German selection has already moved into their quarters in Riga and can relax for a day
The next day we had to sleep in. Understandable, because after the 2:3 in the last test against Belarus on Sunday, the national ice hockey team only reached the team hotel in Riga well after midnight. Checking in over 100 pieces of bulky luggage at Minsk Airport took a lot of time. After a quick snack at the hotel, the national players just wanted to go to bed.
A week of training camp followed by two preparatory games within 24 hours took its toll. National coach Marco Sturm gave his boys the entire Monday off. Relaxing, putting your feet up or just enjoying your free time in the nearby city center was the motto for most of the participants. Just switch off from ice hockey for a day. Given the tasks ahead, this is a very sensible measure.
Sturm and his coaching team started analyzing the two appearances against France and Belarus on Sunday evening. “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 and it was a good ice hockey game,” the former NHL star summed up very matter-of-factly. But added: “We have to learn to play our game for 60 minutes. We will now use the coming days to work on it.”
Belarus initially acted against the German selection in the first third in the same way as Marcel Goc and Co did the day before in the 4-0 win over France. Fast, aggressive and very powerful. “We didn’t have the legs we had the day before in the first third,” confirmed Moritz Müller, but also emphasized that “we actually played very well again afterwards and created the better chances.” Of course we weren't satisfied with the result alone, but we were satisfied with the effort and morale after the early deficit. Overall, the conclusion was positive. “They were two good tests, the path is right,” nodded Müller.
Keeper Philipp Grubauer agreed with his teammate. “Despite the defeat against Belarus, we did many things well and right. All four rows are a threat to score and we are solid defensively and have not yet conceded a goal when we are outnumbered." Marco Sturm confirmed: "I saw a total of five good thirds in both games."
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the national coach lets his team train as normal before things get really serious for the first time against Japan on Thursday. Like a prayer wheel, captain Marcel Goc had repeatedly emphasized last week that all three games had the same importance. “In a tournament like this, where everything is on the line, there are no easy opponents.” Philipp Grubauer echoed the same sentiment: “We certainly won’t think about Austria and Latvia before the Japan game.”
The national coach still has to think about the two squad positions that still need to be eliminated. Sturm is taking its time until "mid-week" to do this. 23 players (three goalkeepers, 20 field players) can be registered for the Olympic qualification tournament.