In the game against Hungary, it was about everything or nothing in Bremerhaven on Sunday in Bremerhaven. But the 2-1 win is the 2026 DEB team at the Winter Games in Milan.
What a gripping evening in the Eisarena Bremerhaven: the 2,511 ice hockey fans had fully got their money’s worth for almost two hours, because the decisive game between Germany and Hungary became a real thriller.
This game was exciting, intense and very competitive, in which both teams were concerned with everything or nothing. Only the winners would qualify for the 2026 Olympic Games, the pressure could hardly be greater.
Fast guidance, quick balance
But for the Deb women, this crime thriller ended with a happy ending. The team of coach Jeff Macleod confidently won the first two games of the four -tied tournament, but that evening the Hungarians made life much more difficult for them.
It was only after 28 minutes that the German players released the tension when Lilli Welcke first turned the goal and then found the minimal gap for her 1-0 goal. But barely 70 seconds later followed the ice -cold shower, because Mira Seregely had balanced the Hungarians in the 29th minute. Both goals had been outnumbered.
Open exchange of blows until the end
Until the final minute, the game between the Germans and the Hungarians was a gripping, open fight.
Everything was now open again and noticeable to the German team of frustration after the neck strike. But they continued to fight the Hungarians, who became more and more confident after the equalization. There was an open exchange of blows and the most high -class game of the tournament.
Whipped by the fans in the ranks, the Deb players found their line and the gap to the goal again in the decisive third. In the 44th minute, Luisa Welcke redeemed her teammates and kept hope for the Olympic dream alive.
Gate or no gate for Hungary?
And this time the German team no longer allowed the Hungarians’ response – actually. Because there were only two seconds until the final siren and suddenly the puck fidgeted in the network of Sandra Abtriter. The German players were in their arms because they assumed that the game was already over – the Hungarians cheered the supposed goal. Who was right now? The referees did not decide on a goal, to be happy in the ice arena.
Nevertheless, there was a slight confusion at first and it was discussed, but the decision remained. The Germans won 2: 1, by no means undeserved. And so the ice hockey women are back at winter games for the first time after twelve years.
More about ice hockey:
This topic in the program:
Bremen Eins, News, February 9, 2025, 9 p.m.
