The U25 selection of the Deutscher Eishockey-Bund (DEB) won the first of two international matches against Slovakia 3-2 after a penalty shootout. The second international match against Slovakia as part of the U25 campaign will take place tomorrow, Thursday. The game in the Steel Arena in Košice starts at 17:30 p.m. MagentaSport is again broadcasting live and free of charge.
In front of a crowd of over 3.000 spectators in Michalovcze, a fast-paced match developed, which began around 20 minutes later due to ice repairs. The Slovakians got off to a better start, taking an early lead through Balaz (4th). But the German team quickly worked their way into the game and had good scoring opportunities themselves. In the 34th minute, the equalizer came from Danjo Leonhardt, who deflected a shot from Luca Zitterbart. In the final period, the score remained DEB-Selection concentrated and set the stage with Bennet Roßmy's goal (43'). Shortly before the end, Jedlička equalized (55th). After overtime failed to produce a winner, Tim Wohlgemuth scored the winning goal in the penalty shootout (65th).
Coach Alexander Sulzer: “It was a good, fast and intense ice hockey game for over 60 minutes. Our boys implemented everything we set out to do. We played very structured and created a lot of chances to score. In the end we deserved to win. We expect a similar game tomorrow. We will now regenerate, analyze a few things and prepare like we did today.”
Captain Tobias Eder: “It was difficult for us to get in because the Slovaks were brutal at the beginning. But we worked our way into the game in the first third and created chances. Overall we can be satisfied, we didn't allow much in terms of tactics. Tomorrow it’s important to be ready right from the first face-off.”
Goalscorer Bennet Roßmy: “It was a good game from all of us, we worked well together as a team. We stuck to the plan and did the little things right over long stretches. I think we’ll look at a few things before the game tomorrow that we can do even better.”