Ice Hockey World Cup
Triumph in penalty shootout: German team advances to semi-finals against Switzerland
Germany’s Leon Gawanke (l.) can be celebrated after his equalizing goal to 2:2 by the players
© Roman Koksarov / DPA
The German national ice hockey team has entered a World Cup semi-final for the first time in eleven years. The DEB team won in Riga their quarter-final against Switzerland with 3:2 after penalty shootout.
Germany is facing the next ice hockey miracle. Thanks to a successful penalty drama against Switzerland, only one victory separates Germany from its first World Cup medal in 68 years and a sensation similar to the 2018 Olympic Final. 3:2 (0:1, 1:1, 1:0) after a penalty shootout and a 2-0 deficit against their archrival, the German national team entered the semi-finals in Riga on Thursday and already has the best World Cup performance since the home tournament eleven years ago. Marcel Noebels converted the decisive Penalty.
In the preliminary round on Saturday, the selection of national coach Toni Söderholm has the chance to win his first World Championship medal since silver in 1953. “That would be great, if we win the game today. It’s a great opportunity for us and we want to achieve something,” Söderholm had said before the game at Sport1.
Switzerland already thought of itself as the winner
His team once again fulfilled their own extremely high expectations with great passion and now dreams of more. Tom Kühnhackl (38th minute) and Leon Gawanke 44 seconds before the end of normal time, the Germans shot into the goalless extension and Noebels finally in the twelfth quarter-finals since 1992 only for the second victory. Switzerland thought they were the winners after goals from defender Ramon Untersander (16th) of SC Bern and striker Fabrice Herzog (34th) of HC Davos.
With the success, a small piece of German ice hockey history repeated itself. in 2010, Germany hosted the World Cup for the first time ever with a 1-0 win over Switzerland. Korbinian Holzer had already been with the Germans as well as Andres Ambühl with the Swiss – and was now again one of the most important German defenders in Riga. This time, the duel was intense, but not as heated as eleven years ago in Mannheim, Germany.
The rivalry between Germany and Switzerland, is enormous. Ice hockey has a greater significance for the Swiss, the vice world champion of 2013 and 2018 this time aspired to World Championship gold. With the victory, the Söderholm team inflicted a huge disappointment on the rival, because Switzerland saw themselves as the clear favorite and the DEB team now stood in the way for the third time in a row in a knockout match. In Pyeongchang 2018, a 2:1 after extra time had enabled the miraculous run to the Olympic final. Six players from just over three years ago were now in the Olympic Sports Centre in Riga.
Not so many errors in neutral zone
After the playfully weak performance in the preliminary final against the Latvians, the Söderholm squad presented itself improved and did not suffer so many mistakes in the neutral zone for a long time. The offensive game, however, remained safer than that of the Swiss for a long time. A nice combination of the opponent led to the arrears by defender Untersander from SC Bern.
However, the DEB team once again convinced with its” Lionheart ” (Söderholm) and also survived the outnumbered against the best outnumbered team of the tournament. But Kühnhackl, the decisive scorer for the Olympic qualification in Riga almost five years ago, poked the puck into the goal before the end of the second third. “We want to build on this,” announced Captain Moritz Müller.
In the final third, the German made steam again and was rewarded by Gawanke’s shot just before the end of regular time with a man more on the ice for this feat of strength.
For the tournament under the special corona circumstances, the German cracks had not ruled out the World Cup title. After changeable performances in the preliminary round and only in the last group game secured entry into the knockout round, they are now as one of only four teams in the tournament. For only the second time, the DEB team is now contesting a World Championship semi-final, with the previous World Championship medals in 1930, 1932, 1934 and 1953 the mode was a different one.
