Yesterday, Tuesday afternoon, the men's national team of the Deutscher Eishockey-Bund e. V (DEB) arrived in Ostrava as planned and initially set up in the team hotel. The first thing on the agenda this Wednesday morning was the obligatory photo shoot at the start of the tournament. At 10 a.m. the national team took to the ice in the Ostrava Arena for the first time to prepare for the World Cup opener on Friday against Slovakia in their first ice session. The game starts at 16:20 p.m. There is another team meeting on the agenda this afternoon, before the next ice training in Ostrava on Thursday morning.
National coach Harold Kreis: “We have a very good first impression of Ostrava and everything is excellently organized and prepared. We feel very comfortable here. Actually, no ice was planned for us today, but we asked the organizers for it because we didn't want to be without ice training for two days in order to practice a few important little things and of course to get a feel for the stadium.
Defender Jonas Müller: “We are very satisfied here in Ostrava. The hotel is good, our cabin is spacious and we also found the best conditions. The anticipation is definitely great and we are looking forward to the first game. Nevertheless, it's also good that we still have a few training sessions together and can prepare together before we really get started. We have a tough opponent in Slovakia at the start of the World Cup and we have to be ready straight away.”
Striker John-Jason Peterka: “We arrived in Ostrava relaxed by bus yesterday. We had a good ice session together today. I already know the conditions here from the U20 World Cup, it feels good and it's nice to be here again. We want to prepare optimally for the World Cup, which is why we completed extra training today so that we can start the tournament as best prepared as possible.”
Lukas Reichel will join the team on Friday
The national team is receiving another addition to the squad: NHL striker Lukas Reichel is expected in Ostrava this Friday. The 21-year-old played 65 games for the Chicago Blackhawks last season and scored 16 points (five goals, eleven assists). He also played ten games for the Rockford IceHogs in the AHL main round (one goal, seven assists), and in the AHL playoffs he contributed two goals and two assists in four games.
The World Cup schedule of the national ice hockey team
May 10.05.2024, 16 | 20:XNUMX | Slovakia – Germany
May 11.05.2024, 20 | 20:XNUMX | UNITED STATES - Germany
13.05.2024/20/20 | XNUMX:XNUMX | Germany - Sweden
15.05.2024/16/20 | XNUMX:XNUMX | Germany – Latvia
17.05.2024/16/20 | XNUMX:XNUMX | Germany – Kazakhstan
18.05.2024/16/20 | XNUMX:XNUMX | Germany - Poland
May 21.05.2024, 12 | 20:XNUMX | France - Germany
For the World Cup schedule on the IIHF website: https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2024/wm/schedule
The national team's World Cup games will be broadcast live on MagentaSport, ProSieben and Sportdeutschland.tv.