Only Patrick Reimer scored in the 1:4 on Saturday / Start of the final preparation phase on Wednesday
The German national ice hockey team suffered its first defeat against Latvia in the second comparison as part of the Euro Hockey Challenge in Riga. Less than 24 hours after the 4:3 win in the first game, national coach Marco Sturm's team lost 4.300:1 (4:1, 0:0, 2:0) in front of 2 spectators on Saturday.
As agreed, Sturm had called up six new players. Tobias Rieder, Patrick Reimer and Marcel Goc joined the squad for Marcus Kink, Nico Krämmer and Simon Danner. In defense, Düsseldorf’s Marcel Brandt and Bernhard Ebner replaced the “Benedikt duo” Brückner and Kohl. Mathias Niederberger was in goal, Andreas Jenike took a seat on the bench.
The German selection delivered their best offensive performance of their preparation so far in the first third and created chances every minute. At times the home team was restricted with the same number of players on the ice. The logical consequence was the 1-0 by Patrick Reimer. The exemplary pass came from Tobias Rieder and Leon Draisaitl to the man from Nuremberg, who was able to convert with a direct pass.
As a result, in addition to this attack line, the guests' other three formations also put a lot of pressure on. Latvia keeper Elviss Merzlikins, who would later be the focal point again and again, saved those in front of him from falling further behind.
In the middle section, national coach Marco Sturm's team initially remained dominant, but the hosts increasingly bit into the game. One second after a penalty against Torsten Ankert expired, the Latvians equalized through Mikelis Redlihs. The German team increased the number of hits, but Andris Dzerins took advantage of a counterattack to make it 2-1 for the Balts. With this result we went into the second break.
In the final section, the Latvians got off to a lightning start. After 43 seconds, Niederberger was beaten a third time after his own teammate deflected the puck into the goal. Miks Indrasis was awarded the goal and the striker later made it 4-1 for Latvia. The national team tried everything again, but the strong Latvian keeper Merzlikins could no longer be defeated despite a few good opportunities.
Next Wednesday the fourth and final phase of World Cup preparation begins for the national team. On Friday, April 29.4th (20 p.m.) and on Saturday, April 30.4th. (19.30 p.m.; both games live on SPORT1), the German selection will face Belarus in the König-Pilsener-ARENA in Oberhausen. “In the remaining two performances before our own Fans “Of course we want to play our best hockey,” said captain Goc.
National coach Marco Sturm: “I have to congratulate the Latvians on a great fight over 60 minutes. The difference today was simply that we couldn't take advantage of the many opportunities we had. The Latvian goalkeeper made an exceptionally strong save. I can't blame my boys from a fighting point of view, because they tried everything and were the more active team for a long time. We must learn from the mistakes we have made and correct them quickly. Overall, it was a good week in which we took another step forward. I hope we can go one better against Latvia next week in Oberhausen.”
Patrick Hager (Kölner Haie): “We played really well in the first half of the game, actually the way we imagine with lots of chances. Unfortunately we were only 1-0 up and conceded two unnecessary goals. We played a little too complicated after that and allowed too many turnovers, which the Latvians took advantage of coldly. Nevertheless, we still had good chances. Latvia had a very strong goalie who not only kept them in the game, but also defended their lead afterwards.”
Tobias Rieder (Arizona Coyotes): "We started well in the first third, developed a lot of pressure, but then unfortunately made too many mistakes. Then the Latvians got into the game better and were able to take over the momentum. We have to step up our game in Oberhausen next week. I'm looking forward to the home appearance in front of our Fans. "
Germany: Niederberger (Jenike) – M. Müller, Ankert; Gogulla, Schütz, Macek – Braun, Akdag; Noebels, Goc, Pföderl – N. Goc, Reul; Ullmann, Hager, Flaake – Ebner, Brandt; Rieder, Draisaitl, Reimer.
Gates: 0:1 Patrick Reimer (12:43), 1:1 Mikelis Redlihs (11:01), 2:1 Andris Dzerins (16:44), 3:1 Miks Indrasis (40:43), 4:1 Miks Indrasis ( 46:48)
Viewers: 4.300
Penalty minutes: Latvia 8 – Germany 4
You can get tickets for the games in Oberhausen Here