Strong defense ensures shutout / Draisaitl scores again
Team Europe beats Team USA 3-0 in the opening game of the World Cup Of Hockey in Toronto.
Thanks to a strong defense and an effective offense, coach Ralph Krueger's team achieved a clear victory against the highly favored Americans in the first game. After the game, President Franz Reindl was visibly pleased with his team's victory: “This is a huge success for ice hockey in Europe. I am very proud of the whole team. Our German players played a big part in our success.” Leon Draisaitl was able to get on the top scorer list again with a goal after his hat trick in the last preparatory game. Tobias Rieder and Christian Ehrhoff each prepared a goal.
Despite the considerable success, coach Krueger sees his team “still under the radar and that's perfect.” Where his defense seemed insecure and clumsy in preparation, it presented itself reliably and impressively just in time for the start of the tournament. “We have a framework that everyone feels good about, a game plan that everyone understands and that everyone is happy with. What happened against the USA wasn’t luck, it was the result of two weeks of hard work by the whole team.”
Goalscorer Leon Draisaitl also sees the team's development as positive: "Day by day we are getting better and better. The chemistry is right and we are starting to understand the system and find a style of play that suits us. So I think it's completely normal that everything was a bit shaky at the beginning. Now everyone has really settled in and knows their role. That's the most important thing."
There is no question that Team Europe is now hungry for more. The Europeans have their next chance to do so today at 21.30 p.m. (live on SPORT1) against Team Czech Republic.