In front of a sold-out crowd in the Fanatec Arena in Landshut celebrated DEB-Selection at Deutschland Cup In 2023 a 5:3 win (0:1, 1:1, 4:1) against Austria. Goal scorers for the DEB-The selection was Marc Michaelis, Filip Varjecka, Yasin Ehliz and Daniel Pfaffengut.
There were the expected changes to the squad for the local clash: Leon Hungerecker made his debut for the senior national team in goal, while striker Yasin Ehliz took over the captaincy role for Tobias Rieder, who, as agreed in advance, only played on Thursday. There was also rotation in the offensive, so that the attacking lines had changed compared to Denmark.
The German national team started this derby well and kept the Austrian defense busy for a long time. The guests could only gain some breathing room through counterattacks. In the 5th minute, Tim Brunnhuber stopped one of the Austrians' counterattacks by tripping him and then had to go to the penalty box for two minutes. The guests had good chances in the power play. The shot on the post in the 6th minute was the most dangerous action. In the 10th minute, a build-up pass failed, which the Austrians immediately used to counterattack. Benjamin Baumgartner scored from a tight angle over Leon Hungerecker's shoulder to take the lead. On the other side, Luis Schinko equalized in the 15th minute. Marc Michaelis put the puck backwards, but goalie Florian Vorauer saved Schinko's shot.
As at the beginning of the first third, the German national team was the dominant team in the second period, but initially failed to score any compelling goals. After five minutes, Lukas Kälble turned and brought the puck towards the goal, but goalkeeper Vorauer only managed to get hold of it after a second attempt. The tight man-to-man coverage of the Austrians increasingly slowed down the German offensive game. During this phase, Benjamin Baumgartner scored the second goal for the red-and-whites (28th minute). The Austrians continued to defend closely, mostly two against one German player. In the 32nd minute, Yasin Ehliz managed to break free and play a perfect pass to Marc Michaelis. Michaelis fired the puck into the goal with a one-timer to make it 1:2. Shortly before the break, Tobias Fohrler received a penalty for holding. Leon Hungerecker saved right at the start of the penalty killing, so that the score was 1:2 at halftime.
In the 44th minute, Luis Schinko drove the disc behind the goal and fed Marc Michaelis with a pass in the slot. His direct shot was untenable for Vorauer and Michaelis scored his second goal. Just 43 seconds later, the 4.200 cheered Fans again: Filip Varjecka scored for a 3-2 lead after a pass from Daniel Pfaffengut, who won the puck in the corner in a duel. That had that DEB-Team turned the game around within a very short time. Captain Yasin Ehliz made it 47-4 with a solo effort in the 2th minute. The Austrians' follow-up goal from Benjamin Baumgartner, who was left completely alone in the power play and completed his hat trick, had no further consequences. Daniel Pfaffengut scored his first international goal three seconds before the final siren when the goalkeeper had already moved.
Harald Kreis' team managed a comeback in the derby and even extended their lead. Marc Michaelis was the player of the evening.
Tomorrow is the final day of the game Deutschland Cup 2023 on the program. Denmark and Austria will meet at 11 a.m., and in the early afternoon (game starts at 14:30 p.m.) Germany will play against Slovakia for tournament victory.
Tickets for Sunday's game are still available online at DEB-Ticket shop or from 60 minutes before the start of the game in the office EV Landshut an der Fanatec Arena.