Excitement before the World Cup game of the German national ice hockey team against Denmark: Half an hour before the start of the game, the 8,200-seat hall “Helsingin Jäähalli” was completely cleared after a fire alarm.
The players of both teams also had to leave the catacombs. It smelled burnt in front of the arena in Helsinki, and the fire brigade arrived. The first face-off of the preliminary round match was scheduled for 3:20 p.m.
The world association IIHF confirmed the fire, “everyone is safe”, there are “no injuries”. Meanwhile, the German players waited in full gear and some in skates in front of the hall for more information. The IIHF wrote that it is “evaluating” the situation and will inform “as soon as possible”.
After an hour, the German team was allowed back into the locker room in the adjacent training hall. Christian Künast, sports director of the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB), reported on “Sport1” about a “relaxed atmosphere” and “very good mood”.
However, the players were on their way to warm up before the evacuation, “everyone was already loaded. Now they have to go back up, otherwise the risk of injury is too great,” said Künast. The new start of the game is now 5 p.m.!