The German women's national team won their opening game in Vierumäki, Finland, 4:2 (1:0, 2:1, 1:1) against Sweden. Andrea Lanzl completed her 300th international match for the women's national team.
Two minutes had been played when Germany received their first penalty time. The Swedes quickly got into the line-up, but the German outnumbered formation defended powerfully and was able to break free again and again. All shots at the German goal fell to Jennifer Harß. In the eighth minute the German team had their first chance to gain the advantage. And she took advantage of the numerical superiority. First it was Tanja Eisenschmid who pulled away from the blue line. But her shot deflected past the goal. Just moments later, Marie Delarbre aimed just right. Anna Fiegert then shot from the blue line, but the puck was blocked in the slot. Emily Nix stood there and brought the disc to the goal, where Delarbre converted the rebound to give Germany a 1-0 lead. And the DEB-Selection continued to put pressure on. Just a few attacks after taking the lead, Naemi Bär narrowly missed Sara Grahn in the Swedish goal. On the other hand, Harß was wide awake and repeatedly parried the opponents' shots. Five and a half minutes before the first break, they had another opportunity to outnumber DEB-Selection. This time too, the German players put a lot of pressure on the Swedish goal. Tanja Eisenschmid, Anna-Maria Fiegert and Marie Delarbre had good chances to score one after the other, but were still too imprecise when finishing. As a result, the Swedes were able to free themselves again and again. Until the half-time siren, neither team was able to create any significant chances and so the German team went into the dressing room with a narrow lead.
Sweden got off to a better start in the second period with more chances. But the German defense around Harß was alert and was able to prevent the equalizer. It was precisely during this Swedish phase of pressure that the second German goal of the evening was scored. Yvonne Rothemund simply wanted to shoot the puck deep towards the opponent's goal, but found the gap between Grahn's shin and stick hand, increasing the score to 2:0 for the German team. The Swedes then tried to build up the pressure again, but the attacks either ended with the German defenders or with Jennifer Harß. Nine minutes before the second break, Germany had a great chance. Kerstin Spielberger passed to the completely unmarked Marie Marie Delarbre, who did not hit the puck properly and thus could not build up enough pressure for a targeted shot. Thirty-three minutes had been played when Sweden made the game fast, Erika Grahm moved from the outside in front of the German goal, gave Harß no chance and scored the 2:1 goal. A few moments later, Hanna Amort tried to take a follow-up shot, but a defender stopped her from scoring at the last moment. But the German team kept trying and was rewarded for their efforts in the 37th minute. Kerstin Spielberger shot at goal, Laura Kluge put her stick in and deflected the puck to make it 3-1 for Germany. The last minute of the second period was running when Laura Kluge played to Hanna Amort, who only hit the side netting.
Almost two minutes had been played in the final period when the German team had the opportunity to have a power play again. But the Swedes defended well and only allowed the German team to get into the formation at the end. But twenty-four seconds were enough for the German players. Tanja Eisenschmid shot from the blue line, Grahn could only let it rebound forward and Emily Nix put the shot into the Swedish goal to make it 4-1. In the direct counterattack, the post helped the German team when a Swede aimed too precisely. Just under thirteen minutes before the end, the German team was once again in the majority. This time too it happened DEB-Selection difficult to find in the lineup. Carina Strobel cleared a counterattack by the Swedes without any problems before the opponent even took a shot. Marie Delarbre tried again shortly before the penalty expired, but Grahn closed the gap. Sweden had just finished again and a German player had to go to the penalty box. And Sweden used the majority to make it 4-2 with a slap shot from Josefine Holmgren. Seven minutes before the final siren, another penalty against the German team. But this time the German outnumbered formation held up well and managed to keep the Swedes out of their own third. The Swedes then took their goalkeeper off the ice in order to score another goal at 6 against 4. But the defense was good and Jennifer Harß saved everything that came her way. In return, Marie Delarbre only hit the post in the empty Swedish box. With one minute left, the German team received another penalty. Benjamin Hinterstocker took a break to gather his team again. Sweden didn't manage to get significantly in front of the German goal until the final siren and so the German team deserved to win 4-2.
Benjamin Hinterstocker, women’s national coach: “With today’s 4-2 win against Sweden, we started the tournament positively. Compliments to the team, they showed a consistently concentrated performance for over sixty minutes.”
Germany: Harß (Schröder) – T. Eisenschmid, Gleissner; Lanzl (C), Haider, Bartsch – Strobel, Fiegert; N. Eisenschmid, Karpf, Kamenik (A) – Sabus, Rothemund; Amort, Kluge, Nix – Düsterhöft, Botthof; Bear, Delarbre, Spielberger
Gates: 1:0 Marie Delarbre (08:15/PP1); 2:0 Yvonne Rothemund (27:07); 2:1 Erika Grahm (32:38); 3:1 Laura Kluge (36:58); 4:1 Emily Nix (43:27/PP1); 4:2 Josefine Holmgren (51:13/PP1)
Penalty minutes: Germany 8 – Sweden 10