To start the IIHF World Championship 2026 in Switzerland the Men's national team They suffered a defeat against Finland. In front of 9.516 spectators at the Swiss Life Arena in Zurich, the final score was 1-3 (0-1, 0-0, 1-2). The goal scorer for the DEBStefan Loibl was selected. Philipp Grubauer started in goal for Germany.
The DEBThe German team quickly found their rhythm in the first game of this World Championship. However, in the eighth minute, Maximilian Kastner was sent to the penalty box for tripping. The Finns, who boast 13 NHL players on their roster, capitalized on their first power play to take a 1-0 lead through Anton Lundell (9th minute). After eleven minutes of play, the German power play lines narrowly missed the equalizer with two scoring opportunities. The favorites from Finland then regained control of the game and increased the pressure on the German goal.
Right at the start of the second period, defenseman Moritz Seider acrobatically cleared the puck off the goal line, preventing Finland from scoring their second goal. The ensuing power play for the German team posed little threat to Finnish goaltender Justus Annunen for much of the penalty, who was only called into action twice at the end of the power play. The best chance fell to Dominik Kahun in the 26th minute, who narrowly missed Kastner's pass after a high-sticking penalty from Nikolas Matinpalo. Around the halfway point of the second period, coach Harold Kreis's team had a four-minute power play, but ultimately failed to capitalize. The pace remained high, and no further goals were scored before the second intermission.
After the change of sides, the DEBThe team was again shorthanded, which Jesse Puljujarvi exploited with a free shot at the far post to make it 2-0 (44th minute). Eric Mik had another chance for the first German goal in the 47th minute. This was finally achieved just two minutes later by Loibl with a one-timer (49th minute). Once again shorthanded, Grubauer was able to make several saves with Parato distinguish them. The courageous actions of the DEBA player added further excitement in the final stages. However, the Scandinavians' aggressive forecheck forced a turnover in the German zone, which Aatu Raty capitalized on to make it 3-1 (56th minute). With about four and a half minutes remaining, German coach Kreis pulled the goalie for an extra attacker. The game ended without further celebration, 3-1 for Finland.
Best DEBPhilipp Grubauer was named player.
The second World Cup match in Group A is on the cards for the DEBThe team will play on Sunday evening. Their opponent is Latvia, and the match starts at 20:20 pm.
Statistics for the game #FINGER
https://www.iihf.com/de_ch/events/2026/wm/gamecenter/playbyplay/69588/1-fin-vs-ger
Voices on the game #FiNGER
National coach Harold Kreis“We wanted to get off to a good start in the tournament, and we succeeded today. The team played with commitment and showed great skating ability. We knew we had to play physically, and that's how we quickly found our rhythm. The Finns scored twice on the power play. We had an incredibly difficult time setting up our power play. We'll use this experience for our analysis. Overall, though, we saw a strong team performance, and Philipp Grubauer kept us in the game. Today, the special teams made the difference.”
Striker Stefan Loibl: "That was a fast and close game today. Philipp kept us in the game with some strong saves. In the end, the special teams were decisive. With even numbers on the court, we played well overall. But we just didn't score on the power play. We need to analyze that to do better in the next game."
Goalkeeper Philipp Grubauer: "We needed some time to get into the game in the first period. It was our first game with this lineup. In the final period, we picked up the pace and created scoring opportunities. In the end, the special teams made the difference."