As everyone cheered, Christian Ehrhoff turned around briefly, took the puck from the referee's hand and handed it to the coach. The reason was clear: Jakob Mayenschein had earned the puck as a souvenir of his first international goal on his debut for the German national ice hockey team. "It's obvious that if someone scores the first goal, then the puck belongs to him," said Ehrhoff as if it were a matter of course.
Mayenschein's first goal - making it 1-2 in the second half - on Thursday in the first test against Norway should remain the only highlight. Overall, the 1-5 defeat was okay, although the result was a bit too high. “We were actually equal for 40 minutes,” summed up Maxi Kammerer from the Düsseldorfer EG, also a newcomer to the DEBteam. “It took a little getting used to at the beginning,” said the DEL Rookie of the Year. “But then you get used to it pretty quickly,” added debutant number three, Pascal Zerressen from the Kölner Haien.
"We certainly imagined the start of the preparation to be different and saw that we had not yet found our rhythm due to the players' long break," acknowledged national coach Marco Sturm, adding: "Nevertheless, there were also some positive things. I am happy with my four debutants, for example. We will now continue to work and improve step by step."
The second test takes place on Saturday. This time the game starts at 18.15:20 p.m. Then Sturm will change his formations again. Sinan Akdag, David Wolf, Philip Gogulla and Patrick Hager, who were paused on Thursday, are in the squad, as is Mathias Niederberger. Which actors have to watch this time will be decided on Saturday morning. Also whether the youngsters are allowed to play again. And score again. In any case, Mayenschein is sure to have a puck. “I put it in my bag and am now taking it to the room,” said the XNUMX-year-old newcomer. Knowing full well that he will find a special place at home.