NHL star brought new impetus to the German game / There are two days without games / Tuesday's decisive match against Latvia
The German national ice hockey team has done its "homework" at the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in its own country and won its third tournament. In the home debut of NHL star Leon Draisaitl in his hometown, which had been hotly anticipated for days, the team of national coach Marco Sturm won against Italy 4:1 (2:1, 2:0, 0:0) on Saturday evening in front of a sold-out LANXESS arena.
At 18.30:XNUMX p.m. there was certainty: Draisaitl should be in the squad against Italy, as was keeper Philipp Grubauer (Washington Capitals), who had also landed at midday. Patrick Hager was also able to play again after his two-game suspension. Draisaitl was killed by the Germans Fans frenetically cheered.
Especially when he set up Christian Ehrhoff's 1-0 goal after just three and a half minutes with a dream pass. Matthias Plachta “corrected” Marchetti’s equalizer a little later to make the score 2-1 at halftime. The home team remained in control in the second half. Yannic Seidenberg and Dominik Kahun took the lead to 4-1 after 40 minutes.
In the final section, the German selection continued to control the action but was unable to extend their lead and so the final score remained 4-1 from the German perspective.
For the first time since the start of the tournament, the national team can look forward to two days without playing before things get serious next Tuesday against Latvia. The winner of this match advances to the quarterfinals.
Germany: From the Birken (Grubauer) – Reul, Ehrhoff; Reimer, Ehliz, Tiffels – D. Seidenberg, Müller; Hager, Schütz, Wolf – Abeltshauser, Hördler; Macek, Plachta, Draisaitl – Krueger; Kink, Y. Seidenberg, Kahun; Fauser
Tore: 1:0 Christian Ehrhoff (3:43), 1:1 Michele Marchetti (4:21), 2:1 Matthias Plachta (18:16), 3:1 Yannic Seidenberg (22:46), 4:1 Dominik Kahun (26:00)
Penalty minutes: Germany 8 – Italy 4
spectator: 18712 (sold out)