First of two back-to-back international matches against Slovakia as part of the third phase of World Cup preparations: In front of 5.048 spectators in Zilina, the German team managed a 4-3 win against Slovakia. Goal scorers for the DEB-Selections were Dominik Kahun (17th / 55th), Dominik Bokk (30th) and Daniel Fischbuch (33rd).
Maximilian Franzreb started in goal, with Dustin Strahlmeier as backup. In addition, defender Dominik Bittner made his first appearance in preparation for the World Cup. The two strikers Dominik Bokk and Nico Sturm, who were not there recently as a precautionary measure, were also in the squad from the start.
Samuel Kňažko scored the first goal of the evening in the Slovakian power play after just over four minutes of play. Even after that, the German team was initially challenged in the defensive zone; goalie Maximilian Franzreb was able to excel several times in this phase. As the game continued, this came DEB-Selection also on the offensive to get more shares in the game. Such an aggressive forecheck resulted in a mistake in the Slovaks' defense, which Dominik Kahun (17th) took advantage of to equalize before the break.
In the second section the survived DEB-Select several outnumbered situations without damage. On offense, the team showed itself to be effective: first Dominik Bokk completed a solo effort (30th), then less than three minutes later Daniel Fischbuch followed up (33rd) and extended the lead to two goals. With the lead behind them, the German team played confidently until the second break and only allowed a little.
In the final section, the Slovaks increased their offensive efforts again, which the German backline fought against with all their might. Goalie Maxi Franzreb in particular was able to excel time and time again, even if he couldn't prevent Robert Lantoši's goal (45'). Then the hosts' most powerful phase began, which was only ended by Dominik Kahun's goal in the 55th minute of the game. The Slovaks then threw everything forward again and took their goalkeeper off the ice. Richard Pánik (59th) brought his team within one goal again, but in the end the final score remained 4-3 from the German perspective.
Both teams will meet again on Saturday. The game in Trencin starts at 14:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on MagentaSport. Highlights of the second game can be seen on Sport00 from 00:1 on the match day.