Live from 20 p.m. on LAOLA1.tv / Co-favorite Norway fails again / Two wins would be enough
Things continue for the U20 national team: The team of BundesYoung talent coach Christian Künast will meet hosts Austria today at 20 p.m. at the 2016 IIHF U20 Ice Hockey World Championship Division I in Vienna - a real challenge, but also a great opportunity in the third World Cup game .
Yesterday, Tuesday, the players were able to regenerate for the first time on a non-game day. The team really deserved it: the German team has six points to date. The team led by BundesYoung talent coach Christian Künast won the first two games against Kazakhstan (3:2) and Italy (2:1). But: Despite the playful superiority, the results do not speak particularly clearly.
“We have six points from two games. That's what counts," summed up Künast: "We knew that the games would be close and we are happy to have left the ice as winners twice." And DEBPresident Franz Reindl added: “Our team has found ways to win the first two matches and is therefore fully in the race for first place.”
Today it stands DEB-Selection of hosts against Austria. He had already suffered a defeat against Latvia, but won his second tournament game 4-3 against Norway. “As expected, it is a very close and balanced group,” says Reindl. “But I am sure that our team has the potential to win against any of the next three opponents from Austria, Latvia and Norway!”
Today, Wednesday, could be a day of preliminary decision: Before Germany meets Austria at 20 p.m., Latvia and Norway faced each other at midday - with the better end for the Latvians, who won 2-1 in the penalty shootout. Norway's second defeat is now a great opportunity for the German selection. With a win over Austria today and another win tomorrow against Latvia (16.30:16.30 p.m.), direct promotion would be perfect before the last duel against Norway on Saturday (XNUMX:XNUMX p.m.).
The German delegation is of course hoping for that. “We worked on a few things again during training,” said Künast. A main point in today's game will probably be efficiency, as that was something that was lacking recently. Künast: “When can I put pressure on the goal, when can I go in at the front, when do I have to be more careful.”
And it is precisely these little things that need to be improved today. Franz Reindl is looking forward to the rest of the tournament, especially after today's defeat by the highly rated Norwegians: “Our team has not given up its pride and will master the task game by game. The quality of each individual player enables an increase in the opponent's performance. I wish the entire team good luck.”
Daniel Fießinger will be between the posts again today. Lukas Koziol also plays again alongside Maximilian Kammerer and Manuel Wiederer. Manuel Edfelder, on the other hand, joins Tobias Eder and Julian Napravnik in the third attack line.