Very exciting game. Austria lives up to its reputation, can score goals and will give up more.
Thimo Nickl played really well. He was in a tough spot having to battle down below and basically shield the net solo. He not only got the assist, but also fought really hard. Interesting because for years, behind closed doors he's sorta been the guy other austrian players and scouts thought was overrated. He has developed though, he can play a tenacious game and protect the goalie.
Defense is still a huge issue. 18 goals in 3 games is obviously too much. Austria has never lacked speedy and skill, and this is not less true now, but still can't match up physically with basically any other team. That said, it's really cool to see the whole team come together and rally. I mean, I remember checking after all of Peter Schneider's games with the Indy Fuel. And Dominic Zwerger's games with the Spokane Chiefs. All the way down to Rohrer when he was in the U17 Elite. So this is pretty cool.
