And now he is a full-fledged Olympian. middle of. Wolfsburg ice hockey professional Dominic Bittner was to see the first group game of the German national team (1:5 against Canada) in Beijing, then allowed to play on Saturday and Sunday, actively experienced first victories and scored. The DEB team against Slovakia on Tuesday (12.10 pm) in the Intermediate Round – it’s about reaching the semi-finals.
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Marco Novak was injured against Canada, so Bittner went against China, came out with a plus-minus balance (the German was on the ice when the goal was scored) and seemed perfectly happy. “As far as the spirit of the sport is concerned, I can say that it fills me with incredible pride to wear the eagle on my chest at the Olympics.”
He said of the game: “Here on ice with a small ice surface everything goes a little faster. Personally, I didn’t experience the game against China as bad as ice hockey in Germany. We did really well.” And after the crucial defeat we were able to do against Canada, it was very annoying that China still managed to score a goal and that certainly shouldn’t have happened, but unfortunately that happens again and again in ice hockey And I think we still played it well and deftly till the end. Don’t forget that this is a well established KHL team and they play at home. It is always surprising in the sports world when teams play domestic tournaments.,
The Chinese team is an oddity, playing in the KHL as the Kunlun Red Stars, composed mostly of North Americans, who had played in China for many years, were allowed to represent China. Everyone’s jerseys for the Olympic tournament had Chinese names written on them. Not unknown in Germany: Brandon Yip, who once played for Mannheim and Düsseldorf.
Novak got fit again on Sunday, but Bittner was there again and made a good play, even if he couldn’t stop 1:3. But Germany presented itself better than ever. Wolfsburg manager Charlie Fligoff: You have to play like that to get a chance, if you invest and fight like that, you have a chance too.
The US, who went straight to the semi-finals with three victories, saved 3-2. Bittner said: “We were able to take our game to the next level. Losing is very painful, but there were a lot of good things in our game. Above all, I think the team spirit and fighting spirit we have shown. The ends that had been taken out over the years were clearly visible again.”
Athletes burn a lot of calories during sports, professionals don’t have to starve. Bitner: “The food is very diverse. It’s a great canteen with a huge selection and you can get food round the clock.” Which is great, because hockey players don’t return to the Olympic Village until after midnight, for example, after a game against the United States. “There really is a selection from all countries, and a wide variety of directions too,” Bitner said excitedly. “From vegetarian to gluten-free to halal, literally everything there is in this world is available.”
A Wolfsburg resident shares his apartment with Toby Ryder, Tom Kuhnhackel and Stefan Loibel. “It’s a lot of fun. We mostly watch other games on TV and play some cards,” he says. He hasn’t seen much at the Games in the past few days: “The focus was and is entirely on our performance. But it’s great to see that all the other German athletes in the village have supported us in great numbers. In the last one play.”
