The German women's national team finished the 2021 IIHF World Championship in Calgary, Canada in eighth place. In the interview, national coach Tom Schädler looks back on close matches and committed teamwork - and looks ahead to the upcoming Olympic qualification in November in Füssen.
Tom, you came back from Calgary a few days ago. How did you experience your first World Cup tournament?
Tom Schädler: It was clear that it would be a tournament with many restrictions. We were happy that we could play at all. We were able to train, the games took place, including the test match after the five-day isolation. Unfortunately, no spectators were allowed; family and friends were only allowed into the hall for the last few games. Our German-Canadians were happy about that. But even without spectators, we had a good World Cup atmosphere. The event was well organized, the conditions in the Winsport Arena were very good, the hotel was top-notch, and the catering was too.
We all still have the games in our heads, especially the Russia game, where we would have liked to have finished fifth and had the opportunity to get into the A group. That's still annoying. But now it's time to process it.
Let's review the journey of the German women's national team again: two good victories at the start of the World Cup against Hungary and Denmark, a close match against the Czech Republic, an almost dramatic game against Japan. What is your conclusion about the preliminary round?
Tom Schädler: Thanks to the victories in the first two matches, we were able to continue playing with peace of mind. It became clear pretty quickly that we would reach the quarter-finals. We had very intense games against the Czech Republic and Japan. We continued to improve and our defense worked well. We have to develop further on offense and create more scoring opportunities in the future.
After the preliminary round came the quarter-finals against the Canadians. How did you experience the game?
Tom Schädler: Canada in the quarter-finals was obviously a very strong opponent. They put pressure on us from the start. The Canadians' main goal was to become world champions, which they ultimately achieved. They played at an incredibly high pace. The girls gave it their all: they threw themselves into the shots, blocked well, and played well in the minority. The team never gave up and was fully passionate. And we knew that there were placement games - which were new at this World Cup - and that we had a chance of getting into the top group.
The Russians were your opponents in the placement game: the game was extremely close. What was that like for you, especially from the emotional side?
Tom Schädler: We were all really disappointed, not because of our performance, but because we lost after a big fight. We had a huge opportunity to take a step forward. Sure, the Russians were the favorites. But the girls were there with full commitment. After the 2-1 we were on fire and didn't want to let the game be taken away from us. Unfortunately we then conceded two more goals. In the end we had two good chances where the puck stopped just in front of the goal line. Then you think to yourself: Why doesn't it go a few centimeters further? With eighth place we achieved our minimum goal, but we could certainly have achieved more.
The next big event, the Olympic qualification in November, is coming up soon. Can you give us some insights into what next steps are coming up for you now?
We take a closer look at the World Cup games again. With Denmark we have qualifying opponents who we know well from the World Cup through preparatory and preliminary round games. We will also analyze the Danes' other games in detail. We last played against Austria a few months ago. Basically, it's about us preparing properly. We'll complete another course in October and direct preparation will begin in November, during which we've also scheduled two games against Japan.
Thanks for the interview, Tom. We wish you good luck and success for the big events of the next few months.