Marco Pewal is going to the U20 World Cup with this squad – Hockey-News.info

Head Coach Marco Pewal has decided on a 28-man squad who will move to Red Deer (CAN) on December 15 to prepare for the World Cup, including two test matches against Slovakia and Sweden.

All over the world, eyes are on Canada over the New Year, where, in the motherland of ice hockey, the ten best U20 teams in the world are fighting for the crown at the World Cup. Right in the middle of Austria’s hopes for young talent, who meet hosts Canada, Finland, the Czech Republic and Germany in Edmonton.

It is the second most important event after the A World Championship in men’s ice hockey: the IIHF World Junior Championships, or U20 World Championships! Canada hosted the Junior World Cup last year, but due to the pandemic there were no spectators at the time. This is exactly why the North Americans exchanged their right of alignment with Sweden, where the title fights should actually have taken place. The country of the eleven-time world champion will host the tournament in 2024.

According to the current status, spectators should be allowed for the two arenas in Edmonton and Red Deer, which means that our local cracks can prove their talent in front of the unbelievable backdrop of 18,000 fans.

If you met the later U20 world champions USA, as well as Sweden, Russia and the Czech Republic last year, this year it is in Group B against Finland (December 27th), hosts Canada (December 28th), the Czech Republic (December 30th) and Germany (December 31st) .

Due to the pandemic, only the top division World Cup was held in 2021, which means that there are no relegated or promoted players. Fought for the crown as well as relegation again this year. For this mission, Head Coach Marco Pewal has committed himself to 28 men who will move to Red Deer (CAN) on December 15th to prepare for the World Cup.

In addition to the players from the local ICE Hockey League, there are also nine legionnaires from Canada, the USA, Switzerland and Sweden.

“The level at a U20 World Cup in the top division is unbelievably high. Some experts are even of the opinion that it is higher than at an A World Cup for adults. Our players can compete there with the absolute world elite and future top stars ”, ÖEHV sporting director Mr. Roger Bader emphasizes the importance of the sport.

Head Coach Marco Pewal: “When we put together the squad, we made sure that we had a good team in terms of play and running. Last year we saw how important it is to be able to keep up with running at this level. We therefore paid particular attention to the fitness of the players and had performance tests in Zell am See especially for this purpose. Another important aspect was the character. We can only surprise as a unit and maybe win the first Austrian victory at a U20 World Cup. “

Time and schedule
Start of preparation: on December 15th, the red, white and red delegation will move to Red Deer in Canada to prepare for the World Cup. After the second test match against Sweden on December 23, the definitive World Cup squad will be nominated. 25 men, plus the support staff, will move into the World Cup quarters in Edmonton on December 24th.

Test matches
Austria vs. Slovakia
Tuesday, December 21, 2021, 7:30 p.m. local time (Wednesday, December 22, 3:30 a.m. CET)

Austria vs. Sweden
Thursday, December 23, 2021, 7:30 p.m. (Friday, December 24, 3:30 a.m. CET

World Cup schedule
Austria vs. Finland
Mon, 27 December 2021, 12:00 (20:00 CET)

Austria vs. Canada
Tuesday, December 28, 2021, 5:00 p.m. (Wednesday, December 29, 1:00 a.m. CET)

Czech Republic vs. Austria
Thu, 30 December 2021, 14:30 (22:30 CET)

Germany vs. Austria
Fri, 31 December 2021, 12:00 (20:00 CET)

After the New Year, the final series and relegation will follow.

46. IIHF World Junior Championships
December 26, 2021 – January 5, 2022 in Edmonton and Red Deer, Canada

Group a: USA, Russia, Sweden, Slovakia, Switzerland
Group B: Canada, Finland, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria

Modus
The four first-placed teams after the preliminary round qualify for the quarter-finals, which, like the semi-finals and finals, will be held in knockout mode and the world champion will be determined. The two fifth-placed nations after the preliminary round contest the relegation in the best of three mode and determine who was relegated to Group A of Division I.

Frame

www.eishockey.at, Pic: ÖEHV