Today (18 p.m.) second comparison with the Czech Republic / Pielmeier moves into the goal for Niederberger
Exactly 48 hours after the opening game in preparation for the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in St. Petersburg (May 6th - 22nd), the German national team will meet hosts the Czech Republic again today (18 p.m.) in Usti nad Labem.
The 2:7 result in the first match, which was one or two goals too high, was of course discussed again in yesterday's meeting. National coach Marco Sturm and his coaching team showed the players some of the key scenes from the match via video. "We didn't start too badly in the first duel and implemented our system well for a long time," said Marcus Kink from the Adler Mannheim: "Today it's about being more consistent over the entire 60 minutes."
What the striker meant by that: “There weren't many outnumbered and undernumbered situations in the first comparison, but we should still be better here and give the opponent less space. And if we allow chances, then only from the wide positions.” Understandable, because on Wednesday the hosts scored their goals without much resistance. Three of the seven goals conceded came from the “slot”. Captain Marcel Goc: “We gave up the goals too easily.”
Marcus Kink continued that this time it was important to defend the neutral zone better. “Once the Czechs get going, they are difficult to stop. We have to stop them from running and stand well. Just like in the first third on Wednesday.” Sturm will only change one position – that of the goal. Accordingly, Timo Pielmeier from Ingolstadt will move between the posts for Mathias Niederberger after consultation.
The majority of the team is already heading home by car after the match, with only a handful of players only making the return journey on Saturday morning. After a few days off, the national team will soon meet on Tuesday evening for phase two of preparation. New faces are already expected in the squad for the games in Rosenheim (Saturday, April 16th, 15.30:17 p.m.) and Landshut (Sunday, April 16.45th, XNUMX:XNUMX p.m.).
When exactly NHL star Tobias Rieder from the Arizona Coyotes will join will be decided after the Coyotes' last game this weekend at the latest. It seems possible that the striker will return to Germany in the middle of next week and, depending on his arrival, could train with the team for the first time.
This is how they want to play: Germany: Pielmeier (Niederberger); N. Goc, Reul; Ullmann, M. Goc, Höfflin – Akdag, Müller; Krämmer, Schütz, Macek – Ebner, Kohl; Brandt, Pietta, Flaake – Brückner; Buchwieser, Danner, Kink.