Second top performance in a row – but is it still enough? After Hungary, the German national ice hockey team also defeated Austria at the World Cup, but the way to the quarter-finals remains long after the 6:2 (0:0, 2:1, 4:1), for which three-time goalscorer Lukas Reichel was mainly responsible.
After the convincing 6-2 win against Hungary, the DEB team immediately switched to the next chance to improve the starting situation in the fight for the quarter-finals. Germany started with three defeats, they got their first point against the USA and their first win against Hungary – but everyone was aware that with Austria a completely different caliber of coach Harold Kreis’s team would be in store.
Goalless third, then two goals in 66 seconds
This was confirmed in the penultimate group game, the game was extremely competitive from the start, it went back and forth and was a far cry from the one-sidedness of the previous day against Hungary. Both teams created several great chances, especially in the last five minutes of the first third, the goalies Philip Grubauer and Atte Tolvanen were under constant fire – but they could not be defeated for the time being. Despite the best opportunity, no goal was scored in the first 20 minutes.
That changed relatively quickly in the second half – to the chagrin of the German team. Tim Harnisch broke through the side and was unstoppable, brought the puck into the middle, where Leon Wallner held the ladle in and scored to make it 1-0 (23′). However, the DEB team shook itself and hit back straight away, Reichel equalized in the 24th minute – there were only 66 seconds between the two goals.
Reichel for the second and third
But a draw wasn’t enough for the Germans, they had to play for a win – and then they actually took the lead with an outstanding goal. The DEB team combined around the Austrian goal and finally Josh Samanski (34th) finished, which made the quarter-final goal a little more realistic. For that we needed two wins against Austria and on Monday against Great Britain (8:20 p.m.) as well as a little help.
The first step took more and more shape when Reichel scored his second goal in the final third – 3:1 (46th). Manuel Wiederer made the supposed preliminary decision a little later (49th), but Vinzenz Rohrer practically brought Austria back into the game (49th). Shortly afterwards, Reichel struck a third time (52nd), and Germany could not be dissuaded that evening – especially since Alexander Ehl increased the score to 6:2 with an empty net goal (55th).
And yet it could end on Monday because not just a win against Great Britain, which has so far had no points, is enough. Latvia and the USA are not allowed to win their last two group games so that neither of them pushes the DEB team out of fourth place. If Austria loses the remaining two games against Finland and the USA, Germany could still overtake their opponents on Saturday evening. The dream of the quarterfinals is alive.
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