Release from 28.08.2024

ICE nations play for Olympic participation

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Ice hockey fans around the world are eagerly awaiting the final qualifiers for the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo (ITA), which will take place from 29 August to 1 September. Austria, Slovenia and Hungary - with a total of 37 players from the win2day ICE Hockey League - will battle it out for the three remaining places for the next Winter Games.

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From Thursday to Sunday, Austria and Hungary will take part in the tournament in Bratislava together with Kazakhstan and hosts Slovakia. It is a particularly difficult task, as every nation in this group has participated in at least one world championship at the highest level in the 2020s.

Austria celebrated two 2:1 victories over Slovenia in preparation. The team of head coach Roger Bader has 19 players from the win2day ICE Hockey League, but will have to do without captain Thomas Raffl - who was ill for the last ten days and was not fit in time - for the tournament.

Hungary were beaten 3:6 by Ukraine in their last test. Nine players from Hydro Fehérvár are in the squad for the Olympic qualifiers.

Austria and Hungary's matches:
Thursday, 29 August 2024:
Kazakhstan vs. Hungary
Bratislava, Ondrej Nepela Arena, 14:00

Slovakia vs. Austria
Bratislava, Ondrej Nepela Arena, 18:00 - Live on ORF SPORT +

Friday, 30 August 2024:
Kazakhstan vs. Austria
Bratislava, Ondrej Nepela Arena, 14:00 - Live on ORF SPORT +

Hungary vs. Slovakia
Bratislava, Ondrej Nepela Arena, 18:00

Sunday, 01 September 2024:
Austria vs. Hungary
Bratislava, Ondrej Nepela Arena, 14:00 - Live on ORF SPORT +

Slovenia in underdog role
Slovenia will play in Riga for a place at the Olympic Games. With nine players from Olimpija Ljubljana, the ICE nation will compete against France, Ukraine and hosts Latvia.

Games of Slovenia':
Thursday, 29 August 2024:
Latvia vs. Slovenia
Riga, 19:00

Friday, 30 August 2024:
France vs. Slovenia
Riga, 15:00

Sunday, 01 September 2024:
Slovenia vs. Ukraine
Riga, 12:00 pm

Matches in the livestream
The third qualifying tournament will take place in Aalborg with hosts Denmark, Great Britain, Japan and Norway. The three group winners will take part in the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. Host nation Italy is already qualified for the tournament.

The games of the three groups can be streamed live on the IIHF's social media platforms.