Olympia 2018:55.5 seconds are missing to the sensation: Silver for German ice hockey heroes

In the end, it’s the silver medal: The German national ice hockey team is just as close to Russia in the Olympic finals.

For the “Miracle of Pyeongchang” only 55.5 seconds were missing, the German national ice hockey team finished their Olympic fairy tale in South Korea with silver. The team of national coach Marco Sturm lost 3-4 (0-1,1-0,2-2,0-1) to record world champion Russia in the final of the Winter Games after extra time and missed the biggest sensation in the history of ice hockey by a narrow margin.

The game was hard to beat in drama. Nikita Goosev’s equaliser for the Russians to 3-3 by Nikita Goosev had only lost 55.5 seconds before the end of the third period – the Sbornaja had already taken the goalkeeper off the ice to be able to play at least five against five after a penalty time. 3:16 minutes before the end of the game, Germany had taken the lead for the first time by Jonas Müller (57th). In the extra time Kirill Kaprisov scored after 9:41 minutes – when Patrick Reimer was sitting on the bench.

Nevertheless, the selection of the German Ice Hockey Association flies home as the winner. With silver in the Gangneung Hockey Centre after sensational victories against world champion Sweden and record Olympic champion Canada, captain Marcel Goc’s team surpassed the best Olympic results to date: Germany had won bronze in 1932 and 1976.

Russia, with the old stars Pavel Dazjuk and Ilya Kovalchuk, who competed as Olympic athletes from Russia in Sochi four years ago because of the state doping, won Olympic gold for the first time since 1992. With the ninth triumph, the Sbornaja equalled Canada.

Slawa Wojnow (20th) put the record world champion in the lead, Felix Schütz from Cologne equalled out (30th). The Russians’ new leading goal fell unluckily: Nikita Gusew’s shot from a sharp angle (54) hit the Birkens face mask from Danny’s goal. Ten seconds later Dominik Kahun resembled again (54.), defender Müller from the Eisbären Berlin even scored the German lead (57.).

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had wished the DEB team good luck in a telephone conversation on the eve of the event,”I wish the DEB team good humour, a good game and the right result in the end. I’m watching,”said Steinmeier, who called Christian Ehrhoff,”You’ve inspired all of Germany with a new enthusiasm for ice hockey. I keep my fingers crossed, of course, probably with a few million other Germans who will be watching TV.”

For the long-time NHL professional Ehrhoff, the next highlight of his career follows a good four hours after the final siren: The 35-year-old will lead the German athletes to the Olympic Stadium as flag bearers at the closing celebration,”This is a huge honour for me,”said the Cologne player.

Against the record world champion, the experienced competitor was challenged from the first second on. The Sbornaja, almost exclusively from players of the two KHL clubs CSKA Moscow and SKA St.. Petersburg, created enormous pressure. When Ehrhoff was sitting on the bench because of Hakens, his team didn’t get 90 seconds from his own third. But goalkeeper Danny from the Birken also destroyed the best chances of the favourite.

Slowly the German team got out of their grip and came one or the other time quite promisingly before the Russian goal. When it looked like a 0-0 draw after the first period, the German team was still lagging behind. After a bad pass by the Nuremberg-based Yasin Ehliz in his own third, Wojnow hit 0.5 seconds ahead of the first third siren.

“In the first period we may have had too much fear, too much respect. We gave the Russians the space they needed. But if we try to force our game on them, push them, we create opportunities,”said attacker Patrick Hager at the second break in Eurosport.

In fact, the DEB selection returned. Goalkeeper Vasili Kozhechkin actively helped to equalise Schütz. The referees decided only after video proof on goal. Suddenly the Russians’ flow of games was gone, and the gold favourite got into a ruminant mood. Even more so, after Germany had already struck back shortly after falling behind again. But the Russians had the happy ending for themselves.