Eishockey
Circle before World Cup: We won’t hide against Sweden
Germany’s Moritz Müller in action. photo
© Roman Koksarov/dpa
The German ice hockey team starts today against Sweden in the World Cup. The national coach is combative.
The new national ice hockey coach Harold Kreis has announced a courageous German World Cup start against eleven-time world champion Sweden.
“We will certainly not hide,” said Kreis before the first World Cup game in the evening. For the 64-year-old it is the first World Cup as a full-time head coach.
In 2010, the German-Canadian was Uwe Krupp’s assistant when the German team reached the semi-finals. “There’s a bit of excitement. We just want it to start now,” said Kreis.
Captain Moritz Müller attaches only a minor role to the difficult start. “For me, the reaction to the game is more important than the game itself. It doesn’t matter how it ends,” said Müller. “If we win, we still have to beat the others. And if we lose, even more so. We mustn’t get too high and not too low.”
Just 24 hours after the first game, the selection of the German Ice Hockey Federation has to face hosts and defending champions Finland. The US team will be waiting on Monday. The aim is to take part in the quarterfinals. For that, Germany would have to reach at least fourth place in the group of eight.
