Right at the beginning of the tournament, the German team impressively demonstrated that they are stress-resistant.
The schedule of the world championships had provided the team of national coach Toni Söderholm with an extraordinary kick-off program, even for this sport, in which more than any other sport is going on in quick succession.
Marc Heinrich
Sports editor.
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Less than 20 hours after the final siren of the first game against Italy, which they won 9: 4 (2: 2, 5: 0, 2: 2), the Germans had to play again. And although they had to slip into their outfits again when their fans were still sitting at the breakfast table in their home country, the selection of the German Ice Hockey Federation presented itself in all respects on Saturday morning.
So she came to a safe 5: 1 (1: 0, 3: 1, 1: 0) against Norway.
The second safe victory made one thing clear: The growing ambitions, which have been expressly expressed by many members since the beginning of the preparation, have to be corrected to a certain extent.
“You shouldn't praise the day before the evening,” emphasized Moritz Seider, who is only 20 years old and who recently caused a sensation at Rögle BK with his clear-cut qualities and was voted “Defender of the Year” in Sweden, but all in all look the performance of the Germans "very solid".
Söderholm is not at all worried
Now, after a Sunday that the squad and their supervisors were able to use as much as possible to take a deep breath and gather fresh strength, the next test is due at the event in Riga: On Whit Monday (7.15 p.m. at Sport1) there will be a dispute with Canada - the World number one, nine-time Olympic champion and usually measure of all things.
But in Latvia they are only represented with a squad that was put together at very short notice and promptly lost 0: 2 (0: 1, 0: 1, 0: 0) against Latvia at the beginning.
On Whitsunday, Canada lost 1: 5 (0: 1, 0: 3, 1: 1) to arch rivals USA in the second preliminary round match and is now under pressure.
Söderholm is not at all afraid of the task, which will certainly provide an indication of how high the Germans can go in these championships.
So far, his family has done their job “very well”, a lot of energy can be felt, “the whole team is lively, on the bench and in the dressing room”. The Finn spoke of a “great atmosphere”, which got even better thanks to the successful start. The work ethic does not suffer from the fun with which the group is currently hunting for the puck.
“Everyone is very focused,” said the 43-year-old, who was positively noticed by the way the players congratulated each other on the ice after successful actions, for example a blocked shot or a check, and how each one by the side jumped when it became necessary in the middle of the second third (when the Norwegians tried hard to turn the tide in their favor) to demonstrate unity by fair means.
“Everyone wants to make things as easy as possible for the other, that's our mentality,” said Seider, describing the certain something of the talented ensemble.
Good team spirit as a trump card
As against Norway, the team impressed particularly offensively. 78 shots on goal and 14 hits are an expression of a new stormy class. 18 of the 20 field players used have already collected a scorer point. Ten goalscorers are also proof of the balance of the ensemble, which for the first time in six years has to do without the support of Leon Draisaitl, who is still indispensable in the American league NHL with the Edmonton Oilers in the fight for the Stanley Cup.
The noticeably good team spirit is considered to be the trump card, which should be the key to great happiness in the next two weeks. Secretly, the Germans, remembering their silver coup at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, are looking for a medal again. "It is a World Cup with slightly different circumstances," said Söderholm, describing the championship, at which a few spectators may be able to be there live in the coming days, provided the Latvian government allows the organizers' request with regard to the necessary Corona precautionary measures.
Without the feedback from the stands, the players lack an actually important yardstick, so the Germans are more determined than ever to cheer each other on and bring in “energy”: “Everyone can feel that they are a large part of the team,” he said Coach valued by the players for his empathic nature.
"We can be very proud," said defender Moritz Müller, summarizing the course of the Whitsun weekend so far, "we are really making an effort." That the team has to spend most of the time in quarantine and that each actor only has to have his or her single room, taking into account the pandemic restrictions Being allowed to leave eating, training and games does not have a negative impact on the feeling of togetherness. “We appreciate and we like each other,” reported the 34-year-old, who gave a direction for the duel with the North Americans, which the veteran of the Kölner Haie would never have dreamed of in his younger years that it would come to this: “ Of course, ”said Müller at the weekend with chest tones of conviction,“ we want to beat Canada now. ”