The German women's national team won their last group match at the 2023 IIHF Women's World Championship in Canada with 2:1 against Hungary. Goal scorers for the DEBThe selections were Ronja Hark (11th) and Nicola Eisenschmid (20th).
In the last match of the preliminary group B, the German team was aiming for nothing less than a place in the quarter-finals of this year's Women's World Cup in Canada. Right from the start, the German women's national team clearly set the pace and kept the upper hand in the first half of the match. The team led by women's national coach Thomas Schädler was particularly convincing in the forechecking against the Hungarians. In the 11th minute, the DEB-Selection of two great scoring opportunities. First it was Bernadette Karpf who took a lot of speed from the neutral zone in front of Aniko Nemeth's goal, but didn't get the puck all the way behind the opponent's goal line. Just a few moments later the first goal celebration of the game occurred. Ronja Hark sank the target thanks to the preparatory work of Marie Delarbre and Nina Jobst-Smith to give the German team a 1-0 lead. At the end of the first 20 minutes, the Hungarians got better and better into the game and made it more difficult for the German team to get out of their own zone. Shortly before the end of the third, however, Germany regained its footing and so it was Franzi Feldmeier who brought the puck back from behind the goal and put it in front of Nici Eisenschmid. The German women's national team went into the first break with a strong 2-0 lead.
In the middle section, the Hungarians picked up the pace significantly and came out of the locker room aggressively. After just 49 seconds, head coach Pat Cortina's team managed to reduce the score by one goal thanks to Reka Dabasi's goal. The Hungarian selection repeatedly managed to get dangerously in front of Sandra Abstreiter's goal area and challenge her. But Germany didn't let up either and brought the disc forward. The next big opportunity came from Laura Kluge, who passed the puck to Sonja Weidenfelder in front of the Hungarian goal, but the Hungarian Aniko Nemeth successfully blocked it.
After the last break, Germany continued to try to defend the result and win the game. The DEB-Women made it increasingly difficult for Hungarians to get out of their own third and increasingly settled in the Hungarian zone. Ultimately, the Hungarian selection was no longer able to keep up with the strong German team. The German women's national team managed to secure the result over time and booked their ticket to the quarter-finals.
Women’s national coach Thomas Schädler: “We had a really good first third. When the Hungarians conceded an early goal in the second third, we lost track a bit. But we ultimately found a way to win the game. All in all, my team played a really good preliminary round and now we're looking forward to the quarter-finals. We expect a very difficult game, but we are ready for it and will come up with appropriate tactics again.”
Striker Nicola Eisenschmid: “I think we'll just carry on as before. That we put a lot of pressure on the opponents and that we do a good forecheck. Our series did a good job, as did the other series. We just keep going, get the shots on goal and then it works.”
DEB-Vice President Andreas Niederberger: “The team has played a really good tournament so far, with three wins from four games. But I didn't just like the results, I also really liked the entire appearance. After short weak phases, the German team quickly bounced back and so, all in all, we can look forward to a very good World Cup for our women’s national team.”
DEB-Sports director Christian Künast: “Especially in the first third, the German team was convincing in terms of play and combat. The team has put in a successful performance throughout the tournament so far and deservedly qualified for the quarter-finals. This is an important step in the right direction and is very good for women’s ice hockey.”
It hits on Thursday DEB-Selection at 19:30 p.m. German time in the knockout game against the USA.