On Tuesday night, a match everyone thought was a foregone conclusion at the World Championship Group A was played out in the Czech Republic, with defending champion Canada taking on Austria, who had just stayed in the elite last year at the expense of Hungary.
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Austrian hockey players are rejoicing, because they have a reason to be
Photography: Michal Cizek/Agence France-Presse
The first two thirds went as expected, with the big team leading 3-1 after 20 minutes and 6-1 after 40 minutes. But in the final act, an unprecedented miracle occurred. It has happened more than once in hockey history that a team tied or even won a game by -5 – this is a sport – but we suddenly fail to remember such a time when an underdog team of that level did something similar against the absolute best favourites.
The Austrians hit two goals at the start of the final session, which made them very angry, and the Canadians were so confused, they skated on the ice and completely forgot to defend themselves. After 3-6 came 4-6, then 5-6, and NHL's Marco Rossi scored the sixth goal in a goalie situation, and overtime would have followed.
Had Austria won in overtime, it would have been the biggest conversion ever in the history of the World Ice Hockey Championships. In the end, it didn't work out, John Tavares decided in seconds with a precise shot, Canada won 7-6. So, we can only talk about the third most exciting World Cup in hockey history, but that's something. Summary of events:
