 5:6. Many thought it was a fluke, but they were wrong. The Austrians then lost to Canada in overtime, even though they were down 1: 6.

And with Finland, they finally finished the fairy tale. They were down in the first period, but the second period saw a reduction and the third even a turnaround. Only two tenths of a second were on the clock when the winning goal was scored.

Austria thus gained three important points towards salvation and still holds a theoretical hope of qualifying for the playoffs. They can look forward to games against the Czech Republic, Norway and Great Britain.

“I can’t describe it at all… The Finns are a good team anyway. And suddenly we beat them at the World Championships,” said Benjamin Baumgartner, the lucky scorer of the winning goal, after the game.

“I think this is the best thing that has happened in Austrian hockey in a long time. We are all really proud of the team,” he added. He was worried about the goal being disallowed for a while.

“I thought the siren sounded before the puck was in the net, but I was wrong. But it was really close. I don’t think it could have been any closer. We’re obviously very happy and I think it’s one big party in our dressing room right now,” he finished.

Austria, meanwhile, has not had a very good preparation. They have won only one of their eleven matches during 2024, when they beat Germany in a shootout at the end of April.

Source: World Cup of Hockey, Livesport news