The German women's national team won the second game of the final Olympic qualifying tournament Group D against the Italians 4-1. Nicola Eisenschmid (4th minute), Lilli Welcke (30th), Marie Delarbre (48th) and Katarina Jobst-Smith (52nd) scored the goals for the DEB-Team. Chelsea Furlani was successful for Italy in the 25th minute to make it 1-1.
In front of around 500 spectators at the Federal Performance Center on Kobelhang, one series in particular was outstanding on Saturday afternoon. Nicola Eisenschmid, Marie Delarbre and Lili Welcke scored three of the four goals themselves. The first two women from Ingolstadt were even on the ice for all four goals.
Nicola Eisenschmid herself started things off. The 25-year-old was well served by Delarbre in the 4th minute and scored in the top left corner to take the lead. The hosts had further chances to score in the first third, but, like on Thursday, they lacked consistency.
The middle section began with a small setback for the German team. With Yvonne Rothemund sitting in the penalty box, the Italians used their fourth power play of the game to score their first goal of the tournament. Chelsea Furlani from the Bozen Eagles overcame Franziska Albl in the German goal in the 25th minute. The Füssen native in the service of Bayernleague team EC Pfaffenhofen rotated into the German goal today for Sandra Abstreiter.
The DEBThe team didn't let themselves be disturbed by this goal. In the 30th minute of the game, senior national team newcomer Lilli Welcke made her big appearance. After a strong through pass from captain Julia Zorn, she ran alone towards Elisa Biondi in the Italian goal and, in the best goalscoring style, gave her no chance.
The second ten minutes of the middle period and the start of the third period were a bit disjointed, especially due to a few penalty times. But when Marie Delarbre picked up her own rebound in the 48th minute and was able to convert it to 3-1, the game clearly developed in the German team's direction. Even a numerical advantage hit was achieved. It was more of an individual effort from Katarina Jobst-Smith, who had just come onto the ice, picked up the puck and shot low, possibly deflected, through the Italian keeper's pads. But it was the first powerplay goal in the 15th attempt.
With this victory, the German team maintained its chances of getting a ticket to the Olympics. In the second game of the day, Denmark meets Austria at 15:30 p.m. The German team needs Austria to lose a point (preferably a three-point win for the Danes) in order to still have a chance of getting an Olympic ticket.
Voices about the tournament
Nicola Eisenschmid about today's game: "We were much calmer today than yesterday. We shot more at the opponent's goal and made better use of our chances."
Nicola Eisenschmid about her series with Marie Delarbre and Lilli Welcke: "We didn't talk or think about it that much. We sat in the dressing room as a team and said to ourselves, let's just have fun. The fact that it worked out so well for us is of course all the better."
Lilli Welcke about her first goal in the national team jersey: “I got the ball from the back and then there was only one direction for me. I really wanted to score the goal and then it just worked.”
National coach Thomas Schädler in his summary: "It was definitely a better game today than on Thursday. We had a few problems in the first third, but we stuck to our game. We are now waiting for our chance and hope that we can strike tomorrow."
Next game:
Germany vs. Denmark – Saturday, November 14.11.2021th, 12, XNUMX p.m., Federal Performance Center at Kobelhang, Füssen