Yesterday, Monday evening, they saw Fans in the Helsinki Ice Hall. After Team Canada had already lost 3:6 to Switzerland on Saturday, the defending world champions now had to admit defeat to Denmark 2:3. This result means that there will be a number of finals in Group A this Tuesday. Slovakia, for example, can only slip into the quarter-finals with a three-point win against Denmark. Much more importantly, however, in our national ice hockey team's game against Switzerland, it's about winning the group (live on SPORT1 & MagentaSport). With a win after 60 minutes, the German team can secure first place for the first time and the best starting position for the quarter-finals. The Swiss are currently in first place without losing a point, having beaten Canada, Denmark (1:6), Kazakhstan (0:3), Slovakia (2:5) and France (3:5).
In Group B, which plays its games in the main World Cup venue in Tampere, Finland, Sweden and the Czech Republic have already qualified for the round of the last eight, while the USA and Latvia are fighting for fourth place.
You can find all tables and statistics here: ICE HOCKEY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (iihf.com)
“Games against Switzerland are always something special. There are a lot of Swiss people Fans here, I watched Switzerland against Canada, the atmosphere was really great," said defender Leon Gawanke before the match. "We will go in with the same passion as in the other games and of course we want to win the game to get a good starting position in the quarter-finals."
Many ice hockey fans will certainly still remember the last match between Germany and Switzerland at a World Championship. In the quarterfinals of the 2021 World Championship in Riga, the German team equalized 44 seconds before the end thanks to the above-mentioned Leon Gawanke and then advanced to the semifinals in the penalty shootout with a textbook penalty from Marcel Noebels.
The Swiss have been coached by Patrick Fischer since the end of 2015. The 46-year-old from Zug himself played as a player in the NHL and the KHL and gave the Swiss national team the certain calm, stability and determination that they had with Ralph Krueger in the mid-2000s.
The Swiss team is led by an absolute record holder: Andres Ambühl. Since Monday, the 38-year-old from Davos has been the sole leader in this ranking with 120 games at a World Cup. Great job!
This year there are seven NHL players in Switzerland's squad. The best known are certainly Nico Hischier from the New Jersey Devils and Timo Meier from the San José Sharks. Both are already scoring well with eight and seven points respectively. However, the top scorer with four goals and six assists is Denis Malgin. The 25-year-old from Olten has already played for Florida and Toronto in the NHL, but is currently under contract with the ZSC Lions.
Overall, the Swiss have a very balanced and high-quality squad. So it will be a very exciting game, as always between both teams, and it's about 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in Group A and therefore a good starting position for the quarter-finals. Here we go!