Despite an increase in performance, the German national ice hockey team suffered its second defeat at the Olympics Casting. After the 0:3 (0:1,0:0,0:2) against defending champions Slovakia, national coach Marco Sturm’s team threatens to finish last in the Germany Cup for the first time in twelve years.
Three months before the winter games in Pyeongchang, the selection of the DEB, which had won a 2:8 defeat against record world champion Russia at the start of the match, once again left a lot to be desired.
The Sturm team, which will meet DAZN live on Sunday (16.45 hrs) with the USA at the end of the match, went into action with greater dedication and dominated the game at times, but lacked the ability to make a breakthrough in front of the opponent’s goal.
In front of 6139 spectators at the sold-out Curt-Frenzel-Stadium Martin Bakos (5th), Marcel Hascak (48th) and Peter Ceresnak (60th) secured the Slovaks the second threesome after the 2:1 against the USA and thus the chance to win the second tournament in Augsburg in a row. The last opponent will be Russia on Sunday (13.15 hrs live on DAZN).
After the highest defeat in his two-year term of office, Sturm had demanded an “answer” from his team:”We want to show a reaction and present ourselves better,”promised Marcus Kink from Mannheim.
But at first, however, the DEB selection continued where it left off the previous evening – with a stupid penalty time: Nuremberg’s Yasin Ehliz had to go into the penalty box after a foul behind the opponent’s goal, and the Slovaks promptly took advantage of the overwhelming majority to take the lead.
Afterwards, the Sturm team caught up and evened out the match. However, it didn’t play out top-notch chances at first – either the last pass was missing or the shots were blocked.
In the second period, the hosts also scored their first chances. Especially the two Nurembergers Ehliz and Leonhard Pföderl as well as captain Patrick Hager, who were still watching on Friday, provided momentum in the offensive. The Krefeld-based Marcel Müller had the best chance with a post shot (37.). The Slovaks also used a German penalty time for the second goal.
In Augsburg, Sturm sighted his Olympic candidates. The four-country tournament is the only way to score points in the fight for the 25 tickets to Pyeongchang:”Everyone can show their face and jump on the train,”said Kink, who, like almost everyone else in the team, is competing for his first Olympic participation.
Only Mannheim goalkeeper Dennis Endras, who had to be replaced for a leg injury against Russia, and Krefeld striker Marcel Müller have already played on Olympic ice.
For the Winter Games in South Korea (9. till 25. February 2018) Sturm is also planning to take a break with the two former NHL pros Christian Ehrhoff (Cologne) and Marcel Goc (Mannheim), whom he granted a break. The top scorer Patrick Reimer from Nuremberg, Felix Schütz from Cologne and Frank Hördler from Berlin, who are missing in Augsburg for various reasons, also stand a good chance of getting a Pyeongchang ticket.