ice Hockey
DEB men celebrate title hat-trick at the Germany Cup
Leonhard Pföderl (l) shot the DEB selection to victory in the tournament. photo
© Sven Hoppe/dpa
A late goal is enough for the German national ice hockey team to win the Germany Cup for the tenth time. The defeat therefore doesn’t hurt.
The team of national coach Harold Kreis has the better goal difference compared to the Slovaks and Denmark, who have the same points, and thus won their tenth German Cup trophy.
As in each of the three appearances, Kreis changed again. Yasin Ehliz, Marc Michaelis and Filip Varejcka, three of the four goal scorers from the 5-3 win against Austria, were not there. Former NHL professional Tobias Rieder only played in the opening game against Denmark (4-1). “I could have nominated two teams,” explained the national coach and praised the high level of his players.
Numerous runner-up world champions were spared
Only Alexander Ehl from Düsseldorf and Tobias Eder from Eisbären Berlin made three appearances in Landshut. “They are resilient,” said the 64-year-old. Numerous runners-up world champions were not even nominated for reasons of protection. With a view to the upcoming World Cup in May in the Czech Republic, the Germany Cup is the only tournament before the start of World Cup preparations.
As in the previous two encounters in Landshut, the opponent was fresher at the beginning of the final match. Only 66 seconds after the opening face-off, the puck was in the German goal: Matej Kaslik beat keeper Florian Bugl. With the 21-year-old from the Straubing Tigers, Kreis also gave the third goalkeeper ice time after Arno Tiefensee and Leon Hungerecker. The young goalie justified his efforts with numerous saves.
The second half was a game with many chances for both sides. The German selection repeatedly had good opportunities, but failed due to the convincing Slovakian goalkeeper Samuel Hlavaj.
DEB team takes risks and is rewarded
In comparison to the two successes against Denmark and Austria, the young German team showed perhaps their best game of the tournament in this phase. The feeling of success was only missing because of the strong Slovakian goalkeeper. In addition, Rieder, Ehliz, Michaelis and Varejcka lacked individual quality in the attack.
As in the first third, the Slovaks got off to a better start in the final half. In the majority, a shot from the guests hit the crossbar. A short time later, goalkeeper Bugl was powerless: Lukas Cingel scored to make it 0-2 (43′).
The district team took more risks with every minute to score the next goal. A defeat by one goal would have meant winning the tournament. Four and a half minutes from the end, Germany was rewarded. In the majority, Leonhard Pföderl from the Eisbären Berlin achieved the important 1:2 (55th), which, despite the first defeat of the tournament, ensured a much celebrated happy ending in front of 4,200 spectators in the traditional ice hockey town of Landshut.