Third group game for the German men's national team at the Ice Hockey World Cup in Tampere: This Monday afternoon it was all over DEB-Selection against Team USA. In front of 8.003 spectators in the Nokia Arena, the game ended with a narrow 2:3. The goal scorers for the German team were Samuel Soramies and Justin Schütz. The shooting ratio of 32:26 clearly spoke for this DEB-Team.
There were initially some changes to be reported in the lineup: Mathias Niederberger was given his second World Cup appearance in the goalkeeper position, while Leon Gawanke, who had only arrived in Tampere on Sunday, played in defense. Manuel Wiederer replaced Daniel Fischbuch in the attack.
The first third began at a high pace, as in previous games, even if the game did not really get going in the early stages due to many interruptions. The Americans had the first chance of the game after six minutes through Michael Eyssimont and his solo effort (7th minute of the game), which Mathias Niederberger was able to parry in a split. Then came the DEBteam for the first power play of the afternoon. The American Ronnie Attard had to go to the penalty box for tripping. Leon Gawanke had the best German chance in this outnumbered situation, but it was saved by US goalie Casey DeSmith. The Americans narrowly missed the lead with a shot against the post in the 13th minute, which was also denied to Team Germany: Frederik Tiffels was similarly unlucky with his shot, which DeSmith saved. In his World Cup debut, Manuel Wiederer only hit the crossbar in the second power play on Monday afternoon.
After the break it was possible DEBteam again playing in the majority after Carter Mazur had to go to the penalty box for a high stick. However, the USA had the greatest opportunity with Drew O'Connor, who failed after a break on the shoulder of Mathias Niederberger. In a phase in which the German line was on the ice for a long time, Ronnie Attard made it 0-1 with a penalty against DEB-Team. Attard's shot was deflected unstoppably and landed behind Mathias Niederberger in the German goal. Another power play for Germany was unsuccessful. On the contrary, it was ended prematurely by a penalty against Maximilian Kastner. But that didn't matter to Samuel Soramies. He converted the rebound after a shot from captain Moritz Müller to equalize 1-1 (31st). The Augsburg man later had another very good chance, but was again denied by DeSmith in the US goal, who would later be named US player of the day. When it was almost time for the locker room, Justin Schütz stormed DeSmith again and scored four seconds before the second break to make it 2-1.
After the break, the Americans increased the pressure again and had their first top-class chance right after 90 seconds. But the German team also managed to force the Americans to make mistakes. Dominik Tiffels once again ran towards the goal alone. However, his shot flew just past DeSmith and the goal. In the 46th minute, the US boys again used a very long substitution DEB-Teams and the associated fatigue to equalize 2:2. The DEBThe team was not very impressed by this and after the 2-2 draw they created some very good chances, which the Americans were only able to defuse with their combined efforts. After a penalty against Moritz Seider, Matt Coronato was in the right place at the far post in the power play and was able to direct the perfectly placed pass into the German goal for a 3-2 lead (55th). In the final phase, national coach Harold Kreis' team continued to have good opportunities through Dominik Kahun and Maximilian Kastner. A backhand shot from Marcel Noebels landed on the side netting. In the end, the German team, which had significantly more shots with 32:26, lacked a bit of luck in front of the goal. Nico Sturm became the best German player.
For the DEB-Selection has two game-free days. The game continues against Denmark on Thursday, May 18, 2023. The game starts at 19:20 p.m. German time, MagentaSport and Sport1 will broadcast the game live.