In their second game of the Olympic ice hockey tournament in Milan, the German women's ice hockey team celebrated their first victory against Japan. The team, coached by Jeff MacLeod, won 5-2 (3-0, 2-2, 0-0). In front of 3.777 spectators at the Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena, Daria Gleißner, Emily Nix, Nicola Hadraschek-Eisenschmid (2), and Laura Kluge scored the goals. Sandra Abstreiter started in goal, with Lisa Hemmerle as her backup.
The German team got off to a perfect start. Just 44 seconds had elapsed when captain Gleißner scored to give Germany a 1-0 lead (1st minute). In the fourth minute, Japan had their first dangerous chance to equalize through Riri Noro, but her shot flew just wide of the German net. In the ninth minute, Emily Nix increased the lead to 2-0 with a backhand shot. Shortly afterward, Germany had their first power play, which they failed to convert. With the German defense back to five players, Hadraschek-Eisenschmid scored from close range to make it 3-0 at the intermission (14th minute).
Team Japan changed goaltenders for the second period. In the 24th minute, Riko Kawaguchi initially stopped a slap shot from Hadraschek-Eisenschmid, but the puck slipped behind her into the Japanese net for a 4-0 lead. On the other end, Abstreiter made several excellent saves, thwarting a number of Japanese scoring opportunities. During a German counterattack, Celina Haider won a battle against the Japanese defender and passed to Kluge, who fired the puck under the crossbar to make it 5-0 (31st minute). With the first penalty against Germany, Japan capitalized on their power play to score their first goal: Mei Miura deflected a shot from the blue line past the German goalie (37th minute). Just 22 seconds later, Yumeka Wajima narrowed the gap to 5-2 at even strength (38th minute).
After the change of ends, the German team initially played shorthanded and had to contain the pressure from the Japanese team even after the penalty expired. During this period, the Germans struggled to create scoring opportunities. Japan had the best chances, but Abstreiter made all the saves. The German women, coached by Jeff MacLeod, also defended another penalty kill effectively and didn't concede any further goals. The final period remained scoreless, and the game ended with Germany's first victory.
The women's ice hockey team's next opponent is the team from France. The game will take place on Monday, February 9, 2026, at 16:40 p.m. in the Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena.
Statistics for the game #GERJPN
Official IIHF statistics: Game Stats #GERJPN
Visit the official website of the 2026 Winter Olympics: Website MilanoCortina2026
Voices on the game #GERJPN
National coach Jeff MacLeod: "We put on a fantastic performance today against a tough opponent. Our players applied pressure from the start and were rewarded early for their good play. I was particularly pleased with the confidence they displayed from the beginning. We had a good feeling before the match and didn't let the opening defeat affect us. Many players performed exceptionally well today; overall, it was a great team effort. We want to build on this great performance in the upcoming matches, and then we can also be successful against France and Italy."
Striker Laura Kluge: "After the opening defeat, it was important for us to start the game with a lot of energy and impose our style of play on the Japanese team. We succeeded very well in doing that today. Our early goal helped us to take the momentum in our favor. We found our flow today, which is very important for the rest of the tournament. We can take many positives from today's game, but at the same time, there are of course things we need to work on to be successful against our upcoming opponents. We can look forward to what this tournament still has in store!"