Pielmeier in goal at lunchtime / Akdag and Mauer for Jonas Müller and Leo Pföderl in the line-up
Yesterday was a long day for the German national ice hockey team. Since the game against the Finns took place at midday and the team had already returned to the Olympic Village at 15.30:2 p.m., both the coaching team and the players still had enough time to reflect on the 5:XNUMX at the start.
After lunch, the heads were put together again. “We sat in the penalty box too much and weakened ourselves as a result,” said Patrick Reimer, for example. Nevertheless, the striker also saw positive things. “From the second period onwards we were actually equal and closer to 2:2 than our opponents were to 3:1.” But it was precisely this difference that demonstrated the quality of the opponents. Finland waited patiently and scored at the right time, while the German selection had no luck in shooting.
“We have already created one or two chances. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough,” said Marcel Goc, who also praised morale. “It was important that we didn’t give in and responded quickly in the final third. After that it was an open game. In the end we even had more shots than the Finns.”
So much for the theory. There is no question that today's game (13.10:XNUMX p.m., CET) is once again a major challenge. Like Finland, Sweden is one of the favorites for an Olympic medal. “I expect a similarly strong opponent. In terms of running, calculations and tactics, they are among the best in the world. We’ll have to throw everything in,” says David Wolf.
National coach Marco Sturm and his assistants only returned to the village in the evening. In the afternoon, the “coaching staff” took a closer look at the two upcoming group opponents from Sweden and Norway. Here in particular, “Tre Kronor” showed an expectedly solid performance. The blue-yellow team left almost no stone unturned, especially on defense. The “simple” recipe: lots of possession of the disc and compactness in the neutral zone.
Compared to the Finland match, Sturm rotated in all three players who didn't play yesterday. Timo Pielmeier will be between the posts at lunchtime. Dennis Endras is his deputy. At the back, Sinan Akdag replaces Jonas Müller on the defensive. Frank Mauer gets Leo Pföderl's place in the attack. The national coach: “Above all, we have to reduce unnecessary penalties and avoid traffic in front of the opponent’s goal.”