The third preliminary round game in Group B of this year's Ice Hockey Women's World Championship in Denmark ended for the German selection with a 0:6 defeat against the confident Czechs. Franziska Feldmeier was named the best German player in this game. Tomorrow, Tuesday, women's national coach Thomas Schädler's team will meet the hosts from Denmark in their final encounter at 19:30 p.m. (live on MAGENTA SPORT).
The German women's national team had big plans for this game against a strong Czech team and wanted to build on their recent good fighting performance against the Swedes. However, the very aggressive opponents in today's game made it difficult for them. The Czechs managed to appear on the scoreboard for the first time in the 13th minute. It was Adela Sapovalivova who sank the quick shot at the near post. Just four minutes later, German player Anne Bartsch received an unfortunate penalty and had to sit on the bench. This enabled the Czech Republic to score again ten seconds later through Natalie Mlynkova to extend their opponents' lead. In the first 20 minutes, the dominance of the Czech Republic was already evident from a German perspective with a goal shooting ratio of 4 to 12.
Germany worked hard to break into their opponents' zone at the start of the second period, but continued to have difficulty getting the puck out of their own zone. The Czechs continued to have the upper hand with their speed and constant movement. The team led by women's national coach Thomas Schädler played more defensively and had no chance of scoring. The Czech team exploited their superiority coldly and scored three more times in this encounter through Alena Mills (29th), Noemi Neubauerova (32nd) and Agata Sarnovska (40th).
In the final third, the German team once again switched goalkeepers, bringing Franziska Albl into the game. But even this shouldn't stop the superior Czechs. In the 42nd minute, Klara Hymlarova increased the score for the sixth and final time on the Czech side.
DEB-Sports director Christian Künast: “Today we were mostly a step too slow in the crucial situations. The Czechs played very well today. Now it’s time to put the game behind us and focus on Denmark for tomorrow.”
Women’s national coach Thomas Schädler: “Today was a difficult game for us. We actually didn't have access. The Czechs were superior and we took too many penalties on the other side. That was punished. Things were a little better in the final third. We ran more and got into duels. That gives us confidence for the Denmark game. We now need a win in the final, but we are positive that we can achieve it.”
Captain Daria Gleißner: “We gave the Czechs too much time and space to play their game, which they are simply good at. Of course, they also made good use of their power play. We still fought until the end and tried to give everything.”