Goal record, win against French
German team conjures up the next wild ride on the ice
May 21, 2024, 2:55 p.m
The German national team had already secured the quarter-finals of the Ice Hockey World Cup in the Czech Republic, but they also managed a clear victory against France in the last preliminary round game. The game was wild at times, but in the end the Germans’ offensive potential prevailed.
A little sleepy at first, then pretty wild: At the unusual lunchtime, the German ice hockey vice world champions’ warm-up for the World Cup quarter-finals in the Czech Republic turned into a lively shooting match. In the last group match, the team of national coach Harold Kreis beat France 6:3 (1:1, 3:2, 2:0).
The offensively strong team set a World Cup preliminary round record for the German Ice Hockey Association (DEB) with 34 goals, two further goals were disallowed after video evidence. But serious deficiencies were once again evident in the defense. The fifth consecutive participation in the knockout round had already been certain since Sunday evening. In the quarterfinals on Thursday, a significant improvement is needed, especially in defense, if the World Cup is not to end quickly.
The future Mannheimer Marc Michaelis (20th), Bremerhaven’s Lukas Kälble (26th), Ingolstadt’s Wojciech Stachowiak (32nd/42nd), Munich’s Maximilian Kastner (32nd) and NHL striker Lukas Reichel (45th) scored scored the goals for the district team in front of 9,109 spectators in Ostrava. Valentin Claireaux (17th), Anthony Rech (22nd) and Sacha Treille (27th) had given the world number 13, who only won against relegated Poland, the lead three times.
“We still have room for improvement”
Kreis offered the same attack and defense lines for the fourth time in a row. NHL goalie Philipp Grubauer was back in goal – after a game break. “The team is very focused. We want to finish the preliminary round well,” said the national coach at MagentaSport. But his team wasn’t really awake early in the game: after just ten seconds, the French came dangerously in front of Grubauer’s goal for the first time, and the first German power play was unsuccessful. The vice world champion largely dominated the game, but the French used a counterattack to take the lead. When the second power play had just ended, Michaelis scored to equalize.
“We still have room for improvement,” said Moritz Müller during the first third break at ProSieben. The captain reached another milestone in his career: The 37-year-old played his 211th international match, drawing level with ice hockey legend Erich Kühnhackl.
But the outsider took the lead again: after Rech’s goal, the referees needed video evidence. Just 22 seconds after Kälble’s equalizer, the defense fell asleep and Grubauer conceded the third goal. The supposed 3:3 by NHL striker John-Jason Peterka was overturned for offside after video evidence (29th), then a regular double strike followed within 22 seconds. Leo Pföderl also celebrated too early (36th), his goal was canceled due to goalkeeper interference.
In the final third, the target shooting continued lively, and despite the clear lead, the German team didn’t let up. Frederik Tiffels received a game-time penalty after a board check in the final phase and had to go to the dressing room (55th). There was little offensive left from the French.