In the evening, hard work was the order of the day and the night that followed was short. And although not only the legs hurt, "getting up was easier after such a result," as Korbinian Holzer put it. The 33-year-old defender has already experienced some moving moments in the national team shirt, but a memorable duel like the one against Canada on Whit Monday is a new experience for him too. With the 3: 1 (2: 1, 0: 0, 1: 0) against the North Americans who came to the World Cup as title favorites, the selection of the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB) achieved a respectable success that was hard-won - and is already worth gold in emotional terms for the former whipping boys at international competitions. "There was a great atmosphere in the cabin," reported Holzer, "we celebrated each other,everyone was in a great mood. "
Marc Heinrich
Sports editor.
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Because for him and the others a lot of adrenaline rushed through the bloodstream long after the final siren, "it was difficult to fall asleep later in the hotel." But they gladly accepted this deficit.
"From the many shots we blocked, everything usually hurts for a long time," said Nico Krämmer, who, like Holzer, is one of the steadfast daredevils of the team and afterwards enthusiastically "jumped into the ice bin" to get the maltreated Taking care of the body: “But it's just a good feeling,” the 28-year-old striker summed up his frame of mind.
"We know that we haven't won the tournament yet," he said: "But we took a few minutes out to enjoy."
The Germans lead their group unbeaten at this tournament after three match days. There is no time to have the wounds treated in more detail, which they had suffered in a thrilling exchange of blows. The program continues on Wednesday, followed by a confrontation with newly promoted Kazakhstan (3:15 p.m., live on Sport1).
“We always want to get better. Then we'll see where it ends, ”said Krämmer with an insight into the ensemble's route, which shows that Toni Söderholm had a good hand when putting it together. Before leaving for the Baltic States, questions arose as to what criteria the national coach used to nominate his squad if some of the defining types of the DEL season were not there. Söderholm's reply was short but concise. The 43-year-old emphasized that he had also appointed players who had not had the best career year behind them, but who he was convinced that they “take on a different role and therefore function” within the national team.
Holzer and Krämmer did not save in unison with appreciation for Söderholm, who since taking office in autumn 2018 as Marco Sturm's successor has long since ceased to act as an assistant to prevent relegation from the A division, but instead continued to shape the group as a development worker at a high level . "He always sharpens the senses," said Holzer, describing his expectations of the midday training session on Tuesday, because in terms of play, despite everything against Canada, it was "not the best". With unnecessary penalties - among other things because of high sticks - the team had brought additional strains, before Holzer in the 58th minute, when the opponent switched to "all or nothing" and took his keeper off the ice in favor of another outfield player, by emptying Net Goal scored the decision. "Everyone smashes in here for the other,everyone gives 110 percent, ”said Holzer,“ that is our great bargaining chip. ”He and the others felt“ proud and honored ”when they were invited to the national team,“ and I think you can see that ”.
The crux of the development and the cause of the rapid transformation - which allowed the team to climb from 13th place in the world rankings to seventh place - was the famous appearance at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
The triumphant advance led to the final, when against Russia there were only a few seconds missing from the sensation - and in retrospect, despite all the disappointment, the silver medal was also the driving force.
Because it aroused the desire for more.
"At that time the national team turned the buck and showed that we can also beat the big nations," said Holzer. "Faith has developed and the claim has changed: Today we want to win every game."
Arrival from Draisaitl and Kahun in conversation
It is precisely in this spirit that Riga should continue. In the preliminary round after the encounter with Kazakhstan, the matches against Finland on this Saturday, the United States (Monday) and Latvia (Tuesday) have to be mastered before the knockout duels start. Prominent support may arrive by then. In any case, after the early season end of the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL, the team is hoping for reinforcement by Leon Draisaitl and Dominik Kahun. "We would be happy," said Holzer, "they would be players who look good on every team."
The DEB originally classified the chances of a late trip of stragglers as low due to the corona rules, but now wants to seek contact at short notice. Only from the seventh day after arrival are the new people eligible to play due to the strict quarantine regulations. In view of Germany's likely participation in the quarter-finals, the journey from Draisaitl and Kahun could still be worthwhile. “We don't need to discuss it,” said Holzer, “what kind of class the two would bring in.” For the sake of fairness, even more could be added than is already available.