Absurdly cool World Cup fairy tale: What the hell is this DEB team doing?


Absurdly cool World Cup fairy tale
What the hell is this DEB team doing?

By Tobias Nordmann

Another important win against big rivals Switzerland. The German national ice hockey team moves with irrepressible will and after a great drama at the World Cup in Latvia into the semi-finals and plays for the final on Saturday.

The question must be allowed. No, it even has to be asked: What the hell did Marcel Noebels actually ride to refine the decisive penalty in the World Cup quarter-finals of the German national ice hockey team against Switzerland in such an absurdly cool way as he did on late Sunday afternoon? Was it a bit of megalomania to do the same as the legendary Peter Forsberg, one of the best players to ever put on his skates? Was it even a hint of anything? Yes that was it. Without knowing the 29-year-old’s career in detail: It was probably the best (ice hockey) idea he ever had.

What Noebels had done around 5:42 p.m. was the most sensational punchline in a sensational game. In a game full of twists and turns, full of emotions, full of small (German) miracles. Noebels took a run-up for his penalty, wiggled goalie Leonardo Genoni with quick feinting and then put the puck past the Swiss with one hand with a long arm and an even longer stick. With a, well what do you say? Ar … cold maybe? It’s not a pretty word, but probably the most appropriate. So again very briefly at the start: What the hell was Noebels riding there? “Believe me, my heart has slipped a lot deeper. I just turned my head off,” he said just a few minutes after his sensational goal at Sport1.

However, the penalty was not an “I-just-do-it-yourself” moment. Rather, it was a carefully chosen choice. I had a lot of things on my mind and I’m glad I did this variant. When I got on the ice, I knew I was going to do it and turned my head off, “said Noebels. He said that as relaxed as it reads. Madness.” I thought he was (Editor’s note: Genoni) that has not yet seen today. It has already worked in the league. “That Noebels, of all people, who was completely uncertain after an injury from the game against Latvia until shortly before the game, shot Germany for a medal chance, the last one was 68 years ago (!), This is another heroic story that the DEB cracks are writing in the Latvian capital, for example Mathias Niederberger, who is now revered as the “Octopus of Riga” and who saved Germany from knockout several times against Switzerland.

The “octopus” rescues twice spectacularly

Two scenes are particularly remembered. In the spectacular overtime, at three against three. A good minute had only been played when the goalie saved with a maddening act against Grégory Hofmann. Even better: How he slipped his schooner into Andres Ambühl’s penalty. That Hofmann failed again immediately before Noebels (idle to say that Niederberger was in the way again) is the bitter story of the Swiss. Because the 28-year-old was not only one of the best players in the quarter-finals, but was also one of the most conspicuous confederates in Riga. And there were quite a few of them. The team had made impressive progress through the preliminary round – with the exception of the bizarre 7-0 swat against the Swedes.

How well the team can play ice hockey, it showed at times against Germany. Between the 10th and 35th minute, Switzerland was clearly better. Clear in the actions towards the goal, the lead by Ramón Untersander was one of the most beautifully played goals of the tournament. Clear in the actions against the German team. The players of national coach Toni Söderholm were massively pressed against the gang. Shots, hardly or not possible at this stage. When exactly did the game tip over? Of course, with the furiously forced goal from Tom Kühnhackl, who scored just four minutes after Fabrice Herzog (34th) made it 2-0. But Germany had already got itself a huge booster for this next energy performance. In the middle of the third, the DEB team survived a 3: 5 shortfall. The start for the dramatic finish.

The last third, it was probably the best of the national team at this tournament. Led by two-time Stanley Cup champion Tom Kühnhackl and NHL player Tobias Rieder, Germany took Genoni heavily under fire. The Swiss looked strangely flat, strangely lethargic. But it actually took until 44 seconds before Leon Gawanke hammered the pane into the goal with anger through the hustle and bustle in front of Genoni. For the confederates an almost tragic déjà vu. Two years ago they also conceded a late equalizer in the quarterfinals. But in comparison, the 44 seconds now seem almost generous. At that time only 0.4 seconds (!) Were missing for the sensation against Canada. The game was lost in overtime.

“That’s why I’m a coach”

Kühnhackl, Gawanke, Noebels, Niederberger – four protagonists, four heroic stories. But of course not the only ones. How Korbinian Holzer organized the German defense, how he took the Swiss puck off the racket, how he breaded his opponents into the gang, that was again world class. And what Rieder was on the ice with his speed, with his galling, also impressive. Even for the national coach, whose Finnish temperament, well, rarely escalates. After the drama, however, Söderholm was also seized by passion (the Finnish one): “It’s a privilege to be able to see a team come together like this. That’s the reason why I started as a coach. That you can contribute a part, that they sacrifice everything, that they come out of a game as the winner, that makes me happy. I’m proud of the players, really proud. “

But the mission is not over yet. Not for Söderholm anyway. Before the tournament, when asked what he wanted, he answered clearly in Finnish: Gold. On Saturday, the team will fight defending champions Finland, against whom they lost almost 2-1 in the preliminary round, to make it into the final. A bizarre detail: the four semi-finalists are the top four in the German group. The biggest surprise: The Canadians, who had been weak for a long time in this tournament, shot Russia out of their gold dream with a spectacular attack in overtime. But back to Germany. The team is determined to repeat the 2018 Olympic coup at the World Cup. “It’s like back then,” says NHL striker Dominik Kahun, one of six silver medalists on the team, “we’re another group of exceptional players.” Incidentally, also there in Pyeonchang: Marcel Noebels.

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