The U20 national team lost the quarter-finals against Finland on Wednesday morning (local time). In the end it was 2021-5 against the 2 bronze medalist. For long stretches of the game, the German U20 team was on par with the favorites. For Germany it was the second quarter-final appearance in a U20 Ice Hockey World Championship in a row.
Back in the fifth tournament game: Joshua Samanski and Adrian Klein. Florian Bugl was in the German goal from the start and had to reach behind him for the first time after just under four minutes. Kaspar Simontaival made it 1-0 after a remarkable relay of passes - Florian Bugl had no chance. Roni Hirvonen took advantage of Finland's first power play and extended the lead to 12-2 in the 0th minute. Shortly afterwards there was the first penalty against Finland. The DEBThe team was able to create the first opportunities of the game. Finally, it was Bennet Roßmy who was able to successfully use the rebound from a shot by Danjo Leonhardt to make it 13-1 in the 2th minute. As in the previous two games, Roßmy was on the top scorer list. Two minutes after the goal, however, the Finns once again used a power play: Roby Jarventie scored to make the score 3-1 at halftime (15th).
This increased in the second third DEB-Selection continued, survived a situation of being outnumbered without conceding a goal and was even able to gain a majority of chances through increased physical effort. Almost five minutes before the break, Germany got a power play - and Bennet Roßmy was there again: he shortened the score with a goal for the gallery Berlinhe made it 2:3 (38th).
The final third began with a penalty for delaying the game and Germany had to play outnumbered again. But the Finnish power play remained unsuccessful this time too. In the 47th minute, the Finns struck with another advantage and restored their old lead: Roby Jarventie also scored his second goal of the game (47th). Just four minutes before the end, Joel Maatta made it 5-2.
Overall it was a close game. The U20 national team came close to making it 3-3, but was thwarted by the Finns' efficient powerplay. The player of the game on the German side was Bennet Roßmy. In addition, goalkeeper Florian Bugl (Straubing Tigers), striker Alexander Blank (Düsseldorfer EG) and defender Maximilian Glötzl (Kölner Haie/EC Bad Nauheim) was honored with the award as the best German player of the tournament.
Voices about the game:
U20 national coach Tobias Abstreiter: “First and foremost, we can all be very proud of the performance the team showed. The development of the team was really, very positive and reaching the quarter-finals actually says everything about this team. It was a huge team effort and there was also belief in bigger things. This is very important for the future. We can now thank the older players who have been there for several years and wish them all the best for the future. We keep our fingers crossed that they will get an important role in the professional teams and hopefully be considered for the senior national team in the future. The young players clearly have to take the experiences from this tournament with them and carry this team spirit on to the next U teams. However, it will be very difficult again in the next tournament. The first priority is of course to maintain the group and this will not be an easy path. We all need to be aware of that.”
DEB-Sports director Christian Künast: “We demanded everything from Finland today. The team can be really proud of themselves. With the second quarter-final in a row, we have achieved everything within our current possibilities. In order to achieve more in the future, but also to maintain the level, the 35-40 players who are eligible for the U20 World Cup must take on important roles in the professional leagues and, above all, be used in all crucial situations.”
Striker Alexander Blank: “I think we were actually able to keep up well with the Finns. In my opinion, we also dominated in the second third. Unfortunately, we made the game difficult for ourselves due to our many penalties and Finland's good power play. In the end it was the four power play goals that cost us the win today. “