AAt the end there were the meanwhile usual pictures to see. The happy German fans in the stands, the high fives on the bench, the cheers for goalkeeper Sandra Abstreiter, who could hardly save herself from hugs and congratulations. Abkampfer made 36 saves in the 2-1 win over Hungary – the third win in four games for the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB) at the World Cup in Canada.
That’s why the quarter-finals against the United States continue this Thursday (7.30 p.m. at Magentasport). Then as a clear outsider, but striker Nicola Eisenschmid already has an idea: “We just keep going, get the shots on goal and then it works.”
The opponent’s shots are of course just as important as your own. But the DEB is in an excellent position with Sandra Abstreiter. The 24-year-old from Freising is tall, quick to react, but at the same time calm and full of self-confidence, giving the people in front of her a sense of security. She originally started as a defender, and when she decided to switch to goalkeeping at the age of 16, a selection coach even advised her against it: the competition was too big.
Structurally there is a problem
She did it anyway and is now the best goalkeeper in the entire World Cup based on her statistics: only one goal conceded on average and 96.9 percent of shots saved. In addition, she is something like the symbol of a new generation in German women’s ice hockey. After the resignation of long-standing pillars such as captain Julia Zorn or goalkeeper Jennifer Harß, the national team is “in transition, under construction”, as DEB President Peter Merten says, and is therefore “extremely proud” of jumping into the last eight.
They had already expected the worst at the association, because there are extremely structural problems in a country that doesn’t have its own youth leagues for girls and whose Bundesliga only consists of six teams. Abkampfer, however, does not play in the Bundesliga. After working in Erding, Planegg and Munich, she went to North America as a teenager.
For years she guarded the gates of Providence College in the northeastern United States. And so well that she led her team in the NCAA college league to the national finals and received various awards. However, she is not an exception in the German team, the World Cup squad includes seven NCAA players, four who play in Sweden and one from the Slovakian league. The German team is more international than ever – and benefits from the tougher competition that its players experience in the league season.
At the start there was a 6:2 against Sweden. It was followed by a 3-0 loss to Finland without a challenger, but it was followed by a 3-0 win against France and a 2-1 win against Hungary at the end of the group stage on Tuesday. With the two-time Olympic champions from the USA, a different caliber is now waiting. This should be a busy evening – especially for Sandra Abstreiter.
