ice Hockey
Krefeld (AP) – The national ice hockey team will play for victory in the Deutschland Cup for the first time since 2015 on Sunday. The selection of national coach Toni Söderholm also played against Switzerland 3-0 (0-0, 1-0, 2-0).
Against the once again disappointing crowd of only 2678 spectators in Krefeld, ex-NHL striker Tobias Rieder (28th minute), Leo Pföderl (59th) and Patrick Hager (60th) scored the goals for the team of the German Ice Hockey Federation, the Russia had defeated 4: 3 at the start on Thursday. If the fourth place in the World Cup wins against Slovakia on Sunday (2.30 p.m. / Sport1 and MagentaSport), the first victory in the traditional four-nation tournament in six years is perfect.
National coach Söderholm “impressed”
“It’s impressive how the boys fight for each other. I hope everyone in Germany sees that, ”said Söderholm after the game at MagentaSport. At least in the stadium there weren’t many. Only 1560 fans came on Thursday. The DEB explains the problem primarily with the aggravated corona situation in the country; the association had actually expected more spectators at the weekend. DEB sports director Christian Künast was relaxed in the evening. “It is like it is. Everyone knows this is not an easy time. We are happy that spectators can come at all, ”said the former national goalkeeper.
As on Thursday, the German team convinced despite the lack of many top performers, which Söderholm had deliberately omitted. The national coach is using the Germany Cup this year to test some wobbly candidates for the upcoming major tournaments next year at the Olympics in Beijing in February and the World Cup in Helsinki in May. In the short term, two established forces, Daniel Pietta from ERC Ingolstadt and Tim Wohlgemuth from Adler Mannheim, failed. For this, Söderholm nominated Tobias Eder from Düsseldorf, but he has not yet been used.
Goalie Strahlmeier with a strong performance
This time Dustin Strahlmeier from the Wolfsburg Grizzly got a chance in goal. The 29-year-old showed a strong performance and did not concede a goal in the, as expected, close match against arch rivals, who, like Germany, did not start with the best line-up in Krefeld. After the fierce 7-1 against Slovakia on Thursday, Switzerland was much more stable and disciplined this time.
“It’s a typical game against Switzerland,” said DEB President Franz Reindl. It was not until the World Cup that Germany defeated the Swiss in a dramatic quarter-final in a shootout. On Saturday too, Germany was strong again and improved after a bumpy start. “The boys came back patiently and, above all, blocked a lot of shots,” said Söderholm.
This time, in addition to the carefree 21-year-old youngster Alexander Ehl from the Düsseldorfer EG, the veteran Rieder was also able to convince. The 28-year-old from the Växjo Lakers from Sweden, who had no longer got a contract in the NHL, scored in the second third for a well-deserved lead. For Rieder it was the second tournament goal. Pföderl from champion Eisbären Berlin and Hager from EHC Red Bull Munich made the decision shortly before the end.
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