Hager with a brace / Three Norwegians score in the shootout / Team USA with Patrick Kane is waiting tomorrow
The German national ice hockey team secured a point in the second game at the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship against Norway, but again had no luck in the penalty shootout. National coach Marco Sturm's team ultimately lost 4:5 (2:2; 1:1; 1:1; 0:0; 0:1) after a penalty shootout. There's no time to take a breather, because tomorrow Team USA with NHL superstar Patrick Kane is waiting to be selected by the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB).
Sturm had only made minimal changes to his ranks. Marcel Noebels moved alongside Frederik Tiffels and Marc Michaelis. Manuel Wiederer acted as the 13th striker with Nico Krämmer, Daniel Pietta and Sebastian Uvira. All other storm formations remained the same. Timo Pielmeier started between the posts again.
When Matthias Plachta hit the pole after about a minute, the numerous and loudly represented Germans were happy Fans for further offensive efforts from their favorites. But less than eight minutes later, the score was 0:2 from the national team's perspective. Ken-André Olimb and Thomas Olsen Valkvae had put Norway in the lead. Patrick Hager then broke the visitors' deadlock in the fourth power play in a row. Noebels' sweet pass to Michaelis a little later saw the youngster score his first World Cup goal to make it 2:2.
Anders Bastiansen's impressive 2:3 shortly after the restart of the second half threw the German team back again. But Hager's brace meant the answer in another power play for Germany. There were good opportunities on both sides after that, but no further goals were scored.
In the final round they experienced Fans a rollercoaster of emotions. Daniel Sorvik's actually harmless shot was deflected by the tip of a German stick and landed in the net past Pielmeier. Norway celebrated the lead exactly 15 seconds later when Yannic Seidenberg, who had also moved up, again leveled the scores. Both teams ended up in extra time - as in their World Cup opening match - but were unable to score the decisive goal. The match therefore found its winner in the penalty shootout. And that was Norway. Three shooters converted their penalties: Mathias Trettenes, Tobias Lindström and Anders Bastiansen.
Regeneration was the first order of business after the match. It's less than 24 hours until the third World Cup game. This time, the challenge could hardly be greater, because Team USA and their superstar Patrick Kane from the Chicago Blackhawks will face a co-favorite on Monday (16.15:1 p.m., live on SPORT5), who has beaten both Canada (4:4 after penalties) and Denmark (0:XNUMX).
National coach Marco Sturm: “I am disappointed with the result. Our error rate was simply too high today, so the defeat is not undeserved. We struggled and didn't do the little things right. We also barely got into the rhythm. We have now lost twice in penalty shootouts. We used to win games like this a while ago. Now we have to find a way to get things back on track. In general, we have to perform significantly better as a collective against the USA.”
Patrick Hager, Red Bull Munich: “We didn’t take advantage of our chances and suddenly found ourselves running behind. But a World Cup like this is not a dream concert. Unfortunately, we made mistakes and left too much behind in the 5-on-5 game. In my opinion we deserved two or three points.”
Gates: 0:1 Ken-André Olimb (1:41), 0:2 Thomas Olsen Valkvae (7:31), 1:2 Patrick Hager (14:30), 2:2 Marc Michaelis (18:41), 2:3 Anders Bastiansen (21:36), 3:3 Patrick Hager (27:31), 3:4 Daniel Sorvik (50:13), 4:4 Yannic Seidenberg (50:38), 4:5 Mathias Trettenes (Penalty / 65 :00)
Germany: Pielmeier (Treutle) – Mo. Müller, Y. Seidenberg; Michaelis, Tiffels, Noebels – D. Seidenberg, Holzer; Ehliz, Draisaitl, Plachta – Krupp, J. Müller; Hager, Kahun, Eisenschmid; Mebus – Krämmer, Pietta, Uvira; Again
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You can find detailed statistics about the game HERE.