Sport Ice Hockey World Cup
Germany finishes off Latvia and has its sights set on the quarter-finals
As of 9:58 p.m. | Reading time: 3 minutes
Germany’s Kai Wissmann (l.) scores against Kristers Gudlevskis, goalkeeper of Latvia
Quelle: dpa/Pryèek Vladimír
After two bitter defeats, Germany is back on the road to success at the Ice Hockey World Cup. There is a clear win against Latvia, which could be particularly important for the next round.
Back on track with the highest World Cup victory in 22 years: Germany’s ice hockey cracks got their frustration off their chest at the World Cup in the Czech Republic. After the 8:1 (2:0, 5:1, 1:0) on Wednesday against World Cup third place Latvia, Germany is back on track towards the quarter-finals.
In front of 8,652 spectators in Ostrava, goals from JJ Peterka (26th minute/36th), Dominik Kahun (6th), Kai Wissmann (19th), Leonhard Pföderl (21st), Parker Tuomie (23rd), Marc Michaelis ( 31st) and Nico Sturm (45th) for by far the highest World Cup victory ever against the Latvians. The last time there was a better victory at a World Cup was in 2002, when they beat Japan 9-2.
“That has a lot to do with the last few days. We sat there together a lot,” said NHL striker Peterka at ProSieben. The Buffalo Sabres’ NHL attacker, who was voted the best striker in the World Cup last year, also broke the knot on Tuesday with his first two World Cup goals this year.
Best tournament performance
Most recently there were two bitter 1:6 defeats against the two tournament favorites USA and Sweden. On Wednesday, however, Harold Kreis’ team responded with the best performance of the tournament so far and can now even afford a slip-up in the remaining three preliminary round games. The next opponent for the selection of the German Ice Hockey Association is Kazakhstan on Friday (4:20 p.m./ProSieben and MagentaSport). Newcomers Poland and France are the other opponents.
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“Now the tournament really begins for us,” national coach Kreis recently announced after the two bankruptcies. With the recovered NHL professional Nico Sturm, the DEB selection appeared transformed. The district team dominated the game with high intensity, wit and a lot of offensive power.
National coach Harold Kreis
Source: dpa/Sebastian Kahnert
The importance of the storm, which was so sorely missed against the NHL stars from the USA and Sweden, was evident right from the start. The 29-year-old fought for the puck on the boards, and after a shot from Lukas Kälble, SC Bern’s Kahun converted the rebound into a deserved lead. Sturm continued with similar intensity later in the final third and correctly worked the puck into the net to make it 8-1.
The German team, which was clearly superior, initially even failed to improve quickly. A strong solo from Berlin’s Wissmann in the majority resulted in the second goal. Sturm was involved again and prepared. Wissmann’s Berlin teammate Pföderl scored the early preliminary decision straight after the start of the second round, which has now been continuously expanded.
Goalkeeper swapped
The 2023 World Cup runner-up continued to be merciless. Straubing’s Tuomie increased the score to 4-0 just under two minutes later. Then Peterka was also successful. The NHL professional, who had no luck so far in the tournament, heaved the puck into the net when he was in the majority (26th) and overcame Elvis Merzlikins. The NHL keeper from Columbus was now in goal for the exasperated Kristers Gudlevskis from DEL club Bremerhaven.
However, the German team’s desire to score goals was far from over. Again with one more player on the ice, the future Mannheimer Michaelis scored to make it 6-0 (31st). Yasin Ehliz prepared a goal for the sixth time in this tournament. And Peterka showed his extra class for the first time in the tournament: with his second goal he increased the score to 7-0.
Around 1,000 German fans in Ostrava couldn’t stop cheering. The 1:7 by Markuss Komuls only caused brief joy among the around 4,000 Latvian supporters (40th). In the final third they showed gallows humor in the face of the bitter lesson and celebrated the wave in the stands.
