To start the IIHF U18 World Championship 2026 In Slovakia (Trenčín and Bratislava), the team from U18 national coach Andreas Becherer Today's match is against Sweden. In front of nearly 1.000 spectators, the DEBThe German national team suffered a 2-7 defeat against the favored Swedes at the Vladimir Dzurilla Ice Arena in Bratislava. Nikita Bloch and Tobias Krestan scored for the German team.
The German Young Talent selection will meet the team from Denmark tomorrow, Thursday, April 23, 2026, at 12:00 pm.
The Swedes started the game at a blistering pace and created several scoring opportunities in the opening minutes. Bosse Meijer was particularly noticeable. However, the German team also had a good chance early on through Tobias Krestan. Shortly after (in the 4th minute), Liron-Alec Pellizzari was sent to a two-minute penalty for slashing. The Swedish power play remained scoreless – on the contrary, Jakub Kottner had the best scoring chance so far for the German team. DEBTeam Sweden continued to apply pressure, but German goaltender Niclas Wolter shone with some outstanding saves. In the tenth minute, the breakthrough finally came: Sweden took a 1-0 lead through Mikael Kim. A tripping penalty against the scorer shortly afterward gave Germany their first power play. Tobias Krestan again had a great scoring opportunity, but the puck just wouldn't go in. With a few minutes remaining in the period, Sweden seemingly extended their lead to 2-0, but after a successful coaches' challenge by the German team, the officials ruled it offside – so Sweden went into the first intermission with a narrow 1-0 lead.
Less than a minute into the second period, the German team found themselves shorthanded – Daniel Kettler was sent to the penalty box for two minutes. Sweden, however, failed to capitalize on the power play. In the 24th and 25th minutes, the Swedes scored twice in quick succession to make it 3-0, with goals from Hampus Zirath and Adam Nomme. In the 29th minute, Germany had their second power play – Ludvig Andersson was sent to the penalty box for two minutes for hooking. They even had a 5-on-3 power play for twelve seconds – but it was Sweden who scored. Bosse Meijer increased the lead to 4-0. In the 34th minute, Nils Bartholdsson made it 5-0. Shortly after, there was a change in the German goaltender position – Bastian Bauer replaced Niclas Wolter. DEBThe team fought for their first tournament goal in the third and fourth power plays – but the score remained unchanged.
In the final period, Germany had the first scoring chance through Nikita Bloch. Leon Lell also created a dangerous opportunity in front of the Swedish net shortly afterward. But despite Germany's strong start, it was the Scandinavians who scored again in the 45th minute through Wiggo Sorensson. To make matters worse, Maximilian Strauß was sent to the penalty box for high-sticking – the score remained 6-0 for Sweden. The next goal for the Swedes came in the 49th minute when Hjalmar Cilthe found the net. Germany's next power play resulted in their first goal of the World Championship: Nikita Bloch scored in the 51st minute to make it 1-7. Two more great chances for the DEBThe German teams failed to score. But then the puck found its way into the Swedish net again – Tobias Krestan scored Germany's second goal in the 54th minute. Another Swedish power play remained scoreless – the game ended 7-2 in favor of Sweden.
Tobias Krestan was honored as the best German player.
Official statistics: IIHF U18 World Championship Gerswe
Reactions to the game #GERSWE
U18 national coach Andreas Becherer"First of all, it's important to note that we faced a very strong opponent in Sweden today. For long stretches, especially in the first period, the team implemented many things exactly as we've been working on them in recent days. However, certain phases where we were too careless with the puck set us back significantly. These brief moments led to us conceding several goals within a few minutes. On the positive side, the team showed resilience in the final period: they didn't give up and scored two more goals. This is something we can build on, especially with tomorrow's game against Denmark in mind."
Defender Aurelius Pizka“I think we got off to a good start and played particularly well in the first ten minutes and throughout the first period. After that, we lost a bit of focus, and against a strong opponent like Sweden, that gets punished immediately. Nevertheless, we can take some positives from this game because we showed what we're capable of in several phases – especially towards the end. For tomorrow's game against Denmark, it will be important that we perform as a cohesive team, play simply, and avoid unnecessary risks.”