Toni Söderholm had left it up to his players how they wanted to shake their heads and bones after the 5-3 win against Canada: with a game of football, outside on artificial turf; or with a few easy skating laps and shooting exercises in the training hall. Only 24 hours after the World Cup opening defeat in Helsinki against the world champion, the German national ice hockey team had to play again on Saturday evening, this time against Slovakia. The most important preparatory unit that the national coach had scheduled beforehand therefore took place on dry land: tactical behavior when outnumbered.
Against Canada, Söderholm’s side had conceded two goals in three situations, too many to hold their own against physically fit Slovaks in what was supposed to be a physical game. “It takes a little time to be outnumbered, but we will take our time,” said NHL defender Moritz Seider. And he promised: “We will shoot out of the gate with a better start and then it will be an exciting game.”
Seider was to be right. After 60 breathless minutes it was 2:1 (0:0, 2:1, 0:0) – the first win for the German national team at this World Cup. “It was perhaps the highest level since I’ve been here in terms of pace, not just the manpower game,” said Söderholm. “From the goalkeeper to the fourth row, everyone worked with passion. Emotions, duels, everything was okay.”
The shots of the Slovaks were kept safe by goalkeeper Grubauer
One could expect a duel between two teams at eye level, Slovakia, eighth in the world rankings, against ninth Germany, one averaging 1.85 meters tall, the other just an inch shorter. The game against the Olympic bronze medalist in Beijing could also be condensed into a duel between two highly talented players. On the German side Tim Stützle, 20, has been a striker in the best ice hockey league in the world for almost two years, was selected third by the Ottawa Senators in 2020, earlier than only a German before him: Leon Draisaitl. And with the Slovaks Juraj Slafkovsky, 18-year-old wonder boy from Kosice, who is still under contract with TPS Turku in Finland and is traded for the next NHL draft in the summer at a similar level as Stützle. Slafkovsky’s star rose sharply at the Olympics in February: the 99-kilo youth scored seven goals in seven games. On the way to bronze, the Slovaks also eliminated the German team (4:0).
Goal number two: Leo Pföderl scores and lays the foundation for victory over Slovakia.
(Photo: Imago /Imago/Action Pictures)
Söderholm opted for the same line-up as the night before, so again with Philipp Grubauer (Seattle) in goal. He was busy, but didn’t have to intervene after six seconds like on Friday. His opponent Patrik Rybar was also on the move, because the German team had listened to his coach: “You can’t just defend yourself in the defensive zone all the time and expect to win, that’s not possible,” Söderholm had warned. And so a fast, balanced initial phase developed with advantages for Slovakia, but without the really big chances. The DEB team mostly carefully blocked the zone in front of the goal, shots from the Slovakians from the side or from a distance were safely protected by Grubauer. The German team missed their greatest chance when they were allowed to play with a majority for two minutes: The puck ran, but it didn’t fly on goal, neither from Stützles’ bat nor from anyone else. After 20 minutes it was still 0-0.
Better, a lot better, they did after the first break. Matthias Plachta bravely carried the disc into the opposing third, put it across the goal to defender Moritz Müller, who ran with him, but the captain didn’t have to do it anymore: If not from a German racquet, then the disc found its way into the net from a Slovakian racquet face . The goal was officially credited to Plachta (22′). There was no doubt about the shooter five minutes later. 2-on-1 counterattack by the Germans via Leo Pföderl, Marcel Noebels shot, Rybar save, Pföderl rebound, goal (27th). With a spectacular foot defense, Grubauer painted a big exclamation mark behind it shortly afterwards: Germany led 2-0!
The Slovakian team, coached by a Canadian since 2017, is still finding itself
The Slovaks had struggled in their first game to a 4-2 win over France, one of the two substitutes for the suspended teams Russia and Belarus, and temporarily gave up a 2-0 lead in the process. The team, which has been looked after by the Canadian coach monument Craig Ramsay, 71, since 2017, is still looking. Peter Cehlarik and captain Marek Hrivik, your two best scorers at the 2021 World Cup, are missing from the Olympic squad. Slafkovsky? Was hardly seen until then.
Instead, Kristian Pospisil (32nd) drew attention to himself, who overcame Grubauer with the old “pawn trick” to make it 2-1. The opportunity to correct the situation arose immediately: 5:3 for the German team, which led to two goals against Canada. But the Slovaks also fought passionately. Rybar parried from Stützle, and the question was whether the next goal would be the equalizer – or the preliminary decision. Exciting? Exciting!
If the game was intense up until then, it now became a high-pressure tank. Grubauer saved once, twice, three times, with and without a stick. And then the Germans had to show whether they had paid attention in the morning: Powerplay Slovakia. outnumbered. Three against five for 46 seconds. Then 1:14 minutes four against five. Or: Five against Grubauer. Done. Time to catch your breath? Not a second. The game didn’t seem to allow itself a break either, it went on without a break, and because Alexander Ehl (49th) also missed his chance, it just kept going until the 50th minute, when Grubauer caught the 25th shot on goal . In the end there were 29, and the winning goalscorer Pföderl was very impressed: “There are shots on goal and you think kiss my ass – and he’s laughing his ass off.”
The Slovaks ran without letting up, the German team could hardly free themselves, it became rustic. But she had Grubauer. And the necessary luck when the Slovaks made the final seconds even longer without a goalkeeper and with six field players. Germany has the first points and meets France on Monday. Will definitely be exciting again.