After two consecutive wins against Denmark (6:4) and Austria (4:2), the national team has preserved its chances of reaching the quarterfinals of the 2023 IIHF World Championship. Tomorrow, Sunday, is the penultimate group game for national coach Harold Kreis' team. At 15:20 p.m. German time the opponent is Hungary.
With six points from the last two games DEB-Selection has worked its way into the midfield of Group A and is still in a position to reach the quarter-finals on its own. In this respect, the team is focused on the next task, which is tomorrow afternoon against Hungary. This Saturday, the German team is using the day to regenerate and implement the lessons learned from the games against Denmark and Austria for the game against Hungary. Various team meetings were also on the day's agenda. In the early afternoon there was a voluntary ice training session in the Practice Rink of the Nokia Arena. Some national players took advantage of the ice time, while others prepared for Sunday's game with an off-ice workout.
Voices before the game against Hungary on Sunday:
Assistant coach Alexander Sulzer: "It was obviously extremely important for us to get the points in the last two games. We did a lot of things right. We still want to improve a few things in order to play more consistently and keep our chance of winning the last two games. After the back-to-back game yesterday, the day off is extremely important for us today and we will use it well for regeneration and preparation. The Hungarians need every point now, they will be highly motivated and well prepared on the ice. It is important that we are ready from the start to hold our own against them. We want to play our game and be successful with it."
Striker and birthday boy Frederik Tiffels: "The lesson from the last few games is that we can definitely take a step forward in terms of our overall defensive work. We want to concede even fewer goals. Hungary are a very unpleasant opponent. They had very close games at the beginning of the tournament. That's why it's important that we play our game from the start and are fully focused."
Striker Dominik Kahun: "It was not an easy game against Austria. We knew before the match that the Austrians would not make it easy for us. We also said before the Denmark game that we had to do the same as the three games before. We didn't win those games, but we still did a lot of things right. That is our strength, that we do not deviate from our system and always play as a united team. We know that Hungary is also a very unpleasant opponent. We have to be present from the start and ideally try to take the lead straight away."