1:4 in Dresden: Slovakia wins both comparisons / Phase III of the World Cup preparations starts on Tuesday Berlin
The German national ice hockey team is still waiting for its first victory in front of its home crowd: After the 1:2 after extra time on Saturday in Weißwasser, the team of national coach Marco Sturm lost a day later in the second comparison against Slovakia in the sold-out EnergieVerbund Arena in Dresden with 1:4 (1:1, 0:1, 0:2). The German selection will have two more chances for their first home win of 2018 next week in two more games in front of their own crowd in Wolfsburg and Berlin against France.
As expected, Sturm had changed his squad compared to the previous day. Timo Pielmeier started between the posts. Frederik Tiffels also celebrated his first national team appearance in 2018. Björn Krupp also moved into defense. Dustin Strahlmeier and Daniel Schmölz had to make room for this.
Sturm had demanded improvement from his boys in contrast to the 1:2 after extra time on Saturday. Apparently they had been listening carefully. Marcel Müller poked the gaming device from the slot over the line after exactly 100 seconds of play. The guests also celebrated Eduard Simun's decisive change in the direction of the puck after 14 minutes.
In the second half, the Slovaks got a better grip on the game and the German selection found it difficult to get into the duels. Michal Cajkovsky used a remarkable attack to make it 1:2 from the home side's perspective. Pielmeier had no chance when he shot into the corner.
The final half got off to a particularly bad start: after just 48 seconds, Ladislav Nagy increased the lead to 3-1 for Slovakia. As a result, the hosts tried to at least get close, but Matej Paulovic made the final decision with a goal into the empty goal.
After the match, the players went back home. But only for a short time, because the team will meet again on Tuesday at 13 p.m. for the World Cup preparation phase III Berlin, where then two international matches against France in Wolfsburg (April 19th) and Berlin (April 21st) are on the program.
National coach Marco Sturm: “Actually, I’m not happy. We performed well in Russia last week but didn't manage to follow up. It may also be because we have some newcomers on the team. Nevertheless, we now have to analyze the two games carefully and do better next week.
Timo Pielmeier: “After a really good start, the Slovaks played exactly the game we actually wanted to force on them. So they deserved to win.”
Frederik Tiffels: “The will was always there, but we didn't implement what we had planned. We have to keep working on it.”
Germany: Pielmeier (Niederberger) – croup, tearing; Michaelis, Höfflin, Tiffels – Wagner, Nowak; Kammerer, Pietta, Müller – Ebner, Sezemsky; Krämmer, Loibl, Uvira – Bender, Brückner; Holzmann, Danner, harbor judge
Gates: 1:0 Marcel Müller (1:40), 1:1 Eduard Simun (13:22), 1:2 Michal Cajkovsky (29:30), 1:3 Ladislav Nagy (40:48), 1:4 Matej Paulovic ( 59:35 / EN)
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