After previously impressive performances, Germany's national ice hockey team suffered an unexpected setback in the race for the quarter-finals at the World Cup.
Two days after the World Cup coup over Canada, the selection with the enthusiastic NHL striker Dominik Kahun in the hotel room did not pass the test of patience against the uncomfortable Kazakhstan.
“We knew it would not be an easy game.
We had enough chances, but then it was unfortunate in the end, "said defender Marco Nowak, disappointed at Sport1:" We have to tick it off and look ahead. "Goal scorer Markus Eisenschmid said:" They bricked up, they didn't give us any high-quality scoring chances . "
There are still points missing for the quarter-finals
The 2: 3 (0: 0, 2: 1, 0: 2) on Wednesday in Riga meant the first defeat in the fourth World Cup game.
The selection of national coach Toni Söderholm in the following difficult group games against Finland on Saturday (7.15 p.m. / Sport1), the USA and hosts Latvia still have to score points for the knockout round.
Thanks to Alexander Schin (27th minute), the Germans fell behind for the first time in the tournament.
Stanley Cup winner Tom Kühnhackl (30th) and Mannheims Eisenschmid (35th) turned the game in the meantime.
Roman Startschenko (41st) with a penalty and Pawel Akolzin (56th) provided the next surprise for the Kazakhs.
It was also bitter for the Germans that top talent Lukas Reichel failed after an unpunished check against the head.
Two tight video evidence decisions were unusual, each after a challenge from the Kazakh coach Juri Michailis.
While Matthias Plachta's goal (34th) was rightly denied due to offside, Eisenschmid's lead counted a short time later.
With the defeat, Germany missed such a strong start as in the World Cup debut of national coach Toni Söderholm in 2019, when four wins in the first four games and in the end jumped out sixth.
This time the Germans are even flirting with more: The Olympic runner-up Kahun, who arrived in Latvia around two hours before the start of the game, as a reinforcement from the Edmonton Oilers should increase the semi-final chance even more.
Due to the Corona regulations, his use will only be realistic at the preliminary round in the coming week.
It quickly became clear why the Kazakhs had so far proven to be uncomfortable opponents and why hosts Latvia and defending champions Finland had both defeated in a shootout.
The defensive strength of the outsider, for the first time since 2016 back at the A-WM, was also felt by the Germans.
Söderholm had previously filled his squad with all unlicensed players, but despite the strain of the first World Cup victory against Canada in 25 years, he refrained from personal experiments and did not change his line-up again. The chance of making the next step towards the quarter-finals before the supposedly more difficult games against the Finns, the USA and Latvia was great. But: From the second third the coach had to change.
The striker Reichel, who is considered a future NHL striker, stayed in the cabin. It wasn't the only setback. After the shot deflected by Marcel Brandt to make it 0-1, the DEB team showed a reaction and was not confused by the video evidence. But the lead was not enough: A foul by captain Moritz Müller was punished by the referees with a penalty, which goalkeeper Mathias Niederberger could not fend off. In the end, it was in the fourth World Cup duel with the Kazakhs, the second defeat after 2005, because Alkolzin overcame DEB goalie Niederberger again.