5-1 win after a courageous performance against Slovakia / Marco Sturm's changes are bearing fruit
The German national ice hockey team has secured its first victory in the third game of the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. On Monday afternoon, the German selection beat Slovakia 5:1 (0:1, 3:0, 2:0) and has thus gained confidence for the difficult match next Wednesday (from 19 p.m., live on SPORT1) against "Team Canada". The decisive factor for the success was the changes made by the national coach in the offensive.
As announced, Marco Sturm had mixed up his attacking ranks a lot. Leon Draisaitl got two new strikers, Marcel Noebels and Brooks Macek, in the wing position, as did the other centers Marcel Goc, Patrick Hager and Dominik Kahun. That should have an effect, because from the first minute the German selection went to work with speed and aggressive forechecking.
Things got tricky in Slovakia's first power play, when the defense around keeper Timo Pielmeier did everything he could to prevent a deficit. A little later, however, Peter Cehlarek took advantage of a moment of carelessness to give Slovakia a 1-0 lead. Pielmeier was unlucky when the shooter's angled shot deflected the puck into his own goal. Germany continued to look for a way forward, but neither Tobias Rieder's shot nor Philip Gogulla's impressive solo effort found their way into the goal.
The national team's great commitment paid off in the second third. The storm team clearly dominated the action. Patrick Hager, standing in the slot, made it 1-1 on an assist from Felix Schütz. Hager secured the second scorer point in a 2-1 win through Philip Gogulla.
Hager won the face-off, Gogulla shot from the blue line and the striker's shot was decisively deflected by a Slovakian defender. Patrick Reimer scored a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes on his own power play. Dominik Kahun had decisively released Reimer.
The final section began just as the German team wanted: Brooks Macek took the ball at the center line, played around three opponents and shot the puck into the opponent's goal to make it 4-1. The preliminary decision was thus made. Dominik Kahun ultimately rewarded his good performance with the 5-1 final goal just under five minutes before the end of the game.
Before facing the overwhelming favorite Team Canada next Wednesday (live from 19 p.m. on SPORT1), the national team can take a day off to gather new strength.
National coach Marco Sturm: “We knew it was a big game for us and we needed an answer. The boys played a great game from the first to the last minute. This victory was deserved. Even after the 0-1 loss, I had a good feeling because the boys had been very focused all day. They implemented the guidelines very well.”
Tobias Rieder (Arizona Coyotes/NHL): "All four rows did a great job. The result is acceptable, even at this level. Now, of course, Canada is a tough nut to crack."
Germany: Pielmeier (Brückmann) – Holzer, Ehrhoff; Kink, Goc, Seidenberg – Reul, Müller; Macek, Draisaitl, Noebels - Boyle, Akdag; Reimer, Kahun, Rieder – Braun; Schütz, Hager, Gogulla; Fauser
Gates: 0:1 Peter Cehlarek (8:52), 1:1 Patrick Hager (24:23), 2:1 Philip Gogulla (28:57), 3:1 Patrick Reimer (34:48/PP1), 4:1 Brooks Macek (43:45), 5:1 Dominik Kahun (54:36)
Penalty minutes: Germany 12 – Slovakia 10