The German national ice hockey team got off to a wrong start in Beijing, when they lost 5–1 to Canada. A suspicious scene early in the game put the DEB team out of rhythm against the skilled North Americans – and quickly on their way to losing.
Soon after Eric O’Dell’s irregular investigation of Marco Novak, Canada took the lead.
picture aligned/dpa
Tony Soderholm decided to start with formations on Monday (5:3) against Slovakia as the only training game in Beijing. Lynn Bergman was called up as the 13th striker, with Marcel Brandt serving as the seventh defender. Apart from keeper Danny aus den Birken, defender Dominic Bitner and attacker Nico Kramer were not used.
After a penalized investigation: DEB team got off to a bad start
After waiting for almost five minutes, the first third of the Beijing games developed into a real scary third for the German team: Marco Novak was hit in the head by Eric O’Dell in the 5th minute, hitting his own goal. was brought to the ground. Instead of a potentially large penalty against the Canadian striker, 0:1 came immediately after. Defender Alex Grant scored with a hide shot using the inside post.
The German team clearly lost the thread after that and a move was too late against the usually lively North Americans. A double strike in the middle of the first section made the situation worse from the German point of view. DEL professional Ben Street overcame Mathias Niederberger with a direct corner shot in the 10th minute, just 34 seconds after Daniel Vinnik took a 3-0 (11th) lead from a two-on-one position.
“It wasn’t the start we expected. We didn’t play our best game today, but it’s a long tournament,” said captain Moritz Müller. “We had gone cold. Canada was quick to think.” Only then did the Pyeongchang silver medalist recover slightly. However, many power plays remained unused.
Ryder after goal: Canada ice cold in power play
Without Novak, who tried to continue for a short time after heavy scrutiny, the DEB team moved to the middle third again with a majority. However, efficiency was missing with another man. Nevertheless, Germany balanced the game – and was finally able to shorten the lead in the 30th minute: Tobias Ryder scored the first German tournament goal in Beijing.
But after two minutes the hopes of a possible comeback were dashed. Because Maxim Noro had four seconds into the majority to cross Niederberger with a well-established but shaky shot from the Blue Line – 4:1 (33rd).
memories of pyeongchang
In the final third – as was the case for longer parts of the first game – Canada did an excellent job of preventing the DEB team from making clear deals. Overall, the “Maple Leaves” in Beijing this evening seemed a little more active and psychic than the Germans. So the game wavered largely unevenly towards the end. The only exception: Jordan Weil played well to make it 5-1 (52′) on the goal.
“The game was a good learning factor for us. We saw how fast we had to play here,” said Soderolam, who seemed more depressed than his players.
With regards to a group win in Group A, which promises game-free qualifying on Tuesday, Germany had to accept a serious blow from the loss at the start. However, it is possible to reach the quarter-finals even after three losses in the opening round. The DEB team finished the preliminary round in Pyeongchang four years earlier after losses against Finland and Sweden (2:5, 0:1) and after a penalty shootout (2:1) against Norway with only two out of nine. With only one win. Possible points.
Game Stats:
Canada 5-1 Germany (3-0, 1-1, 1-0)
Canada:
Pasquale (Tomkins) – Power, Robinson; Barbario, Demers; Waderspoon, Noro; Grant – McTwish, Stahl, Ho-sung; tambellini, veal, nit; Street, O’Dell, Johnson; Vinnik, Desharnis, Kracknell; McBain.
Germany:
Niederberger (Brookman) – Wagner, Holzer; J. Muller, Abeltshauser; M. Muller, Nowak; Brandt – Tiffles, Loible, Kahun; Noables, Rider, Fodrel; Ehlies, Hager, Kuenhakal; Plakta, Pieta, Wolf; miners
Door: 1-0 (4:43) Grant (Johnson, St.), 2-0 (9:47) Street (O’Dell, Johnson), 3-0 (10:19) Winnick (Cracknell, Desharnes), 3-1 (30:45) Ryder (Födrel, Knoebels), 4:1 (32:58) Noro (Odell, Stahl) pp, 5:1 (51:22) Veil (Tambellini, Knight).
Punishment Time: Canada 8 – Germany 4.
Referee: Björk (Sweden), Brugman (USA).
the audience: 685.
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