Stefan Loibl laughed.

Nothing funny had really happened to him.

Loibl was in pain, real pain.

That was on Saturday evening in Helsinki, at the beginning of the last third of the second World Cup game of the German national ice hockey team against Slovakia.

She was twice as numerous and kept chasing slap shots on the German goal.

But again and again someone threw himself in between.

Kai Wissmann, Fabio Wagner, and above all Loibl, twice within eight seconds.

He then dragged himself onto the bench, where he was greeted with hugs and slaps on the back.

Ice hockey teams are always looking for that special moment - whether in a league season, in a play-off series or at a tournament.

That one moment that brings everyone closer together.

It doesn't have to be a goal or a brilliant save, sometimes it's just a body check, a blocked shot, or as in Loibl's case: two within eight seconds.

His passion symbolized the 2-1 win of the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB) against Slovakia on Saturday.

Afterwards, even the national coach, who rarely tends towards superlatives, was enthusiastic: "That was almost the fastest game I've experienced with the national team," said Toni Söderholm, whose team was already under pressure after the 3:5 defeat against Canada the day before .

Because Canada and Slovakia, there was something.

Successful mix

Three months ago in Beijing, these games framed the failure at the Olympics.

The 5-1 win against Canada was the worst possible start, and the 4-0 defeat against Slovakia in the first knockout round was the worst possible ending.

Now before the World Cup in Finland, the question was: Where is the German team?

Is it as good as the 2021 World Cup when it stormed to the semis?

Or is it as weak as at the 2022 Olympics, when it wasn't even enough for the quarterfinals?

It's still too early for final judgments, but one thing can already be said: this team has a lot more World Cup 21 than Olympic 22.

Selflessly blocking shots is just one indication of this.

In general, everything seems more alert, more combative, more closed.

"From the goalkeeper to the defenders to the attackers, everyone did a good job," said Söderholm.

There are also exceptional young players from the NHL, such as defense chief Moritz Seider or first-row center Tim Stützle, who were absent from the Olympics.

Players from the domestic league are also turning up again: Marcel Noebels, Leo Pföderl and Matthias Plachta only scored two points in four games in Beijing.

Now in Helsinki they already have six.

Plachta and Pföderl scored the goals against Slovakia.

Above all, there is another outstanding goalkeeper.

In Latvia in 2021 it was Mathias Niederberger, who was also not at his best in Beijing, now in Finland it is Philipp Grubauer.

He also plays in the NHL, but experienced a mixed season at best.

He also missed once against Canada, but the national coach stuck with him – and did everything right: Grubauer saved 28 shots and was named player of the game.

Whatever happened around him, the 30-year-old remained calm himself.

In the end, when the Slovaks constricted the Germans for a few minutes, he "almost couldn't stand anymore, it was brutal," said Grubauer at Sport1.

Because of the high temperatures in the old hall, the ice is so soft that he can hardly slide back and forth on the schooners.

"You have to do everything on your feet," said Grubauer.

Did that. And captured the victory, which left Pföderl almost incredulous: "Shots come on goal and you think: 'Fuck me.'

And he's laughing his ass off."

It is not yet clear whether Grubauer will also play against outsiders France this Monday (7.20 p.m. live on Sport1 and Magentasport).

But no matter who is in goal, the people in front have to improve despite the victory, especially in the build-up from the defensive.

It was even more noticeable against Canada, where the uncoordinated Germans lost the target several times in their own zone, sometimes didn't even get out of the back, ran behind a lot.

Already in the second period they were 1:5 behind.

It looked more like Olympia 22.

But instead of giving up, the team fought back and closed the gap to 3:5 thanks to two overtime goals.

"We wanted to take this momentum into the second game," said Grubauer.

In addition, there were tactical adjustments in the neutral and defensive zones as well as outnumbered.

That worked, the second appearance was "pretty close" to his ideal, said Söderholm, especially emotionally.

That's why he prescribed only light training for his men on Sunday.

Everyone should come down.

The visibly battered Grubauer was looking forward to it: "We have to regenerate now, we have a day off.

And then all the fun continues again.”