TAMPERE, Finland — Austria pulled off a major upset at the ice hockey world championship on Tuesday, stunning the Czech Republic 2-1 as it prevailed in a penalty shootout.
It was Austria’s first victory over the Czechs at a major tournament. Austria’s Peter Schneider was the only player to convert his penalty in the shootout.
It was Austria’s first win of the tournament after two losses, moving the team up to fifth place in Group B with three points, trailing the Czechs in fourth by a point.
Czech captain Roman Cervenka had put his team ahead in the opening period but Brian Lebler equalized with 38 seconds remaining.
The Czechs are hoping David Pastrnak will boost their attack when he arrives in Finland after his Boston Bruins were eliminated from the NHL playoffs by the Carolina Hurricanes. He should be available for the next game, against Latvia on Thursday.
In another Group B game, Anton Bengtsson had two goals and an assist and Rasmus Asplund scored twice as Sweden routed Britain 6-0 to join Finland atop the standings. Britain is last with one point.
In Group A in Helsinki, Switzerland made it three wins from three by defeating Kazakhstan 3-2 to join Canada on nine points.
Also, Denmark beat Italy 2-1 for its second win. Italy and Kazakhstan remain pointless.