No time to breathe: Today against Belarus / Thomas Greiss in goal
No break! Less than an hour after the 2:5 defeat against Team Canada, the German national ice hockey team is back in action. Today (from 19 p.m., live on SPORT1) they will face Belarus. A match with a decisive character. "This game is very important," says national coach Marco Sturm, who can call on Thomas Greiss for the first time today. Sturm announced yesterday: "He will be used against the Belarusians."
Of course, the 2:5 defeat against Canada on Thursday was the dominant topic for a long time. After 40 minutes, the German selection had achieved a 2:2 draw, and a sensation against the star selection was within reach. Patrick Reimer summed up: "We didn't just play well for a long time, but also played better at times. Small things decided the game. Now we have to take the many positive things with us for the game against Belarus."
National coach Marco Sturm was of the same opinion: "If you want to beat a team like Canada, everything has to be right for 60 minutes. We played very well for two thirds, I'm proud of the boys' performance. They fought endlessly. Unfortunately, we couldn't respond afterwards." Sturm thought that was a shame: "We had a power play at 2-2. If we used that and took the lead for the first time, then a game like that might turn out differently."
So looking back no longer counts. At least it was clear again yesterday that the German team was able to improve again. It won't be any easier against Belarus, as captain Marcel Goc knows: “Anyone who thinks that it can be done with less effort today is wrong. We will be challenged to the utmost.” In two comparisons during the preparation in Oberhausen, both opponents won one game each.
The question will be how quickly the team can shake off the stress of yesterday's game. Sturm only had his boys train briefly off the ice today to loosen up their legs. There is a question mark behind Tobias Rieder's commitment. Constantin Braun will also have to decide at short notice whether today is enough.