Germany glimmers, wavers, and resurrects itself.
Germany's national ice hockey team opens the World Championships with a major triumph against Slovakia in the Czech Republic. Facing a tough rival, Germany starts off with an overtime period but manages to push through after a fantastic turnaround.
The DEB team shines at the World Championships in the Czech Republic, 348 days after the silver medal in Tampere. Under national coach Harold Kreis, the efficient German squad beats Olympic bronze medalist Slovakia 6-4 (0-0, 3-2, 2-1) and clinches a breakthrough victory in the first preliminary round match against a direct competitor in the quarterfinal race.
Switzerland's Dominik Kahun (30), Berlin's Jonas Müller (33), Bremerhaven's World Championship debutant Lukas Kälble (40), future Mannheim player Marc Michaelis (45) and Berlin champions Leo Pföderl (57) and Tobias Eder (59) net the goals for the German Ice Hockey Federation team that boasts 13 runners-up in the World Championship, captivating 9,000 spectators in Ostrava on Friday.
Slovakia tied the game with Marek Hrivik's goal (37th) and Martin Fehervary's equalizer (39th) after Germany gained a 2-0 lead. Libor Hudacek's (55th) and Matus Sukel's (60th) late goals were insufficient.
The favorites in Group B await Germany next: On Saturday, the team competes against the USA, and on Monday (both at 8:20 p.m./Pro7 and MagentaSport), they face the prominent Swedes. In the previous year, the German team began with three losses before astonishingly making it to the final.
The DEB team dealt with not just the 22 Slovak skaters on the ice, but also the 8,000 in the stands who had traveled across the border and transformed the Ostravar Arena into a home stadium. Despite an unimpressive start, the runners-up miraculously emerged triumphant: Frederik Tiffels had the opportunity to open the scoring after just 30 seconds but missed the goal. A little later, Kälble hit the post (6th). Near the end of the first period, NHL goalie Philipp Grubauer was served a lucky break when Tomas Tatar also struck the post (20th). "We started well, and we have to keep going," declared Munich's Yasin Ehliz on MagentaSport.
The Slovaks strengthened during the middle period but the Germans managed to score the first goals. Kahun clinched the long-awaited 1-0 in a 5-3 overtime opportunity, only to be confirmed later. Müller expanded the lead in the powerplay with a shot into the corner. Grubauer then suffered misfortune as he deflected the puck into his own net with his shoulder. After the equalizer, Kälble snapped the DEB team, who had lost in the quarter-final play-off to the Slovaks at the 2022 Winter Olympics, back into the lead 28 seconds before the buzzer.
The Germans started the third period on a better note. Michaelis, who will join the Eagles from the Swiss first-division club EV Zug next season, restored the two-goal advantage with a rebound. The quick reply goal from the Slovaks (48th), which featured five NHL pros led by former top pick Juraj Slafkovsky, was disallowed for offside following video evidence. Hudacek added tension, but Pföderl resolved the decision shortly after.
Kreis had filed 22 players with the world body for the opening match; defenceman Colin Ugbekile (Iserlohn Roosters) and forwards Joshua Samanski (Straubing Tigers) and Maximilian Kastner (Red Bull Munich), who was part of the previous year's silver team, were only spectators at the time. NHL forward Lukas Reichel (Chicago Blackhawks), expected to arrive in Ostrava that night, was yet to be officially nominated. [Paraphrased content]
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Germany continues its impressive run at the World Championships, defeating rival Sweden in the quarterfinals after a hard-fought match. The World Championships Ice Hockey final sees Germany facing off against Canada, aiming to clinch the title and break their 13-year streak of runner-up positions.
Source: www.ntv.de
