Second World Cup game within 24 hours for the German men's national team: On Saturday evening, national coach Harold Kreis' team met the reigning world champion, Olympic champion and World Cup host from Finland. In front of a sold-out crowd of 11.712 spectators, the game in Tampere ended 3-4. Goal scorers for the DEB-The selection was Marcel Noebels, Kai Wissmann and JJ Peterka.
Except for one position, the lineup remained unchanged from the World Cup opener against Sweden: Dustin Strahlmeier made his first appearance at this World Cup in goal today, and Mathias Niederberger was available as a backup. Since both teams suffered defeat in their first World Cup game, both Finland and Germany naturally wanted to score the first points of the tournament.
The hosts started the game at a very high pace and continued to do so DEBteam under pressure from the start. In the first few minutes, the German defense had to defuse two big chances for the Finns. After five minutes, Marcel Noebels headed towards the penalty box for tripping and the Finns had their first power play of the evening, where they created good opportunities. But it wasn't until the tenth minute that the bell rang for the first time: the hosts opened the scoring when Joel Armia was perfectly served by NHL star Kappo Kakko and made it 0-1. After the second power break, the German team got better into the offensive zone again. A shot from Frederik Tiffels initially landed on the side netting before Marcel Noebels equalized the score at 18-1 with Germany's first goal of the tournament in the 1th minute.
This also had to happen at the beginning of the second third DEBteam survive against the Finns' initial pressure phase. Dustin Strahlmeier in DEB-Tor was able to distinguish himself again with some top saves. In the middle of the third, Germany had two power play sequences, which the team played with concentration, but failed to score. When the Finns were complete again, Kai Wissmann took the first German lead to 2-1 (33') with a slap shot from the blue line. In return, the Finns managed to turn the game around again with two goals from Sakari Manninen (34th and 36th). The final minute of the middle third belonged to the German team, which was again able to play with one more man: JJ Peterka scored with a perfect wrist shot that went exactly under the crossbar, making the score 3-3 at halftime.
In the final third everything was open again and the tension in the hall was therefore high. Both teams started with good scenes.
Best option for that DEBteam was Moritz Müller's crossbar shot. The fifth German power play in the 48th minute had no significant chances. The Finns then came back towards the German goal with full force. Seven minutes before the end, the assignment of the German defense was no longer correct. Defender Mikko Lehtonen took advantage of this and took the lead 4-3. In an exciting final spurt it wasn't enough to equalize again. The host secured its first points, based on this DEBteam still has to wait. Kai Wissman was voted the best player in the German team.
The German team's next training session is on Sunday to prepare for the upcoming task at this World Cup. It hits on Monday DEB-Selection to the USA in their third tournament game within four days. The game in Tampere starts at 16:20 p.m. (15:20 p.m. German time). The game will be shown live on MagentaSport and Sport1.