Austria persevered to earn a 3-1 win over Latvia at the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Zurich.
photo: PHOTO: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / ANDRE RINGUETTE
Advantage, Austria! Benjamin Nissner got the third-period power-play winner as the Austrians beat Latvia 3-1 on Tuesday for their third straight win at the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.
Tim Harnisch and Vinzenz Rohrer also scored for Austria, which last won three Worlds games in regulation time way back in 1999.
"We are kind of living a dream right now with a great team and team chemistry," said Austrian blueliner Paul Stapelfeldt, who assisted on Harnisch's opening goal. "Everything is working well."
Latvian captain Rudolfs Balcers replied with his tournament-leading fourth goal. Through three games, the Latvians have one win, a 2-0 shutout versus Germany.
"I thought we played a good game today," Balcers said. "They played with structure and discipline. Maybe we should have gone to the net harder. Unfortunately, we didn't score more."
In the goaltending duel, Austria's Atte Tolvanen outshone Latvia's Kristers Gudlevskis as final shots favoured Latvia 26-13.
Revenge was certainly on the Latvians' minds. Last year, Austria hammered Latvia 6-1 on the final day of the preliminary round in Stockholm. That lifted Austria into the quarter-finals for the first time since 1994 and also ended the Latvians’ hopes of advancing. But there was to be no revenge here.
The early Group A tilt in Zurich saw a cautious, scoreless first period. Off the ice, it was far less cautious. Both the Latvian and Austrian fans engaged in ceaseless singing, chanting, and drum-beating, and a large contingent of enthusiastic schoolchildren howled and oohed with glee.
When Latvia's Renars Krastenbergs, playing his first game of these Worlds, scooted off on a breakaway near the six-minute mark, Tolvanen was there to deny him with the glove.
At 7:11, Harnisch drew first blood. Off a defensive-zone faceoff, the Latvians failed to clear the puck out, and the Graz 99ers forward was able to swing unimpeded into the slot, teeing up a wrister that squeezed between Gudlevskis' pads. It was the first World Championship goal for Harnisch, a WM rookie at age 25.
Asked how it felt, Harnisch enthused: "Unreal! To be honest, I'm not quite able to realize it yet. But it's a really, really nice feeling."
The Austrians nearly doubled their lead when a forechecking Maximilian Rebernig grabbed the puck behind the net and centered it to Simeon Schwinger, but Gudlevskis was alert to make the save.
Just 25 seconds into the thrid period, Balcers knotted the score. A quick transition game was the key. Alberts Smits, the 18-year-old defender who has already starred at this year's World Juniors and Olympics, pivoted at his blueline, and sent a long diagonal pass to Deniss Smirnovs at the opposite blue line. He found the Latvian captain, who came in to whip a wrister home.
"It was a good entry," said Balcers. "The puck dropped to me and I just shot it through the D and it went in."
The Austrians went to the man advantage when robust blueliner Oskars Batna was sent off for interference after a heavy hit on Austrian forward Dominic Zwerger. They celebrated at 4:23 when Nissner barged from the left side to the net and shoveled a backhander up over Gudlevskis. The Latvian goalie desperately reached back to grab the puck, but video review confirmed that it completely crossed the line, and Austria led 2-1.
The Latvians didn't fold their tent. They would outshoot Austria 10-3 in the third period. Forward Sandis Vilmanis, who just played 19 games with Florida as a first-year NHLer, was shaken up in a collision with Tolvanen after failing to score on a daring solo rush. The Austrians adopted more of a defensive posture as the clock ticked down.
Latvian coach Harijs Vitolins pulled Gudlevskis for the extra attacker with under two minutes to go. But despite generating great pressure, the Latvians couldn't find the equalizer. Rohrer potted the empty-netter nust before the buzzer to seal the deal. Vitolins used his coach's challenge, claiming it was offside, but to no avail.
Tough tests lie ahead for both teams. Austria battles host Switzerland on Wednesday, while the Latvians take on Finland on Thursday.
"Our goal is to get a fourth win in this tournament, and we want to get it as soon as possible," said Stapelfeldt. "We know tomorrow is a really tough opponent, maybe the favourite in our group. We've seen Switzerland playing really, really well. It's a good team with a lot of great players, but we are confident that if we stay in our structure, if we follow our game plan, we have a chance in the game."
Latvia has dominated Austria historically in Ice Hockey World Championship play. Dating back to the first encounter in 1999, the Latvians have a head-to-head record of seven wins and four losses. But right now, bragging rights belong to the country with the eagle on its crest.
