Despite another passionate performance, the German selection lost 1-4 to title favorites Russia
The big sensation didn't happen: For the German national team, the dream of reaching the semi-finals of the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Russia did not come true. National coach Marco Sturm's team lost to the hosts and record world champions on Thursday evening in front of 12.100 spectators in the completely sold-out Ice Arena in Moscow 1:4 (1:0, 0:3, 0:1) and despite one, they have to fight again head home with an impeccable performance and an overall strong World Cup.
“I'm just proud of my team. "They continued to improve over the course of the tournament and also delivered a strong performance in the quarter-finals against a top nation," the national coach still had nothing but praise for his team.
As is well known, Sturm had to do without striker Felix Schütz. The trained center Patrick Hager moved into the nominal second formation alongside his Cologne teammate Philip Gogulla, who occupied the wing alongside Patrick Reimer. Constantin Braun was initially called up as the twelfth striker on the match sheet.
As expected, the second in the world rankings took control right from the first face-off, but the first dangerous attack by the German selection led to success: Hager initially failed, but his teammates regained the game equipment and Reimer took advantage of the opportunity Space to give Germany the lead with a well-placed shot. The ice oval froze.
As a result, the heavily favored hosts remained in control of the game, but whenever things got tough, the defense and keeper Thomas Greiss were there. The NHL goalkeeper showed his class, especially on the Russians' first power play. Shortly before the end of the third, Leon Draisaitl failed to hit the post. So we went into the first break with the lead.
The middle third started very unfavorably for the world number 13: After just 40 seconds, Vadim Shipachyov made it 1-1, around seven minutes later Yevgeni Dadonov made it 2-1 for the favorite. Thanks to the support of the audience, the home team continued to turn up the heat. Korbinian Holzer narrowly missed the ball on the other side. When the strong Vadim Shipachyov made it 3-1, the strong old man was no longer able to intervene.
In the final half, the national team tried everything again and mobilized the last of their strength with their thin squad to be able to cause a surprise. However, superstar Alexander Ovechkin buried all hopes of a possible sensation with his first goal of the tournament to make it 4-1.
Despite their elimination from this year's World Cup tournament, the German national team stood out thanks to their courageous performances at the Fans gained a lot of sympathy at home. Third place in Group B behind Canada and Finland and ahead of Team USA and Slovakia can certainly be considered a great success. This will help the German selection climb in the world rankings.
National coach Marco Sturm: "Overall, Russia was the better team. Even though we may not have played our best game, I am very proud of my team. We had a great two weeks in St. Petersburg, during which we were able to improve steadily. This time we came up against an opponent who had great quality in all four rows."
Germany: Greiss (Pielmeier) – Holzer, Ehrhoff; Kink, Goc, Seidenberg – Reul, Müller; Gogulla, Hager, Reimer - Boyle, Akdag; Macek, Draisaitl, Noebels; Flaake, Kahun, Brown.
Gates: 1:0 Patrick Reimer (4:54), 1:1 Vadim Shipachyov (20:40), 1:2 Yevgeni Dadonov (27:17), 1:3 Vadim Shipachyov (34:14), 1:4 Alexander Ovechkin ( 42:45)
Penalty minutes: Russia 2 – Germany 4
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