Ice Hockey World Cup against Hungary
Quarterfinal hope: DEB team celebrates goal festival
Updated on May 22, 2026 – 6:41 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Before the Hungary game, the DEB team is under pressure – and can withstand it. After the victory, the quarter-finals can still be reached.
The German national ice hockey team can still reach the quarter-finals at the World Cup. On the fifth matchday of the tournament in Switzerland, the DEB team confidently defeated Hungary 6:2 (2:0, 2:0 and 2:2). Eric Mik (9th), Leon Gawanke (20th, 42nd and 50th), Lukas Reichel (40th) and Samuel Dove-McFalls (40th) scored for the German team. The Hungarians’ consolation goals were scored by Tamás Sárpátki (44th) and Janos Hari (58th).
With the win, national coach Harold Kreis’s team moves to fifth place in Group B for the time being, although they have played one game more than Latvia. Austria (Saturday, 8:20 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online) and Great Britain (Monday, 8:20 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online) await in the final two group games. With two wins the probability of progressing would be high.
That’s how the game went
The DEB selection started nervously, the first power game, the eleventh in the tournament, was unsuccessful as usual. Doch kurz danach traf Mik mit einem Schlenzer von der blauen Linie, vor dem Tor nahm Nicolas Krämmer dem ungarischen Goalie Bence Bálizs die Sicht.
With the lead, calm returned to the German game; the district team repeatedly restricted the Hungarians in their own third. However, there were hardly any chances to score. The knot broke in the twelfth power play: Gawanke scored after Stefan Loibl failed to get the puck under control.
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“That’s what we were missing. We know that, we addressed that,” said Krämmer after the first third. There shouldn’t have been a penalty for the Hungarians because Fabio Wagner hit Marc Michaelis in the face with his bat.
The dominance continued in the second half, with Hungary barely able to break free. The only drawback: the DEB team didn’t take advantage of its chances. Only shortly before the end of the third did Reichel increase the score with his 18th shot on goal in the second half. “We’re putting a lot of pressure on the opponent’s goal today,” said striker Alexander Ehl.
Gawanke added shortly after the start of the final third. The German team slowed down a bit, then the Hungarians prevented Grubauer’s second World Cup shutout. Another goal was disallowed after a challenge from the German coaching team. Grubauer was disabled. Then Gawanke completed his hat trick from a tight angle.