Hat-trick after confusion: DEB team wins Germany Cup
For national coach Harold Kreis, it was perhaps the most beautiful defeat. The 2:1 (0:1, 0:0, 1:1) of the ice hockey runners-up on Sunday against Slovakia was enough to secure a hat-trick of titles at the Germany Cup. "Strange and unique," was how the coach described the complicated constellation. Tied on points with Slovakia and Denmark, the DEB team secured their tenth success overall at the home tournament in Landshut thanks to the better goal difference. "I thanked the team for allowing me to experience something like this with them in my career," explained Kreis.
The special table situation also turned the final phase into a bit of a confusing game. Even the German players were not all in agreement. "I was wondering why the Slovaks suddenly took their goalkeeper off when they were leading 2:1," recalled keeper Florian Bugl of the turbulent final phase. During a timeout, the Straubing Tigers goalkeeper informed himself. The goal was enough.
For the national coach it was more important anyway that his team remained competitive without numerous runners-up and key players. The high level of performance made the national coach very happy. "It's reassuring when experienced players can't be there, but we're still at a good level," he said.
"The Germany Cup was also very valuable from a sporting point of view. I had the opportunity to see players here that I can otherwise only watch in the various leagues. "
According to Kreis, the young players around goalie Bugl, who was strong against Slovakia, showed "great commitment". The experienced professionals, such as Leonhard Pföderl on Sunday or Marc Michaelis and Yasin Ehliz before that, were responsible for the "game-defining decisions". The "healthy mix" described by the national coach when nominating the squad paid off.
Despite the defeat against the Slovaks, it was "the best game" at this year's Germany Cup for the former DEL coach from Mannheim and Düsseldorf. Even though the visitors were on the verge of the tournament triumph after 66 seconds through Matej Kaslik and the 0:2 through Lukas Cingel (43rd minute). "The Slovaks were the strongest opponent in the tournament," explained attacker Pföderl.
The DEB team fought for the important goal. Pföderl scored the redemptive 1:2 with just under four and a half minutes to go, causing great jubilation among the 4,200 spectators in the sold-out arena in the traditional ice hockey city of Landshut.
"It was a great tournament for all of us, the backdrop was fantastic and now we've won the tournament - what more could you want," enthused the 30-year-old Pföderl, who accepted the trophy as captain on Sunday.
The German women were not so successful at the first combined Germany Cup. After two clear defeats against Finland (1:8) and tournament winners the Czech Republic (0:8), the team of national coach Jeff MacLeod finished third ahead of Denmark.
The gap to the top nations is greater than perhaps expected. "We have to make sure that we work on the little things before the World Championships and cut out the mistakes," said national player Carina Strobel with a view to the title matches in the USA at the beginning of April.
The DEB's ice hockey team, including goalkeeper Florian Bugl, played a crucial role in securing the Germany Cup hat-trick despite a complicated situation, defeating Slovakia and relying on their strong performance without several key players. Despite losing their ice hockey match to Slovakia, the DEB team managed to secure the third place in the combined Germany Cup for the German women's team, with national player Carina Strobel emphasizing the need for improvement before the upcoming World Championships.
Source: www.dpa.com
