At the 5-nation tournament in Dmitrov, Russia, the German Women's national team lost their third game of the tournament. The DEBselection lost to Finland 1:7 (0:3, 1:2, 0:2). Matilda Nilsson scored the early lead for the Finnish team in the fourth minute. Just a few minutes later, Sanni Hakala and Minnamari Tuominen increased the lead to three goals. The German team was repeatedly exposed to quick counterattacks from the Finns. But the German defense pulled itself together after the early goals and, together with goalkeeper Jule Flötgen, did not allow any further goals until the break. Christian Künast's team began the second third with more concentration and did not allow many chances on their own goal. In the 25th minute of play, Jule Flötgen was powerless when Sanni Rantala slotted the ball into the empty net to make it 0:4. Just a minute and a half later, Nicola Eisenschmid stole away from the Finnish defense and single-handedly left Finland's goalkeeper Noora Räty no chance. Petra Nieminen took advantage of a German shorthanded team after 32 minutes to score 1:5 for Finland. The German team now played better, worked out some moves in the attacking third, but no further goal was scored until the second break. In the opening minutes of the last period, the DEB-Selection keep their opponents away from their own goal as much as possible. However, they couldn't prevent the score from 1:6 and 1:7 thanks to a brace from Susanna Tapani in the 44th and 59th minutes.
Second place for the U20 national team at the four-nation tournament in Piešťany (Slovakia). The team of U20 national coach Tobias Abstreiter defeated Switzerland 3-2 today, but had to wait for Slovakia's game against Norway for the final tournament placement. The host won 4-1 and is in third place after a three-way tie with Switzerland and Germany. The Swiss secured victory in the tournament – the German U20 national team placed second.
The U18 national team takes second place at the tournament in Copenhagen (Denmark). U18 national coach Steffen Ziesche's team lost 2:4 (0:0, 1:1, 1:3) to tournament winners Slovakia in their last game. The German team took the lead in the 28th minute through Julius Ramoser after an assist from Josef Eham. Matej Kaslik equalized the game in favor of the Slovaks in the 36th minute with a shorthander. In the final section they took the lead again DEB-Selection: Jakub Borzecki scored in the 45th minute after preparatory work by Florian Elias and Fabian Herrmann. However, when a match penalty was imposed on a German player after a knee check and Germany was outnumbered for five minutes, the Slovaks used their advantage twice: Rayen Petrovicky (53') and Jakub Ragan (55') turned the game around. Two minutes before the end, Oleksii Myklukha made it 4-2 and Slovakia won the tournament.
At the tournament in Cergy (France) the U17 national team fourth place. The DEBselection fought its way into extra time for the third time in the tournament, but had to admit defeat to Slovakia 4:5 (1:1, 1:3, 2:0, 0:1). Pascal Steck gave the German U17s the lead in the third minute. However, Slovakia had the answer ready in the 17th minute through Ludomir Kupco. In the middle period, three goals were scored within four minutes: Slovakia's first lead through Marcel Stefancik (28th) was equalized by Kevin Niedenz (32nd). Just 20 seconds after the goal, however, Alex Geci restored the Slovakian lead. In the 45th minute, Marek Sramaty extended its lead to a two-goal lead, but the German team came back into the game with goals each in the 50th and 55th minutes and equalized. But in extra time, Daniel Chuvaniak shot the Slovakians to a 5:4 victory.
Christian Künast, women’s national coach: “Today we showed a fighting performance against strong Finns. Despite two difficult games on the previous days, the team gave everything they had and held up well. In the end the defeat might be one or two goals too high.”
Tobias Abstreiter, U20 national coach: “With a unified team performance, we managed to finish the tournament well today. Every single player fulfilled their tasks. Ultimately it was a deserved win against Switzerland with a consistent performance over 60 minutes. Our goalie Hendrik Hane was an important support for the team. In four weeks we will meet to prepare for the World Cup. Then there are four preparatory games in order to be well prepared for the first World Cup game against the USA on December 27th.”
Steffen Ziesche, U18 national coach: “The defeat is annoying – especially because we were the better team in the 5-on-5 game. The special teams made the difference today. Overall, I draw a very positive conclusion. The team implemented the tactical guidelines very well and were convincing both in terms of combat and play – now it’s time to continue on this path.”
Thomas Schädler, Young Talent national coach: “We had a good start to the game, but then in the middle period we didn’t make the right decisions in the crucial situations. Despite the two-goal deficit, the team didn't give up and were rewarded with the equalizer. The players improved from game to game and learned at international level.”
You can find all the statistics for the women's national team's game against Finland HERE.
You can find all the statistics for the game between the U18 national team and Slovakia HERE.
You can find all the statistics for the U17 national team's game against Slovakia HERE.