German national team has to admit defeat to strong Scandinavians 2:5 / Brooks Macek and Frank Hördler score the first Olympic goals / On Friday (13.10:XNUMX p.m., CET) against Sweden

The German national ice hockey team started the Olympic tournament with a defeat. The German Ice Hockey Federation team lost 2:5 (1:2, 0:2, 0:1) to Finland. “Overall it was a solid performance from us. But the little things decided this game. We have sat in the penalty box too often and a top nation like Finland takes advantage of that straight away,” said national coach Marco Sturm.

The German team initially had a hard time getting into the game. The Finns' early lead through Lepisto's power play goal after four minutes added to the nervousness of the German team, which included numerous Olympic debutants.

But it was over after eight minutes at the latest. Brooks Macek used the first German power play to equalize. The Munich player hammered Christian Ehrhoff's well-timed cross pass into the top corner to make it 1-1.

In the period that followed, the German team played well against the strong Finns and hardly allowed any chances. Only after losing a target in their own third was the favorite able to take the lead again. Three German players tried everything in their own goal area to prevent the score from making it 2-1. That didn't work because Mika Pyörälä successfully won.

Better chances

In the second third, the German team appeared more aggressive on offense and had the better chances from the middle of the period. “We were actually closer to equalizing at the time, but then we hurt ourselves with unnecessary penalties,” said the national coach.

Dominik Kahun was denied by Finnish keeper Mikko Koskinen after half an hour. He also retained the upper hand in the subsequent German majority against Patrick Reimer and Matthias Plachta. Especially in the power play, Marco Sturm's team was able to equalize several times, but they didn't want to fall.

However, Finland did not miss this opportunity. After 38 minutes, Eeli Tolvanen used the Scandinavians' only power play to make it 3-1. A bitter moment for them DEB- Selection, especially since Lasse Kukkonen even increased it to 4:1 just a minute and a half later.

Despite the significant deficit, the German team was not discouraged. With a nice individual performance, Frank Hördler reduced the score to 42:4 after 2 minutes. This goal was followed by a period of pressure in which the third goal was possible several times. On the other hand, the Finnish chances were

solid Danny from the Birches on post. The very effective Finnish team then perfected their hope of catching up with their third power play goal seven minutes before the end. Joonas Kemppainen scored to make the final score 5-2.

In the second group game, the German national team will face Sweden tomorrow at 13:10 p.m. German time.

Detailed statistics can be found here: http://pyeongchang2018.iihf.hockey/men/games/2018-02-15/FIN-vs-GER/