The German U18 men's national team entered the U18 World Championship Div. on Sunday afternoon. IA started. In the opening game of the tournament in Frederikshavn, Denmark, the team of U18 national coach André Rankel won 3-2 against Austria. The German goals were scored by Tobias Schwarz, David Lewandowski and Lenny Boos. Best DEBThe player was Dustin Willhöft.
The start of the game was unsuccessful from the German perspective: with the first shot on goal by Lennart Neiße, the Austrians took the lead after 27 seconds through Gregor Biber. After the initial shock, this came DEB-Team get into the game better and get their first chances. But Mika Haim didn't allow any goals in the Austrian goal. The first penalty of the game against DEB-Defender Max Hense had no consequences. And so we went into the first break without any further goals. The DEBteam had more of the game after conceding an early goal. This was also proven by the shooting statistics at 14:7.
Nevertheless, the Austrians scored the next goal: They scored another early goal right at the start of the second period. Paul Reiner took advantage of a bad pass DEB-Setup and made it 2-0 for Austria (22nd minute). In the 27th minute, Team Germany had its second power play, which Tobias Schwarz was able to use with a direct shot after an assist from Nick Maul and Dustin Willhöft to make it 2-1 (28th). The two penalty periods that followed in quick succession for both teams resulted in no further goals. Just a few seconds before the break, Austria had to send another player to the icebox.
The third section began for the DEBteam with a power play. And that took advantage DEB-U18 for their second goal in the majority: David Lewandowski deflected Elias Pul's shot to equalize 2-2 (42nd). Just 48 seconds later, Lenny Boos turned the game to 3-2 from the German perspective with a Sunday shot (43'). An open exchange of blows developed with good chances on both sides. The Goalies but didn't allow any further hits. A minute and a half before the end, the Austrians pulled their goalkeeper for a sixth field player, but their final spurt came too late. Germany wins the start of the U18 World Cup.
U18 honorary national coach André Rankel: "We decided that we wanted to play our game for 60 minutes and that's what we did today. We had a difficult start to the game and conceded an early goal, but the team continued to play undeterred. Austria was a strong opponent and we knew from the start that it would be a close game. I'm really proud of the boys because they implemented our instructions throughout the entire game, which ultimately led to the win."
Striker Dustin Willhöft: "It was great to win against Austria, especially because we lost against them in our friendly match on Friday. At the beginning of the game we weren't aggressive enough and it cost us a lot of energy to win the puck back. This 3-2 win today is great for the team and being named the best German player is a little bonus for me."
For the DEB-U18 selection continues at the Ice Hockey U18 World Championship against Hungary on Monday at 13 p.m.
