Germany worries about goalie – and the quarter -finals

Is the “final” ahead?

Germany worries about goalie – and the quarter -finals

The next top nation is already waiting for Germany’s ice hockey player. After that, there can be a final around the quarter -finals.

The minimum goal is in danger. Germany trembles at the Ice Hockey Championship to move into the quarter-finals. The 3: 6 against the United States has not improved the German table situation in Group B, there is a risk of a crime thriller in the fight for the knockout. NHL defender Moritz Seider demanded: “Two games, six points. That must be our way of thinking.”

Because co-host Denmark also increases the pressure on the German selection, heads for a final for the quarterfinal participation. The home team in the preliminary round group B in Herning defeated Norway 6: 3 on Saturday evening and equated with nine points with the fourth place in the table.

The team of national coach Harold Kreis will first meet World Championship Czech Republic on Monday (from 4.20 p.m. in the T-Online Live Tickier), before making the decision for the last ticket for the K.O. round in the last preliminary round game on Tuesday. At the 2018 World Cup, the selection of the German Ice Hockey Association (DEB) missed the quarter-finals for the last time.

Apart from the qualification of the best eight, Germany is worried about Philipp Grubauer. The national goalkeeper in the USA duel in the final third has been replaced and reacted to again within six minutes. The professional of the Seattle Kraken drove from the ice at 3: 3 in the 42nd minute and had himself treated in the cabin.

A little later, Grubauer returned (48th minute) and ended the game. When asked about the reason for the double change, the 33-year-old only replied that it had nothing to do with the equipment, but “with the body”. After the game in the Jyske Bank boxing in Herning, Deb sports director Christian Künast confirmed that Grubauer “suffered an injury” and had suspected a break.

However, he could not be X -rayed immediately and returned on the ice. “An ice hockey player says: Maybe it works again,” said Künast. A Grubauer’s failure would not be the first to deal with the Deb cracks. Because Lukas Reichel injured his shoulder in the duel with Norway (5: 2) and has already left.

National coach Kreis reacted to the failure, brought Marcel Noebels back to the team from the Berlin Eisbären. “Marcel immediately responded to our request and agreed to join the team,” said sports director Christian Künast after the 3: 6 against the USA. Already on Sunday, the 33-year-old should be on the ice with the team for the first time.

Noebels initially stood in the provisional World Cup squad and, according to NHL star Tim Stützle (Ottawa Senators), had to go home from the Danish Herning prematurely. In 2021 he converted the decisive penalty in the World Cup quarter-finals against Switzerland and shot Germany into the semi-finals.