The German national ice hockey team presented itself in a very appealing condition at its dress rehearsal and once again gained self-confidence for the winter games in South Korea.
Three days before the opening ceremony in Pyeongchang, national coach Marco Sturm’s team won the only endurance test for the Olympic tournament in Switzerland with 2:1 (0:0,1:0,0,0:1,1:0) after extra time.
The day after the contract extension of DEB coach Sturm, who will be able to continue his successful work until 2022, David Wolf (26th) and Dominik Kahun from Mannheim scored the German goals at the SWISS Arena in Kloten 18 seconds before the end of overtime. For Switzerland Ramon Untersander (55th) met. The DEB-selection can now with a good feeling the 15. February. Then Finland will be the first opponent in the preliminary round of the Olympics.
Sturm had initially opted for the Munich championship goalkeeper Danny Aus den Birken in the goal, possibly also a pointer for the forthcoming tournament. The DEB coach trusted especially in attacking proven formations, forming a complete Mannheim line around captain Marcel Goc. In any case, Sturm had stressed that due to the short preparation phase, there was no time for experiments and thus the cadre was put together.
From a prestigious duel with the Swiss Confederates, which goalkeeper Dennis Endras, defender Sinan Akdag and striker Frank Mauer experienced only in the spectator role, he once again promised himself important insights:”This is a good test. The games against Switzerland have always been scarce in recent years,”said Sturm. He even sees the permanent Olympic rival in medal range.
So it came as no surprise that it was a relatively well-balanced game in which the Swiss seemed to be a bit more dangerous at first. The Nuremberg-based Yasin Ehliz (18th) had the first good opportunity for the DEB selection, but Birch, which was replaced by Timo Pielmeier in the last third, also had to intervene several times and left a stable impression. Wolf then led the tour for the DEB with a worth seeing event.
As a result, the German team presented itself well sorted and physically strong, leaving little room for the Swiss to develop even in shortfalls. Felix Schütz (35th), Ehliz (43rd) and Wolf (53rd) could have even increased before Switzerland increased the pressure significantly towards the end.
After the match, the DEB team went straight back to Füssen, where Sturm has been gathering the team since last Saturday for the final stage of preparation. On Wednesday, the team will fly from Munich to South Korea and will take part in the opening ceremony on Friday.
After the duel against the Finns, the DEB-selection will play the other group matches against World Champion Sweden (16. February) and Norway (18. February).