The German men's national team qualified for the semi-finals of the 2023 Ice Hockey World Cup with an outstanding team performance against Switzerland. In the end there was a deserved 3:1 on the scoreboard.
The lineup was unchanged from the last group game. Mathias Niederberger was back in the game DEB-Goal. The player of the afternoon was Maximilian Kastner, who scored the first goal. The other goalscorers for Germany were JJ Peterka and Nico Sturm.
The initial pressure from the Swiss was enormous. The German team had little room to act. After a few minutes, however, the national team got into the game and worked out its first shots. When a long pass from their own zone DEBStriker Maximilian Kastner reached and shot uncompromisingly at the goal. Robert Mayer, who was preferred in the Swiss goal today, slipped the disc under his arm and rolled into the goal in slow motion (7th). As a result, an open exchange of blows developed in which both teams had opportunities. In the twelfth minute there was the first power play for the DEB-Team. However, the Swiss left little chance.
After the first break, it only took 47 seconds for the Swiss to equalize. Jonas Siegenthaler was able to overcome Mathias Niederberger from close range. Kevin Fiala had previously broken Moritz Seider's racket with a stick. As a result of the equalizer, the game became tougher. After a high stick that injured Maximilian Kastner's face, Andres Ambühl had to go to the penalty box for 2+2 minutes. The penalty killing by the Swiss left the DEB-Team little chance. Kai Wissmann had the best shot from the blue line, which goalkeeper Mayer was able to parry with his shoulder. In the 32nd minute, Moritz Seider received a game misconduct penalty after a board check. When they were outnumbered for five minutes, Das defended DEB-Team with a solid team strength and prevented another goal. In the 38th minute, JJ Peterka took advantage of a pass from Dominik Kahun for Germany's second goal of the afternoon. When Maksymilian Szuber took a seat in the penalty box shortly before half-time, Wojciech Stachowiak initiated a two-on-one counterattack and played the puck precisely to Nico Sturm, who increased the score to 3-1 (39').
In the final section, the Swiss threw everything forward again. But thanks to excellent defensive work in which the German team allowed few shots on goal, national coach Harold Kreis's team defended their lead. Wojciech Stachowiak had the best chance of scoring the decisive goal in the 52nd minute when he shot centimeters past the empty goal. Three minutes before the end, Swiss goalie Mayer left his workplace. With one more man, the Swiss then hit the crossbar. In the end, the German men's national team won 3-1 and deservedly reached the semi-finals of this Ice Hockey World Cup.
The semi-final will take place on Saturday in Tampere.