The German women's national team lost the quarterfinal match at the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship. DEBThe women's national team lost 0-3 (0-2, 0-1, 0-0) to the highly favored US team in front of 2.958 spectators at the Budvar Arena. Thus, the team of women's national coach Jeff MacLeod finished the tournament in eighth place.
The USA lived up to its role as favorites from the start, DEBThe women's team, however, fought back. Sandra Abstreiter was able to react strongly with her pad against Abbey Murphy in the 2nd minute, and then Kelly Pannek converted a direct shot from close range to take the lead (6'). The Americans continued to play offensively and put the German team under pressure early on. Lacey Eden made it 11-2 with a wrist shot in the 0th minute. Abstreiter then thwarted several more good opportunities. Towards the end of the period, Germany got some traction on offense: a shot from Luisa Welcke went just wide, and a short time later Emily Nix had a nice solo effort to tie the game (19').
In the second half, Germany kept up even better, both physically and in terms of running. The USA didn't get into dangerous areas as often, although top star Hilary Knight missed at the far post in the 22nd minute. And the US captain was back in action after half an hour, hitting the post. Then Abstreiter once again took center stage, making a brilliant save from the unmarked Cayla Barnes (31st minute). DEBThe women's team, however, managed to keep the game close with a lot of running. Captain Daria Gleissner, who was playing her 250th international match today, tested US goalkeeper Aerin Frankel from the blue line. It was all the more frustrating when Ronja Hark deflected a pass from Alex Carpenter into her own net shortly before the second siren (39').
The final period began with a good shot opportunity for Luisa Welcke (42nd minute), and Germany continued to work very concentrated in defense. And there was more space on the ice going forward: Laura Kluge finished off a quick attack in the 47th minute, but Frankel was able to Fanghand on the spot. The DEBThe women's team disrupted the Americans early in the neutral zone, desperate to score first. And in the 52nd minute, it was more than just in the air. Laura Kluge was denied a shot at the last moment during a 3-on-1 counterattack by the German team. The team of women's national coach Jeff MacLeod tried everything again, but unfortunately without success.
Excellent DEBEmily Nix was named Player of the Game. The three best players of the DEBThe teams at this World Championship were Sandra Abstreiter, Lilli Welcke and Katarina Jobst-Smith.
Voices about the game
Women's national coach Jeff MacLeod: "We are happy with the tournament. It is important for us to play well and to give our players a lot to take with them. They have made very good steps and achieved goals during the long season. That is why I am very proud of the team. Deutschland Cup Success and qualifying for the Olympics were certainly the highlights of the season, but we're also pleased with the result of this World Cup. In the end, it's always difficult to lose, like today. The pressure was there from the start – as we expected from the top nation, the USA, but we handled it well and played a great game. We're building on that and are already looking forward to taking the next steps with the team next season."
DEB-Sports director Christian Künast: "After a difficult start against Sweden, our team worked hard into the tournament and ultimately achieved our most important goal by reaching the quarter-finals again. In the end, it wasn't enough against one of the big title favorites, but we still played a decent game and gave the USA a good fight. We would therefore like to thank all of the national players and the team staff of national coach Jeff MacLeod for their exemplary commitment over the past weeks and at the same time congratulate our captain Daria Gleißner on 250 international matches in DEBJersey. This year's World Cup tournament has shown that international women's ice hockey is constantly evolving, and many nations are intensifying their efforts to catch up with the top teams. This is an incentive and motivation for us to analyze the World Cup tournament over the next few days and continue to work intensively on ourselves and the development of women's ice hockey in Germany."
Captain Daria Gleißner: "The development of German women's ice hockey is steadily progressing, as we demonstrated again with our team performance today. The work of the last few years has paid off! Every player fought hard today and gave their all. Of course, the World Cup had its ups and downs, and we didn't get off to the ideal start. But thanks to our team spirit and shared effort, we advanced to the quarterfinals for the third time in a row. We can be proud of that!"
Goalie Sandra Abstreiter: "A 0-3 loss against the USA was unimaginable many years ago. For some periods today, we even had plays in the offensive third. We made it difficult for the Americans today. There were a few situations where they had to take an icing shot. Of course, there were a lot of shots on my goal again today, but I know the team is counting on me, and I hope I was able to return the favor. We're happy with the tournament result, even though we were once again close to advancing."
The game plan DEB-Selection:
09.04.2025 | 11:00 | Sweden – Germany 5:2 (0:1, 1:1, 1:3)
April 12.04.2025, 15 | 00:2 PM | Norway – Germany 5:1 (2:1, 2:0, 1:XNUMX)
April 14.04.2025, 11 | 00:4 AM | Germany – Hungary 1:0 (0:1, 1:3, 0:XNUMX)
April 15.04.2025, 15 | 00:0 PM | Germany – Japan 1:0 (0:0, 1:0, 0:XNUMX)
April 17.04.2025, 13 | 30:3 PM | USA – Germany 0:2 (0:1, 0:0, 0:XNUMX)