World Cup quarter-finals within reach
DEB team has to tremble very late with an important victory
May 18, 2024, 6:39 p.m
The German men’s ice hockey team is heading for the quarter-finals of the World Championship. In the penultimate group match, the DEB team beat Poland, which is their fourth win in six appearances. Things get a little tense in the final phase.
Despite a shock victory, the German national ice hockey team’s entry into the World Cup quarter-finals is now just a formality. The vice world champion defeated newly promoted Poland 4:2 (0:0, 2:0, 2:2) in Ostrava, Czech Republic, but had some problems against the outsiders. Alexander Ehl (26th minute), JJ Peterka (36th/57th) with a brace and Yasin Ehliz (45th) scored for national coach Harold Kreis’ team. At the end of the group phase, the selection of the German Ice Hockey Association will be made on Tuesday (12.20 p.m./ProSieben, MagentaSport and in the live ticker at ntv.de) on France.
The district team was unable to keep up the momentum after the two clear successes against Latvia (8:1) and against Kazakhstan (8:2). Poland, cheered on by half of the 9,109 spectators, showed themselves to be more stable on defense and set some accents on offense. Goalkeeper Mathias Niederberger, who stood between the posts for NHL goalkeeper Philipp Grubauer, had to intervene several times in the first few minutes.
“We’re not giving them anything,” Germany defender Maksymilian Szuber announced. Like Wojciech Stachowiak, the defender was born in Poland. However, their team lacked passing security and, in some phases, concentration. Pucks that last reached a teammate always ended up at the opponent.
Ehliz’s hit doesn’t make the decision
The DEB selection also had some problems with the circumstances in the arena on the ninth day of the tournament. “The temperatures are abnormal,” complained NHL professional Nico Sturm to ProSieben after the first third and added: “The ice is bad.” A nice toy against the world number 22. brought the redeeming first goal: via Parker Tuomie and Maxi Kastner the puck came to Ehl, who scored with a powerful shot (26th). It was the first goal for the Düsseldorfer in the title fights in the Czech Republic.
Even though the district team still couldn’t shine, they had the opponent better under control. The Polish goalkeeper David Zabolotny made several brilliant saves. After an opponent threw a stick before Yasin Ehliz shot on goal, there was a penalty for the DEB selection: Peterka confidently converted to make it 2-0. It was the fourth goal of the tournament for the Buffalo Sabers NHL star.
The Poles became more tired in the final section. The German team had the match completely under control. After Ehliz made it 3-0, the game actually seemed decided (45th). Nevertheless, the Poles suddenly got a tailwind in the last few minutes. First Patryk Wajda reduced the score to 1:3 from a tight angle (54th), Filip Komorski even scored the next goal (56th). Peterka decided the match with his second goal of the day.