Good feeling after first World Cup victory: Merciless game plan does not let the DEB team rest

Good feeling after first World Cup victory
Merciless game plan leaves DEB team no rest

After the first victory at the Ice Hockey World Championship, the German team will continue against Austria on Friday. The DEB selection needs more points for the quarterfinals. They can hardly afford to slip up. The game plan gives them no respite.

The first victory at the Ice Hockey World Championships in Finland and Latvia is said to have been just the beginning of a big race to catch up for the German team. After the 6: 4 (0: 1, 3: 1, 3: 2) in the all-or-nothing game against Denmark on Thursday, the selection of the German Ice Hockey Federation is aiming for the next success in the prestige duel against Austria only 24 hours later at. “We have to know that it starts all over again and that the game is just as important as today’s,” said captain Moritz Müller before the fifth German group game on Friday (7:20 p.m./MagentaSport) in Tampere.

Due to the unfortunate defeats at the beginning against the title favorites Sweden (0:1), Finland (3:4) and the USA (2:3), the team of national coach Harold Kreis now only needs victories to reach the minimum goal of the quarterfinals . “It won’t be any easier tomorrow and the rest of the games. If we continue to do the same, I have a good feeling that we’ll reach the quarterfinals,” said NHL forward Nico Sturm (San Jose). After the game against Austria, there are still duels with outsiders Hungary (Sunday/3.20 p.m.) and France (Tuesday/11.20 a.m.) at.

The pressure remains high

The victory after regulation time against the supposedly biggest competitor in the fight for the quarter-finals was also extremely important mentally, as the players admitted. “We tried to moderate it a bit in advance, but of course the pressure was enormous,” admitted captain Müller and attacker Marcel Noebels from Eisbären Berlin said: “It was very important that we also proved to ourselves that we were winning games that we can also win close or tight games.”

The Danes, who currently have eight points, now have to play their remaining games against the strongest teams in the group USA, Sweden and Finland. Should the favorites win these games, the German team could even afford to slip up against the weaker teams.

However, the DEB selection does not want to rely on Schützenhilfe. “For us, the game against Austria is just as important as today’s,” said national coach Kreis. NHL defender Moritz Seider (Detroit) said before the game on Friday evening: “Of course we have to go in with a broad chest. We want to show off as the dominant team.”

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