The German national ice hockey team also lost the second game at the World Cup, but, like in the opening defeat against Sweden, presented themselves on an equal footing with one of the top nations. The team of national coach Harold Kreis lost on Saturday evening (May 13th, 2023) in Tampere against the Olympic champion and defending champion Finland 3: 4 despite two comebacks.
Berlin’s Marcel Noebels (18th) scored the first tournament goal for the selection of the German Ice Hockey Association (DEB) after almost 78 minutes. AHL defender Kai Wissmann (33rd) and NHL rookie John-Jason Peterka (40th) also scored.
But the hosts prevailed in front of 11,712 spectators in Tampere thanks to goals from Joel Armia (10′), Sakari Manninen (35′, 36′) and Mikko Lehtonen (53′).
Despite two convincing performances, Germany is still without a point. On Friday, the DEB selection lost 1-0 to eleven-time world champion Sweden.
Captain Moritz Müller: “Equal to the World Champion”
“We did a lot of things right, we played against two top nations and were close. That’s a shame. Both games were on the edge of the knife. But the players will get confidence from it,” said Kreis at MagentaSport and summed up: “We’re up Course.”
Despite all the disappointment, captain Moritz Müller also seemed proud: “We were on an equal footing with the world champion, that’s good. If we continue like this, we’re on the right track.”
Beam Meier in goal, Noebels with the leadership
In goal, Wolfsburg’s Dustin Strahlmeier replaced Munich’s Mathias Niederberger, who was given a break after his strong performance against Sweden. Born in Gelsenkirchen, he had to do hard work right away, because the Finns put the German team under enormous pressure from the first minute. The puck slipped through his first goal.
After 77:45 minutes, the DEB selection finally scored the first World Cup goal: a shot by Noebels was deflected by two Finns and became untenable for their own goalie.
Manninen and Lehtonen match winners for Finland
The German team missed two advantage situations in the second period, but struck immediately afterwards: Wissmann scored from the blue line. However, a double strike from Manninen put the Finns back in the lead, and then the power play worked: Peterka used the seventh majority. But Lehtonen scored the decisive goal in the last third.
The next task will not be easier for the district team: On Monday (3.20 p.m.) the US team, which beat the Finns 4:1 at the start, is the third opponent.
Gawanke approaching – possibly already in use against the USA
It is still unclear whether defender Leon Gawanke will be able to play. The future Mannheimer is expected in Tampere on Sunday after his team Manitoba Moose from the second-rate North American professional league AHL lost the playoff.
Only after the game against the USA does Germany play games against easier opponents or opponents who seem to be on an equal footing. If at least the first World Cup point is not achieved on Monday, the district team would be under a lot of pressure in the following four games against Denmark, Austria, Hungary and France in order to still reach the minimum goal of the quarter-finals.