After defeat against Canada: German ice hockey team narrowly escapes embarrassment against China

The Olympic appearance of the German national ice hockey team is characterized by insecurity. Before the Group B match against China, which DEB won 3:2 (2:0, 1:1, 0:1) with great difficulty, it initially looked as if Danny Os den Birken was guarding the allowable goal of Mathias Niederberger. At least that’s what the official information initially said.

But in the end, as in the realistic 1: 5 match against Canada at the start of the ice hockey tournament, the Berlin goalkeeper was among the defenders, and at least in the first third, he conceded no goal. Which was expected given the qualities of the Chinese team. The host nation’s team, which includes 16 North American nationals, was defeated by the United States in its first Olympic game, losing 8-0. Even as a team in the Kontinental Hockey League, where the team trades as Kunlun, this group can’t compete with the others because they are at the bottom of the table.

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But the German team’s second appearance also showed that the system is still capable. During the reinforcement, the team repeatedly made mistakes and rarely managed to get the Chinese goalkeeper into serious trouble. Even a 3-0 lead through goals from Straubing’s Marcel Brandt (14) and Corbinian Holzer (17) and Dominic Cahoun (25), contracted to SC Bern in the Swiss league, may not resolve the apparent cramp. The burden of wanting to achieve something similar to the staggering silver of four years ago weighs heavily on our shoulders.

The game was about to turn

After Spencer Fu’s first Chinese goal the day before the break, the team found themselves swimming in the final stretch. After the 2:3 (49) goal one had to fear that this match would turn upside down. Only with luck and great effort can this victory be salvaged over time. “The team did not complete the match we had planned,” national team coach Tony Soderholm said from the German news agency.

“With all due respect to China, but the United States would have punished us more tomorrow,” Issebren striker Marcel Noebbels added. The American team surprisingly beat Canada 4: 2 and tops the first group. Theoretically, with Sunday’s win over the college group (2:10pm, ARD and Eurosport), there is still a top spot in this group, which means a direct qualification for the quarter-finals. However, based on past experience, you should be more prepared for Tuesday’s knockout match in order to reach the quarter-finals. (small spoon)