He had “intensive days” in the first week in Beijing, said national ice hockey coach Toni Söderholm before his team’s first appearance at these winter games, which are also an Olympic premiere for him. First he temporarily lost several players because they had tested positive for the corona virus on arrival or could not show enough negative tests before departure; then came the first contact with the ice surface in the Wukesong Arena and the realization: small, soft, took some getting used to. And for Thursday, the duel with Canada, with the record Olympic champion, was right at the start.
Before this historic duel, the Finn was able to tick a few boxes on his list. The roster was complete, except for the pros who are employed in the North American NHL and were not released for the Olympics at relatively short notice. And in the only test against Slovakia (5: 3) they had approached the ice surface, which had been laid out according to the standards there in anticipation of the professionals from the NHL. “It will be important to find free ice,” said Söderholm, it will be close, also in the results. Because without NHL players “the gap between the teams is not that big”. The first games in Beijing seemed to provide the proof: the Russians won against Switzerland 1-0, Sweden against Latvia 3-2.
On Thursday afternoon it became a little clearer than expected. The team of the German Ice Hockey Federation lost 1:5 (0:3, 1:1, 0:1). The Canadians, dressed in black, had found a surprising amount of free, white ice. “We were too hectic and gave the Canadians too much space,” said striker Tobias Rieder, who scored Germany’s only goal.
The Germans seemed the most surprised by Canadian freedom. The absence of the NHL professionals does not only affect them, who have to do without their best, Leon Draisaitl, among other things. The Canadians were hit hardest by the NHL veto. The quickly put together World Cup squad of the world number one is recruited mainly from veterans who earn their money in Europe, in Switzerland, in Sweden, in the Russian-managed KHL, from college players, from the farm teams of the big clubs and from one or two Top Talents. Shortly before the tournament, the Hockey Canada Association also had to change its coach because Claude Julien, 61, was injured in a training fall. In Morgan Ellis (Berlin), Landon Ferraro (Cologne) and Ben Street (Munich), three professionals from the German Ice Hockey League are also part of the squad, of whom only Street was involved on Thursday (which will be discussed later). And yet the Canadians seemed more attuned.
In the fifth minute the doorbell rang twice: first Eric O’Dell rammed Düsseldorf’s Marco Nowak to the ground. Then, while the Germans were still debating whether that wasn’t a foul (tendency: more likely yes), Alex Grant flicked the puck into the goal to make it 1-0 for Canada.
It will be important to work hard in the corners and play the puck cleanly over the gang from your own third, Söderholm said. And the Canadians worked hard in the corners, they played clever across the gang. In the tenth minute, Ben Street from Munich made it 2-0 after a Canadian puck win in the German zone. Street of all places, the Munich teammates must have thought.
The tournament mode allows progress even after three defeats
Four years ago in Pyeongchang, the German team experienced a great moment against Canada. The DEB team beat the favorites 4:3 in the semi-finals, and anyone who saw the game back then still doubts whether goals like Frank Mauer’s 3-0, who completed a perfect counterattack with a shot through the legs, really do that may have fallen. The often-cited history books leave no doubt, but it was almost too beautiful. Also at the 2021 World Cup, Söderholm’s team defeated the Canadians 3-1 on their way to the semifinals. From this World Cup squad, 21 players are now back in Beijing, ten were already on the ice in 2018. Germany gambled away the bonus of the surprise team. “The others already know who’s coming,” said sporting director Christian Künast. And these others gave the impression that they remembered the recent past very clearly. 32 seconds after the 2:0 Daniel Winnik increased to 3:0, only ten minutes were played. “Of course it’s difficult to fight back against a team like that when you concede three quick goals,” said Rieder. “In the end there was nothing more.” Only three penalties towards the end of the first third took Canada’s offensive the momentum.
In 2010, the DEB team had lost 2:8 against Canada at the Olympics in Vancouver, 0:10 even at the 2015 World Cup, which the pessimists now recalled with a shudder. The self-proclaimed medal candidate didn’t want to let it get that far this time. Canada still had the better chances, goalkeeper Mathias Niederberger even prevented the 0:4 in a solo by Adam Tambellini. But then Rieder suddenly and unexpectedly reduced the deficit to 1:3 (31st). Now the Germans would invoke their notorious fighting spirit and start catching up, the optimists hoped. Then Maxim Noreau from Zurich heaved the puck into the net to make it 4:1 (33rd minute). Niederberger had a clear view of the shooter, but no chance to intervene. Pinched faces on the German bench. And the faces didn’t lighten: Jordan Weal (52nd) scored in the last third, surrounded by three German players but not pressed.
The German team will have to nibble on this 1: 5, especially Marco Nowak, who did not come back on the ice. The tournament format allows progress even with three defeats in the group games. On Saturday against China and on Sunday against the USA, the team has more chances to find each other. “We have the group stage to develop,” says Söderholm. And they will have to improve. Incidentally, the Germans also started the tournament in 2018 with a sobering 5-2 defeat against Finland. The rest is history.