Germany’s national ice hockey team will start the World Championship in Finland on Friday (7.20 p.m.) with a preliminary round match against Canada. Three months after the disappointment at the Olympics, a changed selection is looking to make amends for the early end in Beijing.
“It was also instructive to know how everyone reacts when things don’t go as you hoped. Everyone wants to present themselves better,” says national coach Toni Söderholm, for whom the tournament in his home country is something special. Answers to some questions before the start of the World Cup in Tampere and Helsinki.
The top favorites include Olympic champions and hosts Finland, as well as defending champions Canada. If Canada wins the world championship again, the North Americans will be the sole record world champions with 28 titles, ahead of Russia, which is excluded from the tournament after attacking Ukraine.
A year ago in Riga, after a poor start to the tournament, the Canadians won the World Cup final against Finland 3-2 after extra time. “I think you have to get past the Finns at some point. I think Canada will have a strong team,” says Söderholm: “And it will be interesting to see what the Czechs will do with Kari Jalonen as their new coach.” The final is on May 29th.
In Riga last year, the Söderholm squad impressed and were among the top four teams for the first time since the 2010 home World Cup. The severe setback followed in Beijing. The team spoke openly of gold ambitions – and failed before the quarterfinals. And now?
As in previous years, the quarter-finals is the minimum goal. But the statements no longer sound so bold. “Of course we want to go into the knockout round,” says German sports director Christian Künast, of course.
The focus is primarily on the three NHL pros: world-class goalkeeper Philipp Grubauer (30), defender star Moritz Seider (21) and striker Tim Stützle (20). “It’s good for German ice hockey because the charisma of the boys helps the sport in Germany and gives us a lot of quality as a team,” says Captain Moritz Müller. Like former NHL defenseman Korbinian Holzer, Muller will also take on a leadership role.
The start has it all. First of seven preliminary round opponents is Canada, the only top nation in the German group. On Saturday we will face Slovakia, who came third at the Olympics and against whom the Germans were eliminated at the Winter Games in Beijing (0:4). Points should be scored against France, Denmark, Italy and Kazakhstan.
Deutschland – Canada
05/13/2022 | 7:20 p.m
Finally, the prestige duel with Switzerland awaits – as a possibly decisive game for the quarter-finals. “We don’t even need to talk about Switzerland, whether they can put together a good team or not. There are enough challenges when we look at the group,” says Söderholm.
The first four nations of the two groups of eight will advance to the quarter-finals, which will be played crosswise with the other preliminary round group. Germany will play their group A preliminary round matches in Helsinki.
The other group plays in Tampere. The final weekend with the semi-finals, the match for third place and the final will also take place there. Unlike in 2021, the two worst teams in the preliminary round will be relegated – like before the Corona crisis.
Only a little. Unlike 2021, the tournament will not be held in a bubble. Players are also allowed to stroll around the city in their free time. A year ago, spectators only returned to a very limited extent during the course of the tournament. Full halls are allowed this time.
According to sports director Künast, a PCR test was mandatory as a precautionary measure before departure, and only a quick test on arrival. All tests on arrival on Tuesday were negative, the German Ice Hockey Federation said.
All German games are shown on Sport1. In addition, selected international games, the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the final also run on Sport1. MagentaSport also offers its customers the German game and international games from the quarter-finals onwards on the Internet.
