On Thursday, the German ice hockey team at the World Cup is all about reaching the minimum goal. A win is needed against Denmark. Otherwise the knockout round is passé.
After a day off with a visit to the sauna and a barbecue, the German national team started preparing for the important preliminary round match against Denmark at the World Cup in Finland and Latvia. At 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, the next training session for the selection of the German Ice Hockey Federation in Tampere was on the agenda.
Opponent Denmark is the big competitor
For the German team, Thursday is nothing less than a “do-or-die-match”: after three defeats at the start of the tournament against Denmark, a win is needed. Otherwise, the Scandinavians can no longer be pushed out of fourth place in the group, which the German team really wanted to achieve. Because only the first four of the two preliminary round groups then contest the quarter-final games.
Germany not only has to win against the Danes, but also the remaining games against Austria (Friday), Hungary (Sunday) and France (Tuesday) to make it into the quarter-finals.
Three unfortunate defeats
The team of national coach Harold Kreis had unfortunately lost the first three games against the favorites Sweden (0:1), Finland (3:4) and the USA (2:3). “The team is so stable and solid that we don’t talk about pressure, but simply about a challenge”said Kreis on the current situation after the opening defeats: “We’re looking forward to Denmark now.”
The tasks in training were clear: the offensive game must be improved – there must also be more traffic in front of the opposing goal. “We might have to force it a little bit more, want a little bit more dirty”said Captain Moritz Müller.
Draisaitl will not come
NHL star Leon Draisaitl can’t help with that. The Edmonton Oilers forward canceled his late arrival in Tampere. Draisaitl could not have been with the team before the weekend. Talks between the German star and those responsible for DEB had taken place, but obviously did not lead to the desired goal.
“Disappointment is a bad word”replied Frederik Tiffels, the best friend of the exceptional striker, when asked about the reaction to the cancellation from Canada, “We respect the decision.” In the morning, the players found out from sports director Christian Künast that Draisaitl would not be coming. Mainly due to time constraints: “We came to the decision together that it was too close.”
Grubauer’s journey is also shaky
The same applies to NHL goalkeeper Philipp Grubauer after leaving Seattle. Künast announced an early decision. Should the DEB team not win against the previously undefeated Danes, the long-haul flight would no longer be worthwhile for the Rosenheimer either.
So Tiffels and Co. go into their first “final” of the World Cup without reinforcements. “If you look at the table, you can call it that”, admitted the striker. After three games, Denmark is second with eight points, Germany at the bottom with zero points.