GRAZ, Austria – Thanks to Finnish know-how mixed with home-grown enthusiasm, Austria aims to overcome the disappointment of missing out on a place to the top division by winning its third consecutive medal at the IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship Division I Group A.

Three points ahead of the chasing pack of Denmark and Hungary, Austria's women's national team have it all in their own hands as they look to finish on a high note on home ice at the Merkur Arena in Graz.

Following yesterday's 4-1 loss to gold medal winners Japan, a final day win against Denmark will put smiles back on the Austrian players’ faces and silver medals around the necks.

It marks a steady improvement made under Finnish head coach Pekka Hamalainen, which follows the strategy outlined as he stepped into the job ahead of the 2013/14 season.

“Our first goal back then was to win a medal, which has been achieved twice and we are on a good way of winning a third one. Another goal was to make it to the final round of the Olympic Qualification which was achieved this season,” said Hamalainen, who in his first three seasons steered Austria to fifth, second and third spot in Division IA play.

Hamalainen has a wealth of experience from a long career spent at the top of Finnish hockey where he worked with both men and women. Ranging from being head coach for KalPa Kuopio, he later oversaw the development of Mikko Koivu, Jussi Jokinen and Kari Lehtonen during four seasons in charge of various Finnish junior men's national teams, before enjoying success with Finland's women's national team guiding them to bronze medals at both World Championship level and at the Winter Olympics between 2009 to 2012.

The opportunity to coach on a national team level in Austria came out of nowhere and offered him a second lease of life in a coaching career he had thought had reached the end of the road.

“I had more or less retired from coaching and one evening in April I was driving my daughter to hospital. During that drive south from Lahti to Helsinki we started to talk about life, going abroad, language skills and studies. For her all of this was still possible, while I admitted that I did regret never to have had the chance to try and work abroad,” said Hamalainen.

But all was not lost. Like a bolt out of the blue, Hamalainen's phone rang the next day and at the other end was Martin Kogler of the Austrian Ice Hockey Association, who was inquiring whether he would be interested in working as the head coach of their women's team

It’s venturing down the Finnish route, followed the road which the Austrian Ice Hockey Association had embarked upon following the appointment of Alpo Suhonen as its Sport Director. Hamalainen jumped at the opportunity, started his new job in 2013 and has not looked back since.

“I enjoy being here and I have good people around me that I work together with,” said Hamalainen. “What excites me working with the Austrian players is that many of them are brought up within a ball culture. In this respect it is easy to coach here, the players are eager to learn and can easily take things in,” said Hamalainen, who has been pleased with how its geographical location is being utilized for developing the women's game in Central Europe.

“We have the big two teams, the Eagles Salzburg and the Sabres Vienna as well as the Neuberg Highlanders playing in the Elite Women's Hockey League. Facing opponents from places such as for example Bratislava, Budapest and Bolzano is positive. Add to that the Super Cup where our teams play against opponents from Germany, the Czech Republic and Switzerland, there are good games on offer here all the time,” said Hamalainen, who also finds plenty of room for improvement within the Austrian game.

“One thing we must look at here in Austria is how the clubs are run,” he said. “We need professional coaching, which needs to be emphasized in order for the development to continue,” said Hamalainen.

Promising for the sake of Austria's future development is how competitive matches against top nations are being pushed further down the age groups. With Austria's U16 women's team about to head to Hungary for an exhibition tournament, opponents such as Finland and Sweden will help to raise the level of the next generation of players who already have starting to make a name for themselves at senior level.

Having just turned 17, Theresa Schafzahl is one of the players who have stood out offensively for Austria during this week's tournament. Another one is 18-year-old blueliner Nadja Granitz, who leads her team in plus-minus and has no doubts of where she would like to be heading with the national team next season, which bodes well for the Austria's women's game.

“Playing in this team is easy as I have such good players around me,” said Granitz. “Now our aim for next year will have to be to try to win this group and make it to the top division of the World Championship,” she said.

Click here for scores and stats from the tournament.

HENRIK MANNINEN