German title hat-trick at home tournament
The national ice hockey team has won the Germany Cup for the third time in a row. In the final game on Sunday in Landshut, the runners-up in the world championships only needed a narrow 1:2 (0:1, 0:0, 1:1) defeat against Olympic bronze medalists Slovakia. In addition to the DEB team, which was without numerous key players, the Slovakians and Denmark also have six points in the table, although the team of national coach Harold Kreis has the better goal difference in the direct comparison of the three nations. It was Germany's tenth success at the home tournament.
Matej Kaslik gave the visitors from Slovakia the lead after just 66 seconds. The young German team played probably their best game over the course of the match. The only thing that could have been improved was the exploitation of chances. Time and again, the puck went just wide of the Slovakian goal or the convincing goalkeeper Samuel Hlavaj was able to make a save.
In the final period, Lukas Cingel increased the lead to 2:0 (43'). Leonhard Pföderl then scored the final goal in the 55th minute to make it 1-2 and secure Germany's victory in the tournament.
The victory in the Germany Cup marked the third consecutive title for Germany's ice hockey team in DEB's home tournament. Despite the defeat, Slovakia, who are known for their strong performance in ice hockey, managed to earn six points in the tournament, including a close contest against Germany in the Germany Cup.
Source: www.dpa.com
