The German men's national ice hockey team is ready for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The mandatory PCR tests are all negative and the first ice training session has been completed.
When entering Beijing there were initially abnormalities for three players, which were checked over the course of Thursday. Now it is clear: National coach Toni Söderholm's team can start preparing for the Olympics together.
First ice training completed
The first ice training session took place on Friday afternoon (11:15 a.m. local time). DEB-Selection without the three players whose clarifying test results were only available after training. Another player did not travel to China with the team after recovering from a corona infection, but will travel as planned after completing all formalities. He is scheduled to join the team on Saturday.
DEB-Sports director Christian Künast: “We are pleased that we have the green light and can get started. We assume that we will have our entire squad here from Saturday. The pace in the first training session was very good, everyone was there with full enthusiasm. We are now looking forward to the shared experience at the opening ceremony.
National coach Toni Söderholm: “The training today was quite short; we went through a small tactical matter in advance via video study. The main goal today was to get going. Our boys looked lively on the ice and that gave us a good first impression. The conditions on site are also suitable for us, so we can prepare well for the next training days.”
Defender Marco Nowak: “It was a short and crisp first ice session today, ideal for finally arriving here. We were all happy to finally be able to get on the ice and relax our legs. Both the arena and the training hall offer good opportunities for us, we were already able to see that for ourselves today.”
Striker Marcel Noebels: “It was of course exciting today to see how everything is set up here and also to get to know our cabin. We also took the opportunity to take a first look at the large arena. The training was good after the long flight and the first night here in China. We are now looking forward to the next few days and events that lie ahead.”
Opening Ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics: DEBteam there
On Friday evening (20 p.m. Beijing time, 13 p.m. German time) it starts for the DEB-Men for the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics. Running in together with other athletes from Team Germany - that will be a first goosebumps moment for the national ice hockey team. The German team's first group game is scheduled for Thursday (February 10, 2022 against Canada).
Olympia 2022: Schedule of the German national team
10.02.2022/21/10 | 14:10 (German XNUMX:XNUMX) | Canada – Germany
12.02.2022/16/40 | 09:40 (German XNUMX:XNUMX) | Germany - China
13.02.2022/21/10 | 14:10 (German XNUMX:XNUMX) | UNITED STATES - Germany