Quarter-finals in prospect: DEB team finds its way against Austria

Quarterfinals in sight
DEB team finds its way against Austria

After the horror start to the Ice Hockey World Championship with three defeats, Germany is now winning the second game in a row. Towards the end, the duel against Austria becomes a nail-biter again. But after the win, the focus can be on the uptrend.

Germany’s national ice hockey team has finally set course for the quarter-finals with its second mandatory win within 24 hours at the World Championships in Finland and Latvia. The selection of national coach Harold Kreis 4: 2 (2: 1, 1: 0, 1: 1) won against Austria and in the two remaining preliminary round games against the outsiders Hungary and France can make the desired return to the last eight perfect.

One evening after the important 6:4 in the all-or-nothing game against Denmark, probably the toughest competitor, Stanley Cup winner Nico Sturm (5th/59th minute) and Parker Tuomie (17th) from Straubing scored in Tampere Tigers and Wojciech Stachowiak (34th) from ERC Ingolstadt for the German team. Bernd Wolf (12th) from HC Lugano and Lukas Haudum from KAC Klagenfurt (54th) were successful for outsiders Austria. Due to Haudum’s goal in the meantime, the duel turned into a shaky duel shortly before the end of the game.

The selection of the German Ice Hockey Federation continues on Sunday (3.20 p.m. / Sport1 and MagentaSport) against Hungary. Then the third win in a row is mandatory. After the unfortunate opening defeats against the top teams Sweden (0:1), Finland (3:4) and the USA (2:3), Germany is still under pressure to reach the minimum goal of the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, the knot seems to have burst after the important win against the Danes. “Of course yesterday’s game gave me confidence,” said NHL forward Sturm of the San Jose Sharks during the first period.

DEB team starts dominant

In fact, the performance against Austria was initially more confident than against the Danes. Sturm also went ahead against the staid and playfully weak Austrians and scored the first German 1-0 lead so far in this tournament with a remarkable individual action. Unlike on Thursday, when Germany had started very nervously given the pressure against the Danes, this time the DEB selection started dominantly.

A painful slap shot put NHL defender Moritz Seider out of action after a good ten minutes. The 22-year-old from Detroit Red Wings staggered off the ice. The Austrians used the ensuing disorder in the German defense for a surprising equalizer, which Straubing’s Tuomie from the fourth line of attackers, who had triumphed so far at the World Cup, countered to give the Germans the lead again.

Although NHL striker Sturm warned in the first third break and urged more consistency, a very weak middle third followed, in which the German team inexplicably struggled. It was again the refreshing fourth line of attack that nevertheless provided the reassuring third goal. Stachowiak from runner-up Ingolstadt completed again after going it alone.

In the final section, too, the 7,451 spectators saw a lot of cramping, which national coach Kreis had apparently already suspected. “There is always a certain explosiveness,” Kreis had said before the game. “You can’t be overly motivated, you have to keep a cool head.” After all, that’s what the German team did after Austria’s goal six minutes before the end and brought the work victory over time. Sturm made everything clear with his second goal in the orphaned goal.

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