Norway beats Austria to advance for next round

Already halfway through the first period Norway had a 3-0 lead over Austria. Eerikki Koivu opened the scoring nicely assisted by Bastiansen at 6:26. Bastiansen got his second assist when Mathis Olimb made after a great Norwegian attack that also involved Lars Erik Spets. At just 56 seconds later Jonas Holos found the net on a power play and the game was almost already over even if it was 50 minutes left to play.

Bastiansens third assist came later in second period when he after some great work behind the net found Spets who scored another power play goal. Halfway through the third period Bastiansen scored his only goal and fourth point of the game when he picked up a bouncing puck and fired it home from the edge of crease.

Bastiansen who had a great finish to the season also being one of Färjestad's best players when they won the Swedish Championship. "We won the championship with Färjestad, and now that we've qualified for the second round here, this has been one of my best seasons," Bastiansen said.

In the third period Philipp Lakos was sent off with game misconduct for clipping and Anders Fredriksen missed a penalty shot for Norway. Lars Haugen made a solid game in the Norwegian goal and had 25 saves for the shutout.

Norway is now qualified for the second round where they will bring 2 points while Austria will play in the relegation round to stay in the Elite Group.

"They have a much better team then us," Austria's Oliver Setzinger said after the game. "They skate better and they get to play at a higher level all year."

 

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