In goal, Philipp Grubauer his second appearance at the current World Cup, also NHL striker Tim Support was included in the squad as expected. In addition, defender Jonas Müller breast 100th international match for the German national team.
From the very first minutes, it became clear that this match would be no walk in the park. The Norwegians played a very physical game from the start, leaving the German team little room. In the fifth minute Marc Michaelis was then able to shoot freely from the blue line, Tim Support falsified and Age Ehliz used the rebound to 1:0 leadShortly before the end of the third period, Joshua Samansky to the penalty box. In the following power play of the Norwegians, Fabio Wagner initiated a counterattack Ehliz one, the Marc Michaelis 2:0 finished outnumbered (17.). The first break was brought forward shortly after a large piece of ice broke off.
After the early break, the Norwegians were able to score in their second power play a few seconds before the actual end of the period through Andreas Martinsen on 2:1 shorten (20.)After the break and the immediate restart of the match, the Norwegians had the chance to equalise with a shot that hit the post. When the momentum seemed to change sides, it was Wojciech Stachowiak with his second Tournament goal, the the restored the old lead (25th). Joshua Samansky increased just two minutes later to 4:1 (27th)Two German power plays failed to score in this period.
The final third remained without any notable opportunities for a long time. The Norwegians then took advantage of the lack of coordination in the German back line and reduced the deficit through Jacob Berglund on 4:2 (48th). Grubauer Shortly afterwards, he prevented a third goal for Norway with a strong save, which now gave Norway the upper hand. However, the national team survived this phase and was able to score in the final second through Tiffels the decisive one Empty-net goal 5:2 success achieve.
Official statistics page on IIHF.com.
Voices about the game:
National coach Harold Kreis: "The boys had a tough game today, but they handled it very well, just like the other two games. We had to adjust the lineups during the game and we had to Mik into the offensive. That worked well, and the team rose to the challenge very well today. Those were three more important points for us."
Striker Marc Michaelis: "That was one of the toughest games I've played at a World Cup so far. We scored the goals at the right time. It's good that we haven't stumbled so far in the tournament and have done our job. We have to play our best hockey in the next few games."
Defender Jonas Müller: "We noticed from the beginning that the Norwegians were coming hard. With the goal, we got into the game better. In the second period, we many turnovers and then Norway took advantage of their toughness. We had a strong support in goal, who also taken out has."