2:3 defeat in the dress rehearsal against Belarus / Kühnhackl with their first international goal
The German national ice hockey team travels from Minsk to Riga after two preparatory games against France and Belarus with one win and one defeat under their belt: just 24 hours after the 4-0 win over France, national coach Marco Sturm's team had to finish on Sunday evening of the three-nation tournament, despite a comeback in the final third, hosts Belarus were beaten 2:3 (0:2, 0:0, 2:1).
Sturm had only changed his squad in two positions compared to the previous day. Patrick Reimer (Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers) came on for Gerrit Fauser (Grizzlys Wolfsburg) in the squad. Timo Pielmeier (ERC Ingolstadt) took a seat on the bench as the second keeper behind Philipp Grubauer (Washington Capitals). As a precaution, Sturm also decided against using NHL star Dennis Seidenberg (gastrointestinal).
In Frank Hördler and captain Marcel Goc's 100th international match, the national team had a hard time getting into the game. Grubauer was powerless against Stanislav Lopachuk's shot from the high slot and a counterattack goal by Andrei Stas. In a physically intense opening period on both sides, Leon Draisaitl, Marcel Goc and Brooks Macek had the best chances for the German side.
In the middle section, the German selection came out of the locker room better and made the match more open from then on. However, Draisaitl, Macek, Patrick Reimer and Tobias Rieder failed in a promising manner, so from the guests' point of view it should remain 0:2 after 40 minutes.
The national team took advantage of a defensive mistake by the Belarusians at the start of the final period to make it 1-2. Goc fed Marcus Kink, who was able to push the ball past Belarus keeper Kevin Lalande completely free-standing. Felix Schütz made it 2-2 a little later, but missed the goal by millimeters.
Tom Kühnhackl did better with his first international goal. The Stanley Cup winner deflected Draisaitl's pass in the power play under the crossbar. But the joy didn't last long. At Alexander Pavlovich's 3:2 56 seconds later, Grubauer's view was blocked. Even a final offensive by the national team did not bring the desired success.
On Sunday evening, the national team will fly directly from Minsk to Riga. Sturm still has to delete two positions from the current 25-man squad before the qualifying tournament, as only 23 players (three goalkeepers, 20 outfield players) are allowed to register. The national coach said that a decision on this matter is not expected until the middle of the week.
National coach Marco Sturm: “Belarus was the more active team in the first third. That's why we conceded two quick goals. From the second third onwards my team got better. The reward was the interim 2-2 equalizer in the final section. We have to learn to play our game for 60 minutes. We will now use the coming days to prepare for the difficult games against Japan, Austria and Latvia. The boys have the day off on Monday.”
Germany: Grubauer (Pielmeier) – Holzer, Ehrhoff; Rieder, Draisaitl, Macek – Müller, Boyle – Schütz, Hager, Kühnhackl – Hördler, Akdag; Kink, Goc, Seidenberg – Daschner; Wolf, Kahun, Reimer; Noebels
Gates: 1:0 Stanislav Lopachuk (7:27), 2:0 Andrei Stas (10:15), 2:1 Marcus Kink (42:46), 2:2 Tom Kühnhackl (51:04/PP1), 3:2 Alexander Pavlovich (52:00)
Penalty minutes: Belarus 10 – Germany 12
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