German team receives warning from DEB star following impressive victory
Germany, the World Championship runners-up, have responded impressively to their losses against the USA and Sweden by recording their best World Championship performance yet. A convincing win over Latvia saw the return of Nico Sturm who led the team, while defender Kai Wissmann remained cautious.
The team seems unstoppable with returning NHL star JJ Peterka scoring their first-ever World Championship goals, and their largest World Championship victory in 22 years. Their resounding 8:1 victory (2:0, 5:1, 1:0) against third-placed Latvia in Ostrava was a sight to behold. This was their first-ever win over Latvia by such a margin in a World Cup. "It couldn't have gone any better," NHL forward Sturm proclaimed on ProSieben.
However, Wissmann, the Berlin Eisbären defender, urged caution. "We can't let this victory blind us," he said. With six points, the team coached by Harold Kreis is still alive in Group B despite their two 1:6 losses against the title favourites USA and Sweden. Wissmann is being careful: "We haven't lost our confidence after the last two losses, and we're not declaring ourselves world champions yet. We still have three more preliminary round games to play."
Wissmann calls for focus
Wissmann, who scored a solo goal to make it 2-0, emphasized the need for focus. "We can't assume we're already through," he said. Double-packer John-Jason Peterka agrees: "We can be satisfied with our performance so far, but we can't underestimate anyone." Sturm, who missed the last two games due to injury, came back with a strong performance on Tuesday. His strength on the face-off dot, puck wins, and determination on boards helped earn the victory.
Peterka, named best striker in last year's World Championships, also played a key role against Latvia, scoring two goals (26th and 36th). The Buffalo Sabres forward acknowledged his frustration. "We played really well as a team today," admitted Peterka to MagentaSport. Other goals were scored by Dominik Kahun (6th), Kai Wissmann (19th), Leonhard Pföderl (21st), Parker Tuomie (23rd), and Marc Michaelis (31st) in front of 8,652 spectators.
"The way we won was more important than the result itself"
"The past few days have brought us closer together," said Peterka. The defeats against USA and Sweden affected the team. "What mattered more than the outcome today was the manner in which we played," stated Sturm. Germany's next game is against Kazakhstan on Friday (4.20pm/MagentaSport and Pro7). According to Kreis, the team may take a day off to regain their energy for the upcoming game.
While Germany continues to impress, the Swiss have dominated the preliminary rounds with a 3:0 (2:0, 1:0, 0:0) win over Great Britain, their fourth win in a row in Group A in Prague. Despite conceding only one defeat in their past 16 preliminary rounds, Switzerland had been upset by Germany in the quarter-finals.
The home team, the Czech Republic, came back from a 2-1 penalty shootout loss to Switzerland to beat Denmark 7:4 (1:1, 2:1, 4:3). The 12-time world champions are two points behind the Swiss in second place. In Group B, Slovakia defeated Poland 4:0 (2:0, 0:0, 2:0) in Ostrava, with Poland still searching for their first win in the competition.
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After their impressive victory, NHL star JJ Peterka discussed his World Championship goals, saying, "It's great to contribute to the team's success at the World Championships." Furthermore, the German team is preparing for their next match, as defender Kai Wissmann noted, "We need to remain focused in our NHL and World Championship games to maintain our strong performances."
Source: www.ntv.de
