On Saturday evening, the team coached by Andreas Becherer of the German U18 national team faced Sweden's Young Talent selection in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup for seventh place. The game started at 22 p.m. German time in the Downtown Community Arena in Edmonton.
The Swedes got off to a better start and took an early 2-0 lead (1st/5th minute). In the 13th minute, Jonas Schwarz scored to make it 2-1 for the German team. The score remained 2-1 at the first intermission.
In the second half of the game, the DEBThe Swedish team gradually improved their play and were rewarded in the 30th minute with the equalizer. Pepe Kretzschmar was the one who put the puck in the Swedish net to make it 2-2.
However, in the final period, the Swedes regained the lead in the 43rd minute. Shortly before the end of the game, the Scandinavians increased their lead to 4-2, which also proved to be the final score.
U18 national coach Andreas Becherer"It was a hard-fought game for long stretches, in which we were evenly matched with the Swedes for a considerable amount of time. We created some good scoring opportunities. Unfortunately, we failed to capitalize on them and score the necessary goals. At the start of the final period, the Swedes significantly increased the pressure. During this phase, we conceded two more goals, which ultimately proved decisive. From our perspective, more would have been possible in this game."
Statistics for the game: https://tinyurl.com/mrybte5x
This means the German U18 national team finishes the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in eighth place.