WM in Riga
Riga (AP) – The players were very proud. With big grins on their faces and full of fervor, the blissful German ice hockey cracks sang the national anthem after the historic World Cup victory against Canada.
“We can be really proud of ourselves,” said captain Moritz Müller after the 3-1 (2-1, 0-0, 1-0) win in Riga – the first win at a World Cup against Canada in 25 years. The last time a German team defeated the motherland of ice hockey in Vienna in 1996 (5: 1).
Goalie Niederberger outstanding
“That we were able to really win against Canada is extraordinary,” said the outstanding goalkeeper Mathias Niederberger, who had cramps during the game given the constant bombardment by the Canadian NHL players. “Mathias absorbed the shots,” said Müller about the keeper of the German champion Eisbären Berlin, who parried 39 shots and was powerless only against Paul Nick of the Ottawa Senators at the interim 1: 2 (19th minute). “You need goalkeepers like him to win games. Thank God we had it today, »said Müller.
Mannheim’s Stefan Loibl (11th minute) and Matthias Plachta (12th) as well as the future Mannheim Korbinian Holzer (58th) shot the German team into an empty Canadian goal to another highly regarded victory against Canada. A good three years ago, Germany defeated the 26-time world champion 4-3 on the way to the silver medal in the Olympic semifinals in Pyeongchang. At that time, both teams had suffered from not being able to use any NHL players.
So far, the top stars have also been missing from this World Cup. Unlike 2018, the Canadian team consisted almost exclusively of NHL players who hadn’t made it into the playoffs. “We saw an extremely strong Canadian team,” said Müller. Indeed, the Canadians, who had lost the first two games and now have their backs against the wall, were playing too angry. Between the 2-0 and the 3-1 final score, the German team had to survive a real defensive battle, which it mastered brilliantly.
National coach proud
«I’ve probably never seen a game like this where a team blocked so many shots. Everything completely worked away – it was unbelievable to look at, “said national coach Toni Söderholm, who is well on the way to top the strong World Cup in his tournament debut as national coach in Slovakia in 2019. At that time, Germany started with four wins and had the best preliminary round at a world championship ever. The German team currently has three wins after three games, has the quarter-finals firmly in view and is secretly looking for more.
“It’s a strange tournament,” said Niederberger in view of the many defeats of the top nations so far. «I think anything is definitely possible. We give our best.” The next opponent in the preliminary round is Kazakhstan on Wednesday (3:15 p.m. / Sport1).
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210525-99-728675 / 8
DEB goalkeeper Mathias Niederberger was the man of the game. Photo: Roman Koksarov / dpa
© Roman Koksarov (dpa)–
National player Marco Nowak (r) pokes the puck away from Canadian Michael Bunting. Photo: Roman Koksarov / dpa
© Roman Koksarov (dpa)— .
