The German ice hockey team is as strong in the World Cup as it was in the Olympic Games three years ago – at the time the silver jump was made.

After the morning surprise: the pain did not come. The German defender, Korbinian Holzer, says, “Blocking shots usually hurts, but nobody felt anything yesterday.” As if in a frenzy, players throw themselves into the trajectory of the puck dodged by the Canadians, once more like Tom Kuhnhackel. Batting because he was just broken. Nearly 35 such rescue operations converged in 60 minutes, culminating in a 3–1 win over Canada at the World Cup in Riga. And all those involved said that they had never experienced such dedication.

Captain Moritz Müller said the big sentence: “The team thrives on courage, passion and love for each other. They are the cornerstone. “Blocking shots, which is not considered as much by the public as scoring,” is the epitome of our game. Then you sing that hymn the way we sang it. “Loud, inspired, the team’s energy turned to music as they came out on top – for the third time in this World Cup, in which they lead their group. Before his big names in ice hockey: Canada, America, Finland.

It was the first World Cup win since 1996 against Canada, “although it was not our best in terms of strategy,” as national coach Tony Soderholm said. So some improvement needs to be made for today’s tournament game number four (3:15 pm / game 1) against Kazakhstan. “We will not celebrate until then,” assured the Corbynian Holzer.

But what has changed significantly and fundamentally is how the German team approaches the World Cup. “Ten years ago,” the veteran Muller looked back, “we arrived with complications, we didn’t really believe in ourselves.” The boom began with the 2016 World Cup under national coach Marco Sturm, “and the 2018 Olympic Games were the crux of the matter,” says Holzer-Silber. “It instilled confidence that you can beat even the big guys. And so Claim to do. “

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After a 3–1 win against Canada, coach Söderholm said, every single German player could be named Man of the Evening. Then the election fell on the goalkeeper “who absorbs the disc” (Müller) Matthias Niederberger. In the dressing room, Berliner was awarded an internal award: “A very beautiful jacket, the color is very noticeable, goes in the direction of a disco ball,” Holzer describes the part. Niederberger wore it “with its Italian charm”.

No question about it: This team is having fun, including field players Dominic Bitner, Andy Eder, Daniel Fishbuch, and John Peterka, who have not yet officially registered, and who with masks and a siege Ones follow sports from the field – as committed training partners and tipster. Söderholm had already pointed out that the World Cup could be a great experience for some people: “And I’m sure the players will be here in Riga rather than at home.”

Due to the fact that the quartet did not report, the national coach still has places vacant – and has just left the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers along with Leon Dressital and Dominique Kahun. “It would still be a house number, but I don’t know how it could work,” says Holger, a former NHL player. Due to quarantine, they could only be used on the seventh day after reaching Latvia. In the quarter-finals, semi-finals? Until then, there are still many shots to be blocked.