U20: Germany meets Kazakhstan

Loibl: “It’s finally starting” / Fießinger in goal today / Live on laola1.tv

Here we go: Today the German U20 national team starts the tournament at the 2016 IIHF U20 Ice Hockey World Championship Division I. In the opening game against Kazakhstan (13 p.m. / Live on laola1.tv), the team led by BundesYoung talent coach Christian Künast faces a big challenge: “Kazakhstan plays together as a club for the most part throughout the season. It certainly won’t be an easy task today.”

The U20s want to build on the strong performance from the Slovakia match. "We want to show a united team leadership from start to finish," says Künast, looking ahead to the upcoming matches. Five games within seven days are scheduled. After the match against the promoted team, the other opponents are Italy (Monday, December 14.12th, 16.30:16.12 p.m.), Austria (Wednesday, December 20th, 17.12 p.m.), Latvia (Thursday, December 16.30th, 19.12:16.30 p.m.) and Norway (Saturday, December XNUMXth, XNUMX:XNUMX p.m.). "This is a really strong group," says Künast: "Nevertheless, we want to prevail against every opponent!"

During the preparation the... DEB-Selection already achieved a 5:3 win against Slovakia. Under the eyes of national coach and general manager Marco Sturm, the German team performed well overall. “We had some problems at the beginning, but then we got better and better into the game and were able to make good use of our power play,” sums up Sturm.

It is clear that the U20 will be challenged to the highest degree during the 2016 IIHF U20 Ice Hockey National Team Division I. The previous year, they were unable to maintain their position in the league and were relegated at the World Championships in Canada. This year, the focus is again on the future. Künast: "We are going into this tournament with a positive attitude. And even though it will be really difficult, we want to get back into the top division."

Straubing's Stefan Loibl, who will assist team captain Andreas Eder alongside John Rogl, praises the mood in the team: "We are well attuned to each other and are happy that things are finally starting today." But Loibl also knows that it will not be an easy match against the promoted team: "We need a good start to the tournament today. If we stick to the game plan, that will be our key to success." Daniel Fießinger (SC Riessersee) will be in goal today.

Schedule