20
05:45
third conclusion:
Germany is 1-0 down against Slovakia in the Olympic quarter-final playoff after 20 minutes! The Slovaks’ lead is deserved, because the Eastern Europeans are the more active team and create significantly more chances. Germany scored a total of five goals, the only danger was a counterattack by Krämmer, who just missed the goal. In terms of running and fighting, the DEB selection makes a decent impression and builds on the committed performance from the USA game. But there needs to be more play if you want to make up for Hudáček’s opening goal and make it into the quarter-finals. Let’s continue with the middle third!
19
05:41
It’s about the last minute. Can Germany launch another decent attack here?
18
05:41
The Slovaks spend almost the entire two minutes in the German third. The target is going well, but Germany defends passionately and keeps blocking shots and passes. Shortly before the end of the power play, Slafkovský fires from the slot, Niederberger fixes the target.
16
05:36
Minor penalty (2 minutes) for David Wolf (Germany)
Now Germany is outnumbered for the first time. After tripping, Wolf has to go into the cool box for two minutes.
15
05:36
The DEB selection is still struggling, especially in terms of play. Little goes together in the offensive area, there are only three shots on goal.
14
05:33
But then there is another huge chance for Slovakia! The Germans couldn’t get the puck out of the danger zone several times and there was wild poking in front of Niederberger. Ultimately, a DEB defender hits the puck in the air just before the line out of the goal area and clears.
13
05:32
Now Germany again! Again it is the line with Wolf, Krämmer and Kühnhackl that causes danger when they clear the hard rubber far in front and Krämmer fires at the goal from a tight angle. But Rybár confidently closes the door and holds on.
12
05:27
Goal for Slovakia 1-0 by Libor Hudáček
With the sixth shot on goal, the Slovaks take the lead! And that’s not undeserved, but also more than happy. Hudáček pulls flat from the high slot and hits Jonas Müller’s skate. From there, the disc somehow trundles past Niederberger and behind the line.
10
05:23
Again it is Zuzin who tests Niederberger with a flick from the face-off circle. Again, the polar bear is right in the German goal and saves safely. In return, there is finally the first good opportunity for Germany. Wolf chips the puck into the attacking zone, Krämmer is up and away, but maneuvers the disc with his backhand just over the goal.
8th
05:21
The German team is now increasingly under pressure and produces one icing after the other in this phase.
7
05:18
In an overall very fast and fluid game, the Slovaks have recently taken more and more control. Germany is still waiting for the first shot on goal.
5
05:17
First good save from Niederberger! After winning a target on their own blue line, the Slovaks quickly combine themselves forward and after a cross pass from the right, Peter Zuzin is free in front of Niederberger. The Berliner makes himself big and denies Zuzin’s shot on the left corner the passage.
4
05:14
Against the tall and very robust Slovakians, it will be important for the German team to hold up well physically. So far this works well. Germany is the more active team in the first few minutes.
2
05:13
The DEB selection comes into the match well and is very present right away. Patrick Hager conquers the disc in the forecheck and appears in front of goalie Patrik Rybár, who is first to the puck with the blade.
1
05:11
Here we go! Dominik Kahun wins the first face-off for the Germans playing in black and white, Slovakia wears blue.
05:07
Mathias Niederberger starts again today in the German goal. Marco Nowak is in the German squad for the first time, and David Wolf is also back in the line-up. Felix Brückmann, Daniel Pietta and Lean Bergmann sit out.
05:04
Just like Germany, Slovakia had only celebrated one win in the preliminary round. Only against the pointless Latvians could the 5:2 be celebrated, while there were clear defeats against the top teams from Sweden (1:4) and Finland (2:6). In the absence of the NHL stars missing from all teams, one of the Slovaks in particular has played to the fore. 17-year-old Juraj Slafkovský is the top scorer in the Olympic tournament with four goals.
04:51
In order to write a similar success story in Beijing, the DEB team must improve today. In the final 2:3 defeat against the strong Americans, things looked a lot better than in the first games against Canada (1:5) and China (3:2), but Germany also had some weak phases in the game and got caught always under massive pressure when the US boys kept the pace high for longer. “I’m confident that our development will continue,” said Söderholm, looking at today’s game and revealing the match plan: “It will be important that we stay in our game plan, that we remain patient – and then we’ll see what happens at the end of the game it says on the board.”
04:44
Of course, Toni Söderholm and his team had imagined the course of the group phase to be different. They remained pointless against the top teams from Canada and the USA, only managed a shaky 3-2 win against outsiders China. In the end, nobody cares anymore. Germany is still in the tournament and from today it continues in knockout mode. A good omen for the German team: In Pyeongchang, too, they failed to qualify directly for the quarter-finals and had to take a detour via the playoff game. Just like this year, you were only the ninth best team after the preliminary round. As is well known, the trip ended sensationally with silver.
04:40
Hello and welcome to the German national team’s playoff game at the Olympic ice hockey tournament in Beijing! At 5:10 a.m., the DEB selection will be fighting for a ticket to the quarter-finals against Slovakia.