Updated: 10.01.202112:03
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In the run-up to this World Cup, the corona virus raged in the German U20 team. In the end, the competitions in Edmonton were a successful adventure for Maximilian Glötzl and Markus Schweiger from Peiting.
Peiting – The German national ice hockey team delivered an absolutely convincing performance at the U20 World Cup in Edmonton. Coach Tobias Abstreiter’s team had to fight hard with the corona virus: Nine players tested positive and missed a few games. Despite all these adversities, the decimated German offspring, which also included the two Peitinger Maximilian Glötzl (Kölner Haie / EC Bad Nauheim) and Markus Schweiger (ESV Kaufbeuren), managed to fight their way to the quarter-finals. But there it was the end of the line: Against last year’s finalists and huge favorites Russia, the DEB selection had to admit defeat by 1: 2. Overall, however, the performance of the German junior team was very positive: Although the number of staff decimated in most of the games due to Corona, it reached the knockout round for the first time.
Ice hockey: After the forced Corona break, the German team is growing together into one unit
“Four days before the opening game we only had six players in the first ice training”, reported Maximilian Glötzl. One day before the start of the tournament, he was 14, according to the 18-year-old. He certified that those players who were only allowed to start training after a delay had a rocket launch: “They went from zero to a hundred within a very short time. I have great respect for your will and performance, ”said Glötzl. According to the Peitinger, the compulsory break for part of the team also had a positive effect: “The entire circumstances created a unique team spirit, and I am very proud to have been part of this team,” said Glötzl. He drew a positive conclusion from what he saw as a historic World Cup. There was also great praise from the German Ice Hockey Federation for Glötzl and his teammate Simon Gnyp from the Kölner Haien, with whom he formed the second line of defense. “That was a stable, defensively strong couple, and it would be desirable if they could show this in the DEL”, writes DEB on his homepage.
From the dream: After the 1: 2 defeat against Russia in the quarter-finals, the World Cup was over for Maximilian Glötzl (left) and the German U20 team.
© Jason Franson/DPA
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Ice hockey: Markus Schweiger missed the first three games due to corona infection
One of those who suffered significantly from Corona was Glötzl’s Peitinger teammate Markus Schweiger. The 18-year-old got infected with the virus shortly before the start of the tournament, had to go into quarantine and thus missed the first three games in Edmonton. Only in the last group game against Switzerland, which was won 5: 4, did the striker celebrate his World Cup premiere. Against Switzerland he had 15:11 minutes of play, against the Russians in the quarter-finals he was 14:08 minutes on the ice. “I think it was a very good game for us against the Russians. We fought well and with a little more luck on our side we could have won, ”said Schweiger’s assessment after the very close quarter-finals. As with Glötzl, the conclusion is also positive for him: Although the conditions were anything but ideal due to Corona, “we played a strong and successful World Cup,” said Schweiger. “Now I want to try to get the jetlag under control as well and as quickly as possible and then to intervene in training and match events again as soon as possible,” reports Schweiger. He wants to get back to his club, the DEL2 team ESV Kaufbeuren, as soon as possible. The same applies to Glötzl, who will travel to Cologne again after a few days with his family in Peiting.
The DEB is already looking to the future at the next U20 World Cup, which will be held in Edmonton again in a year. It was originally planned to hold this competition in Gothenburg (Sweden). Since no spectators were allowed in the current tournament due to the pandemic, Canada and Sweden swapped the hosting rights for 2022 and 2024. Therefore, Edmonton will host twice in a row.
Ice hockey: Glötzl and Schweiger can play again at the next World Cup
For the next World Cup, the DEB is planning both with Glötzl in defense and Schweiger on the offensive, as both were born in 2002 and are still eligible to play for the U20s. Until then, the ice hockey association is hoping for a lot of ice age for the two Peitinger youngsters in the highest German league. “The young players have to be used in the professional teams and have sufficient playing experience. It depends on the willingness of the DEL clubs to forego one or the other contingent player and instead use young U20 players and then offer them a perspective if they fall out of this age range, ”the DEB appealed to the club -Responsible persons, in order to direct another demand to them: “A significant reduction of the contingent places to a maximum of six players per team should be the next logical step. There are enough young players for this to be implemented, ”the association made clear.
EC Peiting back on the ice despite further corona cases – upper division back in training, and the break should end with the derby against Landsberg
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