“The Swiss are not happy”
Germany opens psychological duel with archrivals
May 24, 2023 at 6:46 p.m
Germany’s national ice hockey team is looking forward to another quarter-final showdown in Riga against Switzerland. Ahead of the knockout match at the World Cup, the psycho duel with arch-rival is in full swing. The roles on the ice are clearly divided.
Riga again. Again against Switzerland. Younger German ice hockey history should be repeated against the arch-rival tomorrow, Thursday. The selection of the German Ice Hockey Federation is against the secret favorites Switzerland before the World Cup quarter-finals (3.20 p.m./Sport1 and MagentaSport as well as in the live ticker at ntv.de) in the Latvian capital also to the fluttering nerves of the Confederates.
“The Swiss aren’t happy that the German is back in front of them,” said storm veteran Marcel Noebels, who shot Germany into the World Cup semi-finals in Riga two years ago with a splendid trick penalty against Switzerland. “Maybe I’ll do it again,” said Noebels with a smile. The current German World Cup top scorer John-Jason Peterka – also there two years ago – said of the German leaders before the new duel: “Mental strength is especially important in tournaments like this. If you pull them down a bit mentally, it can work.”
Although Switzerland played a splendid World Cup preliminary round with eight NHL stars and confidently finished first in Group B, the DEB team is very confident after four wins in a row in Tampere. The fact that the Swiss are defeatable was demonstrated on Tuesday evening at the end of the preliminary round by World Cup co-host Latvia, who won the quarter-final ticket with a 4-3 win after extra time.
“They will have it in their heads too”
Twelve players from the German national team, which defeated Switzerland in the quarter-finals of the World Cup two years ago under the then national coach Toni Söderholm, are back again this time. “Of course you have that in your head, they will have it in your head too,” said DEB captain Moritz Müller. NHL forward Peterka of the Buffalo Sabers made it clear: “Of course we want to do it again.” He sees it this way: “Especially in tournaments like a World Cup, it’s important if you’re just mentally stronger,” said the 21-year-old, who scored four goals despite – or perhaps because of – the pause for thought ordered by national coach Harold Kreis in the meantime and five assists was the fifth-best points collector in the World Cup preliminary round.
With a tough game you have to “mentally pull the vice world champion from 2013 and 2018 to the ground”, demanded Peterka. Knowing full well that the Swiss feel at the top. After an impressively strong preliminary round with victories against record world champions Canada and the twelve-time champion Czech Republic, the team of six NHL professionals around top scorer Nino Niederreiter has only one goal: to finally become world champions for the first time.
It can be assumed that the Swiss players secretly fear Germany despite the great preliminary round so far. They saved a few stars against the Latvians for the more important duel on Thursday. Whenever Switzerland went into a knockout game against Germany in the recent past, they lost: Before 2021, that was already the case in the 2010 World Cup quarterfinals and in the Olympic decision game for the 2018 quarterfinals in Pyeongchang. “The past has shown that we can beat Switzerland, even in crucial games. We intend to do the same this time,” said Captain Müller.
“We have a great team, we stick together”
This time, the conditions speak even more for the neighboring nation than usual. The selection, which has already been somewhat exaggeratedly described in the Swiss media as “the best World Cup team in history”, has so far been convincing in terms of play. “They won their group, they have an outstanding team. They have the big goal of becoming world champions,” said SC Bern striker Dominik Kahun, who wants to counteract this as a team: “We have a great team, we stick together – that decides such games.”
In addition to reaching the semi-finals, Germany is also concerned with qualifying directly for the Olympics, which would probably be perfect in the event of a win. So Söderholm’s successor Harold Kreis would have achieved both of the ambitious goals formulated by the DEB board at his World Cup premiere. After the unfortunate defeats at the start, the first target – reaching the quarterfinals – was achieved despite good performances against the top nations Sweden (0:1), Finland (3:4) and the USA (2:3) thanks to some clear victories in the following Playing against Denmark (6:4), Austria (4:2), Hungary (7:2) and France (5:0). No DEB selection among Kreis’ predecessors had played so confidently against the supposedly weaker opponents in recent years.
It is also about the direct ticket to the 2026 Olympics
“Every game, even if it was the defeats at the beginning, showed us how good we are. The team is top class,” said goalkeeper Mathias Niederberger about the team put together by Kreis without 15 injured top performers. “With our squad, with our will, with our skills and our unity, it will be a very good game,” announced Kreis himself. “The Swiss will certainly not dictate the game. We will play against them on an equal footing.” The veteran coach was assistant coach to the then national coach Uwe Krupp in 2010 when they won the quarter-finals in Mannheim. History can also repeat itself for Kreis.
At the 2026 games, all German NHL stars around Leon Draisaitl and Tim Stützle could perhaps appear together on the largest stage for the only time. For this, the German team would have to overtake Switzerland or Slovakia in the world rankings. Although the Olympic bronze medalist missed the quarter-finals, as things stand so far, he is still just ahead, as is Switzerland. With the entry into the semi-finals, the DEB selection would be past both – if the ranking is calculated as in the past. However, the world association IIHF did not publish an updated list before the World Cup as usual and has remained silent.