The German U20 national team lost on Monday in the final preliminary round match at the IIHF U20 World Championship in Ottawa (Canada) against Latvia with 3:4 after extra time (1:0, 1:1, 1:2, 0:1). Linus Vieillard returned to goal as starting goalie, Nico Pertuch was his backup. There were no other changes in the line-up compared to yesterday's match against host Canada. After the conclusion of the preliminary round, it is clear that the DEBselection will compete in the relegation next Thursday despite winning a point today.
The team of U20 national coach Tobias Abstreiter got off to the perfect start. After just 19 seconds, Simon Seidl scored with a direct shot after winning a face-off to make it 1-0 (1st minute). The German team then gained further advantages. The Latvians only started to launch their own offensive moves halfway through the first period and thus continually increased the pressure. But the spectators were denied another goal in the first third.
The second third was also characterised by tactics on both sides that were designed without taking any major risks. Both teams played disciplined and allowed few high-quality scoring opportunities. Only with one more man did DEBCaptain Edwin Tropmann scored the 2-0 in the power play (29th minute). The cheers of the German Fans had not yet died down when Eriks Mateiko reduced the deficit to 2:1 (30th minute). In the power play shortly before the second break, the Latvians were close to equalizing, but the German back line defended the lead.
After the second break, the DEBteam applied more pressure and had more possession than Latvia. However, the German players were unable to score a third goal. Instead, Bruno Osmanis equalized for the Latvians, who withstood the German initial pressure, in the 47th minute. A power play shortly before the end gave the German team new hope of another lead, but they lacked the necessary luck. After a time-out, U20 national coach Abstreiter brought goalie Vieillard on for the sixth field player. Olivers Murnieks scored into the empty net for Latvia to make it 3:2 (58th). David Lewandowski brought the German U20s back into the game with his slap shot in the same power play (58th). A wild final phase with further close attempts ended goalless, so the game went into overtime. Here Eriks Mateiko scored the winning goal for Latvia.
Voices about the game
U20 national coach Tobias Abstreiter: "The disappointment is now, of course, very great. We started the game well and had a two-goal lead. Then we wanted to continue to be active and avoid just passively managing the result. Unfortunately, we did not succeed. Today we did not manage to deliver the same performance for the entire game. Nevertheless, we must now look ahead and prepare intensively for the next opponent. The boys have a positive and great character, they will give everything in the last game so that we can avoid relegation."
attacker Simon Seidl: "We played a solid game, but then conceded an unfortunate goal. In the end, we couldn't hold on to the win, which is very frustrating. But we can't spend too much time being disappointed about being eliminated, we have to concentrate on our upcoming opponents. We want to do everything we can to win the relegation match in order to remain in the top division."
Full Statistics for the game there is on the IIHF tournament website.
The tournament continues for the DEBselection next Thursday, January 2, 2025 in the relegation round. The game starts at 17 p.m. German time (11 a.m. local time in Canada). The opponent in the relegation round has not yet been determined.
The game on Thursday will in any case be broadcast live and free of charge at MagentaSport transferred. Then it is "fingers crossed" for the German team.
The game plan DEB-Selection at the U20 World Championship in Ottawa (Canada):
December 26.12.2024, 20 | 30:XNUMX p.m. (German time) | USA – Germany 10:4 (2:0, 4:2, 4:2)
27.12.2024 | 21:30 (German time) | Germany – Finland 1:3 (0:1, 1:1, 0:1)
30.12.2024 | 01:30 am (German time) | Canada – Germany 3:0 (1:0, 0:0, 2:0)
30.12.2024 | 21:30 (German time) | Germany – Latvia 3:4 aet (1:0, 1:1, 1:2, 0:1)