Fifth game for that DEBteam at the U18 World Cup in Switzerland: After the group phase, the U18 team started the relegation game against Norway on Thursday afternoon and lost 1:6. The Scandinavians are leading 3-1 in the best-of-0 series.
U18 national coach Alexander Dück presented goalie Leon Willerscheid from the team again today Kölner Junghaien the confidence to start between the posts. In the early stages, the German team started with a lot of pressure and had their first chances. But in the sixth minute, the Norwegians' first shot on goal slipped behind the line. Ole Indergaard made it 0-1 (6th). Two minutes later, Alex Sjothun increased the lead to 0-2. This double strike impressed the German boys for a long time. Until halftime, the German team was no longer able to gain control of the game.
After the break, Niclas Focks had his first big opportunity to score. But Martin Lundberg parried the rebound in the Norwegian goal. On the other hand, Leon Willerscheid was also able to distinguish himself with another save in the Norwegian power play and keep the score 0-2. The subsequent power play by the German U18 national team was harmless.
Nico Pertuch came into the German goal for the final period, but had to reach behind him after a deflected shot from Elias Vantes. Five minutes into the period, Maurice Hildebrand stopped a Norwegian attack in the neutral zone, thus initiating a counterattack. Paul Vizenz took advantage of the open space and scored the first and only German goal of the game (45th minute). The goal made the German team more courageous again and they had a few good opportunities with the power play (50th minute). Six seconds before the end, Paul Mayer received a game misconduct penalty, which Norway took advantage of to score the sixth goal (60th minute). And so Norway took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-0 series.
The next game against Norway on Saturday has to be that DEBteam win to force a decisive third game in relegation. The game will be shown live and free of charge on MagentaSport.