ice Hockey
District dissatisfied despite World Cup victory – series change?
Coach Harold Kreis gestures during the game. photo
© Pavel Golovkin/AP/dpa
National ice hockey coach Harold Kreis is not satisfied with his first line of attackers at the World Cup. In the 4-2 win against Austria, he left NHL star Peterka on the bench.
National ice hockey coach Harold Kreis criticized his parade series after the arduous World Cup work victory against Austria. The 64-year-old is also considering changing the offensive lines for the next preliminary round game on Sunday.
“We have to see how the team is now,” said Kreis after the 4-2 (2-1, 1-0, 1-1) win against Austria. “We’ll see if we can make changes.”
Kreis was not particularly satisfied with his front row. In the last third, NHL professional John-Jason Peterka (Buffalo) got significantly less ice time and was partially replaced by Filip Varejcka from EHC Red Bull Munich. “We had the feeling that he couldn’t develop his game like that today,” Kreis said of Peterka. “It had nothing to do with an injury.”
Kreis: “Under a lot of pressure”
Peterka’s sidekicks Dominik Kahun from SC Bern and Marcel Noebels from Eisbären Berlin were not unhappy against Austria either. “The nominal front row is under a lot of pressure. We’re trying to defuse that a bit – where we say: ‘Guys, play our game’,” said Kreis.
In this context, Toni Söderholm’s successor particularly praised his fourth row with newcomers Wojciech Stachowiak (Ingolstadt), Parker Tuomie (Straubing) and Justin Schütz (Munich), who were responsible for two goals against Austria. “It’s a hard-working line. They work well together and they talk a lot. They have good chemistry. They play the game right,” Kreis said.
The double goalscorer Nico Sturm also expressly praised the fourth row. “The series works great. It’s really stable what they’re doing there,” said last year’s Stanley Cup winner. The San Jose Sharks forward accused other attackers of making “too many blunders on the blue line”.