National coach Marco Sturm praises and warns / Draisaitl: “I’m looking forward to the Germans Fans"
Victory and defeat – with this result the German national ice hockey team returned from the two international matches in Latvia. “Overall,” was national coach Marco Sturm’s conclusion, “it was a week in which the team worked really well and hard. We have taken another step further.”
Sturm was particularly satisfied with the performance in the 4:3 in the first comparison; after all, the German selection delivered a solid performance throughout most of the playing time. The ex-NHL professional was even able to find something positive about yesterday's 1-4 defeat. “We were strong there too. But unfortunately only for the first 20 to 30 minutes.”
The national coach had hit the nail on the head. Above all, the first third of the second game was the best of the entire preparation. The guests hardly allowed the Latvians to develop and created chances every minute. Certainly also a credit to the new ones Parathe series around Leon Draisaitl, Tobias Rieder and Patrick Reimer. The trio harmonized perfectly in their first appearance together.
"I also thought that it worked out pretty well. Of course, everything still needs to settle down a bit. We all still have room for improvement, but that will come with time," said Draisaitl, who saw the game in a similar light: "Unfortunately, we lost control of it later. That must not happen to us."
Sturm went into more detail: “Unfortunately, we didn’t make enough use of all the opportunities. Then the Latvians positioned themselves at the back and while we ran they were just waiting for a counterattack. Our mistake was that we didn't stick to the game plan anymore. In such situations you need patience and trust in the system. There will also be games like this at the World Cup. We have to learn to do this better.”
The opportunity to do this will present itself in the coming week. 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. “I’m really looking forward to the Germans Fans“, said Draisaitl, for whom the trip to Oberhausen is a return to early childhood.
Father Peter played and trained the Revier Löwen Oberhausen. Son Leon was just five years old at the time. “I still remember being allowed on the ice every now and then after training,” laughed the NHL star, looking ahead to the games. “Belarus is an equal opponent against whom we also have to compete at the World Cup. It won't be easy, but of course we want to present ourselves at our best in front of our own audience. “
You can find tickets for both games here