The men's national team lost their final test match of the World Cup preparation. Germany, coached by Harold Kreis, lost to the USA 2-5 (0-1, 1-2, 1-2). In front of 12.909 spectators at the sold-out SAP Arena in Mannheim, Parker Tuomie and Arkadiusz Dziambor, with his first goal of the game, scored the goals. DEB-Jersey. In goal, Philipp Grubauer played the full 90 minutes in his 50th international match, and defender Moritz Seider also declared himself ready to play and moved into the line-up.
The USA had the first good chance just seconds in through Oliver Moore, and the Olympic champions clearly dominated possession in the opening minutes. After that, the German team found their rhythm and Dominik Kahun registered the first shot on goal (7th minute). Then the special teams took center stage. Germany failed to score on the power play, while the Americans capitalized. Ryker Lee scored for his team on the power play in the 14th minute to give them the lead. Grubauer then made some strong saves to prevent Germany from extending their lead. Parathe second goal against. Overall, the USA brought more speed and physicality to the ice in the first period.
In the second section, the DEBThe team was shorthanded and gained momentum as a result. However, Sam Lafferty increased the visitors' lead to 2-0 from the slot in the 24th minute. Germany kept fighting and had a chance to close the gap with a double chance from Parker Tuomie and Stefan Loibl, but goaltender Joseph Woll made some brilliant saves (29th minute). After half an hour, the German team began to exert more pressure, while the Americans continued to pose a threat. Shortly before the second intermission, Germany finally pulled one back: Parker Tuomie gave Devin Cooley, who had taken over in goal for the US in the 33rd minute, no chance on a breakaway (39th minute). However, Alex Steeves restored the two-goal lead shortly afterward (40th minute).
The final third should be the best of the DEBDespite the early setback from Max Plante in the 42nd minute, Germany responded through Arkadiusz Dziambor, who scored his first goal for Germany after a beautiful pass from Marc Michaelis (43rd minute). The German team continued to put pressure on the reigning world champions, pushing for a third goal. Michaelis had the best opportunity by far in the 51st minute, but missed a breakaway against Cooley. Time was running out, and in the final minutes, Germany played with six skaters – unfortunately without success, as Michaelis again hit the post (58th minute). Finally, in the 59th minute, Mathieu Olivier sealed the 5-2 victory with an empty-net goal.
As the best DEBMoritz Seider was honored as a player. Today's game against the USA concludes the men's national team's World Cup preparation phase. The team travels on Monday morning. DEB-Team to Zurich, the World Cup venue for preliminary group A.
Statistics for the game #GERUSA
Reactions to the game #GERUSA
National coach Harold Kreis"You always learn something from such high-caliber games. Against a young, fast US team, we saw that we have to choose the right moment to play aggressive forechecking. The team repeatedly tried to fight their way into the game today. That's a good sign. Since phase one of the preseason, we've improved steadily and grown together as a team. Now we're making the final roster decisions, which won't be easy for us."
Continued on page 2
Captain Moritz Seider"This game had been on my calendar for a long time. It meant a lot to me to be able to play here. If we play our game, clear the puck, and go into the forecheck, we're a very unpleasant team to play against. The third period was by far our best. We showed what we're capable of. Small mistakes are punished immediately, and we have to eliminate that. But you could see that we can also trouble a top opponent. That makes me look forward to what I hope will be a long World Championship."
Assistant captain Marc Michaelis"Our final period was very strong. The chances we gave away were our own fault. If we can eliminate those, things will look very good. Team USA doesn't need space; they are very quick and punish mistakes. But for long stretches, we played very well today. Now we are looking forward to the World Championship in Switzerland."