The German national ice hockey team has suffered its fourth consecutive loss at the World Championship in Switzerland. Despite a promising start and holding the lead twice, the team’s winless streak continues. However, they still have a chance to advance to the quarterfinals.
Head coach Harold Kreis’s team lost a thrilling 3-4 shootout match against a significantly weakened but still formidable USA team, who are the reigning Olympic champions and defending World Champions. This marks the eighth consecutive World Championship defeat for Germany, a streak not seen since 1990.
The German team, representing the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB), initially took the lead after just 60 seconds, thanks to NHL star Moritz Seider. Frederik Tiffels scored his second tournament goal on his 31st birthday (30th minute), and Marc Michaelis put Germany ahead 3-2 (33rd minute) heading into the final period. Isaac Howard (15th minute) and Max Sasson (26th minute) scored for the USA, with Tommy Novak (55th minute) forcing overtime for the world champions. In the shootout, only Joshua Samanski found the net for Germany, sealing their fourth loss in four games in Zurich.
«The point could definitely be important. But first and foremost, it’s important that we played a solid game,» said Leon Gawanke to ProSieben. «But this can give us confidence and a boost.»
Despite having only one point, advancement is still possible. However, the DEB team must win their remaining preliminary round games against Hungary (Friday, 4:20 PM), Austria (Saturday), and Great Britain (Monday), and also rely on other teams to achieve favorable results.
The American team, who had previously only defeated Great Britain, saw Matthew Tkachuk make his World Championship debut. The two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Florida Panthers had missed the initial games due to becoming a father for the first time. The 28-year-old was the only Olympian from Milan on the US squad, with only two players from last year’s championship team on the ice.
DEB Team «With Their Backs Against the Wall» Shows Courage and Desperation, Playing Exceptionally Well
«We have our backs against the wall,» Seider had stated before the first face-off to MagentaTV. «We now have four knockout games.» His most crucial demand was: «We must finally want to score goals; that has to be the mindset.»
The captain lived up to his own words, giving the German team an early lead for the first time in the tournament. The top line, featuring NHL forwards Lukas Reichel and Samanski, along with birthday boy Tiffels from Berlin, who had been almost solely responsible for the German offense, was on the ice. Tkachuk and his teammates took time to find their rhythm, and Grubauer initially saved all shots on his net. However, the DEB team once again aided their opponent: Tiffels passed back in front of his own net, where Fabio Wagner lost the puck. Howard gratefully accepted the gift, scoring the equalizer for Team USA, who had previously defeated Germany 5-2 in a warm-up game in Mannheim.
The powerplay struggles continued; even on their tenth attempt, no goal was scored. On the other end, Grubauer prevented a deficit with strong saves. At the start of the second period, the German team successfully navigated a penalty kill for the fourth time, but shortly after, Sasson capitalized on a mistake by Leon Hüttl to tie the game at 1-1. Kai Wissmann then scored, but the goal was disallowed for offside.
Tiffels’ equalizer, however, stood. Then, Michaelis, who had been largely disappointing so far, scored with his first shot of the tournament. Meanwhile, Daniel Fischbuch had to leave the ice and watched the remainder of the game from the stands with a suspected broken hand. He saw Grubauer being pressured on the 3-3 equalizer, but the referees awarded the goal. Kreis and his coaching staff opted not to challenge the call. After a tense overtime period, the decision came down to the shootout.