The young talent selection led by U18 national coach Alexander Dück concluded the first week of World Cup preparations with two friendly defeats against Switzerland (1:6, 2:4) and is looking forward to the second phase in Füssen.
During the preparation of the DEB-Young talent teams, the coaching team was able to get a detailed picture of the 35 invited players. Last Monday, after a one-day break, the players from the DNL final series from Mannheim and Cologne joined the team and they were also able to join the team from the Alps Hockey League Red Bull Hockey Juniors, strengthen the squad during the course of the measure. U18 national coach Alexander Dück and his coaching team had to make some squad changes due to injuries and cancellations. In a very turbulent week, the team was still able to work together a lot and particularly tackled defense and building up under pressure. The focus during this first World Cup preparation phase was on communication on the ice, as well as mutual support and a quick transition game.
The week-and-a-half-long program concluded with two test matches against the Swiss selection. Elias Pul, Nick Maul (both Red Bull Hockey Academy) as well as Niclas Focks and Max Hense (Krefelder EV 81) made their U18 national team debuts. Although they lost both matches 1:6 (goal: Timo Ruckdäschel) and 2:4 (goals: Kevin Bicker and Noah Samanski), the German team was still able to improve its international level and better implement the instructions of the coaching team.
U18 national coach Alexander Dück: “I have a positive feeling from the first phase. Of course we wanted a different result on the scoreboard for the test matches, but these are the situations from which we can learn and grow. We have seen an improvement from game to game and that is primarily important for us because we want to improve as a team. That was definitely visible in this first week, so not everything is as negative as it might seem with the results. The boys now have two days off and then we'll meet again on April 12th. I also hope that everyone will be fit again by then. We will pick up where we left off and want to take the next steps forward.”
The game plan of the German U18 national team
April 08.04.2023, 17 | 00:XNUMX p.m. | Test match | Switzerland - Germany 6:1(3:0, 2:1, 1:0)
April 09.04.2023, 12 | 00:XNUMX p.m. | Test match | Switzerland - Germany 4:2 (1:0, 2:2, 1:0)
April 17.04.2023, 17 | 30:XNUMX p.m. | Test match | Germany – Latvia
April 21.04.2023, 14 | 30:XNUMX p.m. | Canada – Germany
22.04.2023/17/00 | XNUMX:XNUMX | Germany - Czech Republic
24.04.2023/18/30 | XNUMX:XNUMX | Germany – Slovakia
April 25.04.2023, 14 | 30:XNUMX p.m. | Sweden - Germany
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