Tim Harnisch and Vinzenz Rohrer also scored for Austria, which last won three Worlds games in regulation time way back in 1999.
"We are kind of living a dream right now with a great team and team chemistry," said Austrian blueliner Paul Stapelfeldt, who assisted on Harnisch's opening goal. "Everything is working well."
Latvian captain Rudolfs Balcers replied with his tournament-leading fourth goal. Through three games, the Latvians have one win, a 2-0 shutout versus Germany.
"I thought we played a good game today," Balcers said. "They played with structure and discipline. Maybe we should have gone to the net harder. Unfortunately, we didn't score more."
In the goaltending duel, Austria's Atte Tolvanen outshone Latvia's Kristers Gudlevskis as final shots favoured Latvia 26-13.
Revenge was certainly on the Latvians' minds. Last year, Austria hammered Latvia 6-1 on the final day of the preliminary round in Stockholm. That lifted Austria into the quarter-finals for the first time since 1994 and also ended the Latvians’ hopes of advancing. But there was to be no revenge here.
The early Group A tilt in Zurich saw a cautious, scoreless first period. Off the ice, it was far less cautious. Both the Latvian and Austrian fans engaged in ceaseless singing, chanting, and drum-beating, and a large contingent of enthusiastic schoolchildren howled and oohed with glee.
When Latvia's Renars Krastenbergs, playing his first game of these Worlds, scooted off on a breakaway near the six-minute mark, Tolvanen was there to deny him with the glove.
At 7:11, Harnisch drew first blood. Off a defensive-zone faceoff, the Latvians failed to clear the puck out, and the Graz 99ers forward was able to swing unimpeded into the slot, teeing up a wrister that squeezed between Gudlevskis' pads. It was the first World Championship goal for Harnisch, a WM rookie at age 25.
Asked how it felt, Harnisch enthused: "Unreal! To be honest, I'm not quite able to realize it yet. But it's a really, really nice feeling."
The Austrians nearly doubled their lead when a forechecking Maximilian Rebernig grabbed the puck behind the net and centered it to Simeon Schwinger, but Gudlevskis was alert to make the save.
Just 25 seconds into the thrid period, Balcers knotted the score. A quick transition game was the key. Alberts Smits, the 18-year-old defender who has already starred at this year's World Juniors and Olympics, pivoted at his blueline, and sent a long diagonal pass to Deniss Smirnovs at the opposite blue line. He found the Latvian captain, who came in to whip a wrister home.
"It was a good entry," said Balcers. "The puck dropped to me and I just shot it through the D and it went in."
The Austrians went to the man advantage when robust blueliner Oskars Batna was sent off for interference after a heavy hit on Austrian forward Dominic Zwerger. They celebrated at 4:23 when Nissner barged from the left side to the net and shoveled a backhander up over Gudlevskis. The Latvian goalie desperately reached back to grab the puck, but video review confirmed that it completely crossed the line, and Austria led 2-1.
The Latvians didn't fold their tent. They would outshoot Austria 10-3 in the third period. Forward Sandis Vilmanis, who just played 19 games with Florida as a first-year NHLer, was shaken up in a collision with Tolvanen after failing to score on a daring solo rush. The Austrians adopted more of a defensive posture as the clock ticked down.
Latvian coach Harijs Vitolins pulled Gudlevskis for the extra attacker with under two minutes to go. But despite generating great pressure, the Latvians couldn't find the equalizer. Rohrer potted the empty-netter nust before the buzzer to seal the deal. Vitolins used his coach's challenge, claiming it was offside, but to no avail.
Tough tests lie ahead for both teams. Austria battles host Switzerland on Wednesday, while the Latvians take on Finland on Thursday.
"Our goal is to get a fourth win in this tournament, and we want to get it as soon as possible," said Stapelfeldt. "We know tomorrow is a really tough opponent, maybe the favourite in our group. We've seen Switzerland playing really, really well. It's a good team with a lot of great players, but we are confident that if we stay in our structure, if we follow our game plan, we have a chance in the game."
Latvia has dominated Austria historically in Ice Hockey World Championship play. Dating back to the first encounter in 1999, the Latvians have a head-to-head record of seven wins and four losses. But right now, bragging rights belong to the country with the eagle on its crest.
Latvia vs Austria - 2026 IIHF Men's World Championship
OF