After the strong performance against Russia (4:3), the duel against Switzerland took place today Deutschland Cup On the program in 2021 at the YAYLA Arena Krefeld. The starting position couldn't be more different for both teams, as the Swiss suffered a 1-7 defeat against Slovakia in their opening game.
Both teams last met in the quarterfinals at the 2021 IIHF World Championships in Riga (Latvia) last June: in a thrilling duel DEB-Selection won 3-2 after a penalty shootout and added another chapter to the eternally young duel between the two neighbors.
As expected, national coach Toni Söderholm changed the line-up in goal: Dustin Strahlmeier was put in goal, Andreas Jenike was available as backup. In attack, Taro Jentzsch celebrated his debut for the men's national team.
It was also Jentzsch who took the lead (14th) in the first third DEB-Selection on the stick - but the puck just missed the Swiss goal. Both teams started the game focused. An early power play from the Swiss survived DEB-Selection without prejudice. With the same number of players on the ice, the arch-rivals left each other little space and fought doggedly for every puck, so that no goals were scored on either side and clear scoring opportunities were the exception.
In the second third, the intensity on the ice increased again, so that the German team also had their first power play and took advantage of it straight away. Tobias Rieder was in the right position and used a rebound from the opponent Goalies for the lead (28th). The Swiss responded with counterattacks in which the DEB-As at the last World Cup, the selection impressed with many shot blocks. Goalkeeper Dustin Stahlmeier also distinguished himself several times.
It was also the Wolfsburg keeper who secured the victory in the final third. The match developed into a defensive battle for the German team. Strahlmeier was able to distinguish himself several times. His was in the 51st minute Fanghand was the final destination for the shot from Swiss captain Andres Ambühl. The Germans were then able to free themselves again. Yasin Ehliz failed, but Leo Pföderl deflected a shot from Stefan Loibl to make it 2-0 with just under two minutes to go. Patrick Hager put the finishing touches with a shot into the empty Swiss goal, as the Icemen put everything on the line and took theirs off the ice in favor of a sixth field player.
As the best player of the DEB-Selection was awarded to Dustin Strahlmeier.
Statistics for Deutschland Cup 2021: https://stats.iihf.com/deb/40/
The next game for them is tomorrow, Sunday DEB-Selection on the program. At 14:30 p.m. the national team will play against Slovakia for tournament victory. Tobias Eder from the is also there Düsseldorfer EG, which is available in the short term DEB-Selection was made for the slightly ailing Daniel Pietta and Tim Wohlgemuth, who are at this point Deutschland Cup can no longer be used.
The game will again be broadcast live on MagentaSport as an individual game and in the conference (free of charge). Tickets for the neighborhood duel in the Krefeld YAYLA ARENA are available online www.deb-online.de/tickets.
Voices about the game:
Defender Dominik Bittner: "It was important for us to get off to a better start today than against Russia. We managed that. Despite that, the Swiss sometimes put us under pressure, but we always defended well, stayed true to our system and knew that if we played this kind of hockey for 60 minutes, our chances would come. Then, luckily, we managed to take the lead with a power play. That's what the special teams are there for. We won the match. We really went full throttle just before the end, defended well and made it 2-0 and 3-0. Dustin Strahlmeier made outstanding saves and absolutely deserved the shutout. In general, all four lines were strong today. We brought team spirit onto the ice, shots were blocked. It feels good to be able to achieve such a hard-fought victory."
National coach Toni Söderholm: “The Swiss were very strong today. They didn't make it easy for us, especially on offense and forechecking. We had some problems here, you have to admit that to be honest. And then came this important 1-0 goal. There was a bit of a feeling that whoever scored the first goal would win this game. We then played very strong and cleverly in the final third and safely brought home the victory. All in all, this was an impressive team performance.”
Striker Patrick Hager: “I think it was exactly what we expected. It was an incredibly hard-fought game. Lots of discs on the boards and corners on both sides. Not a meter was given away in any way, but you had to grit your way through it. I think we managed to score 1-0 on the special teams and ultimately it was 1-0 until shortly before the end. In the end we just closed the bag and deserved to win for a long time. We worked a little harder in front of the goal and allowed less at the back.”