Great success for the German U20 national team: U20 national coach Tobias Abstreiter's team achieved a great end to the year and reached the quarter-finals at the World Cup in Edmonton. The selection of the Deutscher Eishockey-Bund eV deservedly won 5:4 (3:0, 1:0, 1:4) against Switzerland after an outstanding performance over a long period of time and finished the group phase in third place in the table with two wins from four games . The quarter-final opponent will only be determined after the last games in Group B. The German U20 now has two days without games over the turn of the year before the knockout game awaits the team on January 2nd, 2021. (live and free at MagentaSport)
The DEB-Team was carried on offense by Tim Stützle and John Peterka, who were involved in all five goals. Stützle (10th and 34th) scored twice and provided three assists, Peterka had a hat trick (5th, 18th, 58th) and two assists. Florian Elias contributed two assists, and one assist also came from Manuel Alberg. For the first time ever, a German U20 team reached the knockout phase of a U20 World Cup.
This was the first time in the World Cup tournament DEB-Team has an almost complete line-up with seven defenders and twelve strikers, only defender Niklas Länger (Augsburger Panther) and Jan Nijenhuis (Grizzlys Wolfsburg) had not yet received approval for use. Lucas Flade (Dresdner Eislöwen), Maksymilian Szuber (Red Bull Juniors) as well as the strikers Josh Samanski (Ravensburg Towerstars), Markus Schweiger (ESV Kaufbeuren) and Filip Reisnecker (Fischtown Pinguins) returned after recovering from Covid-19 infection. Goalie Florian Bugl started in goal, as he did against Slovakia DEBteams, Arno Tiefensee sat on the bench as back-up.
The Abstreiter team had a fantastic opening third and set the course for victory. And in particular, it was the first strike formation with Stützle, Peterka and Elias that left its mark on the game. At first Peterka had the right instinct, grabbed the puck behind the Swiss goal and put it down with a pawn trick to make it 1-0. Then Stützle started an impressive individual action, prevailed elegantly and decisively in the duel and went around the Swiss goalie Thibault Fatton. Finally, Peterka, with double the advantage, nailed a direct shot unstoppably under the crossbar.
In the second period, Bugl was definitely the focus in the German goal, but protected his team with some strong ones Parathe one before a goal was conceded. On the other side was the first again DEB- Attack line cannot be held. Stützle used the space given to him, remained calm when shooting and aimed precisely into the bottom left corner. In the final period, the Swiss became more dangerous offensively and came close again in the last ten minutes with goals from Noah Delemont (50th), Ronny Daehler (51st), Noah Meier (59th) and Simon Knak (60th). In between, however, Peterka managed an empty net goal in which he physically asserted himself. It took a lot of effort DEB-Team success ultimately over time.
Interim sports director Christian Künast: “The move to the quarter-finals is completely deserved, especially under these conditions. That was an incredible feat of energy. I would like to say a big compliment to all the players and the staff. We can be incredibly proud of this team. Our journey continues, we are not at the end yet.”
U20 national coach Tobias Abstreiter: “It was an incredible performance, the boys behaved incredibly well on the ice. Sure, we made things difficult for ourselves in the end, but the bottom line is that it was a great team performance that was rewarded with a place in the quarter-finals. For me, what happened here is a historic event. To be in the quarter-finals with the circumstances we have experienced is actually unbelievable. Each of the boys can be proud of what they showed and how they performed as a team.”
Captain Tim Stützle: “Everyone has a part to play in this success, not just the team, but also everyone around it. Everyone helped where they could. The game wasn't easy, you could also tell that we were a bit tired at the end. But we got through it well and deserved to win. I think we can be proud of what we have achieved here. We worked very well as a series. JJ is also an incredibly good player and a great guy.”
Simon Gnyp: “It was a difficult game, but our team performance was once again top. Our team spirit is there - and I have to say a lot of praise to Tim and JJ, they both played a brutal game. But the whole team deserves it.”
John Peterka: “We were super happy that we had more guys in the line-up again. It was a great team effort, everyone fought for each other and it was just nice to have all four rows again. We are very happy and are looking forward to the quarter-finals.”
Photos: Zambonin/HHOF-IIHF Images