The German national ice hockey team also defeats record Olympic champion Canada and will play against record world champion Russia for the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang on Sunday.
After a game almost like intoxication, the German national ice hockey team fights sensationally for gold at the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. With passion, but also with beautifully played goals and a defensive battle in the last ten minutes, the fascinating selection of national coach Marco Sturm defeated record Olympic champion Canada with 4:3 (1:0,3:1,0:2) on Friday and is now in the final next Sunday (13.10 o’ clock OZ/5.10 o’ clock CET).
Between the most successful team in German ice hockey history and a “miracle of Pyeongchang”, however, there is now record world champion Russia. The big tournament favorite defeated archrivals Czech Republic 3:0 in the second semi-final. However, the DEB selection has certainly already reached silver as in the 1930 and 1953 World Championships, and thus more than the German teams that won bronze at the Olympic Games in 1932 and 1976.
In the Gangneung Hockey Centre, Sturm’s team impressed in a fast-paced game with solid defensive work, but also with powerplay strength and coolness on the offensive. DEL-toptor hunter Brooks Macek (16/5:3 majority), Matthias Plachta (24th) and Frank Mauer (27th) brought Germany 3-0 to the lead – the piece of Mauer’s cabinet at the third goal was a feast for the eyes. However, the Germans brought the Canadians back into the match by penalties.
After Gilbert Brules scored 29th in a German defeat, Patrick Hager (33rd) again outnumbered the German team. Shortly afterwards, Brule (33rd) had to boarded early after a brutal check against David Wolf. After Mat Robinson (43th), a penalty from Dominik Kahun (44th) and a penalty from Plachta, Derek Roy took Canada to 4-3 (50th) after a goalkeeper’s defeat by Mat Robinson (43th). But that’s not all, even though Canada ended up taking the goalkeeper off the ice.
The bronze medal winners of 1976 wished their successors from home good luck:”The time is ripe for new heroes to be born,” said Alois Schloder to the SID, who saw parallels with the “Innsbruck miracle”:”The chemistry is right, so everything is possible.” Record international player Udo Kießling said:”For German ice hockey this success is of great importance and might push a development.
Canada, after the NHL cancellation almost exclusively composed of European legionaries, began with strong pressure. But the DEB-selection was able to free itself faster than against Sweden. It also survived the first shortfalls in numbers unscathed. After Munich’s goalscorer Macek’s lead, the German side dominated the match in stages and had better chances to score.
The second German goal was the most beautiful of the DEB-selection in the tournament so far: The Hager from Munich played an ingenious cross pass on Plachta, who snapped the puck into the net. But it was even more spectacular: After a steep pass from Wolf, captain Marcel Goc first played a defender and then laid the disc across the wall, which led her into the goal with the bat between her legs.
When Yannic Seidenberg sat on the bench, the Canadians overcame Danny from the birch for the first time. When Brule fired into the angle, the Munich man was powerless. Afterwards, the German team took the lead again with three goals, but the Canadians managed to regain their lead through numerous punitive periods and almost lost the victory. But only almost.