Riga (AP) – The players were very proud. After the historic World Cup win against Canada, the cheers of German ice hockey sang the national anthem with a big grin and vigor on their faces.

After a 3–1 (2–1, 0–0, 1–0) victory in Riga, captain Moritz Müller said, “We can really be proud of ourselves – the first win in a World Cup against Canada in 25 years.” . The last time a German team defeated the ice hockey homeland in Vienna was in 1996 (5: 1).

Goalkeeper berserk dues

“Against Canada we were actually able to win, it’s extraordinary,” said excellent goalkeeper Mathias Neidberger, who had cramps during the game, given the frequent bombings by Canadian NHL players. “Matthias absorbed the shots,” Müller said of the defender of the German champion Isabren Berlin, who crossed 39 shots and was powerless against only Ottawa Senators’ Paul Nick in the interim 1: 2 (19th minute) . “You need a goalkeeper like him to win the game. Thank God we had it today,» said Muller.

Manheim’s Stefan Loible (11th minute) and Matthias Plachta (12th minute) as well as the future Mannheim Korbinian Holzer (58th minute) beat the German team to an empty Canadian goal for another very important win against Canada. Three years ago, Germany won the silver medal by defeating the 26-time world champion 4-3 in the Olympic semi-finals in PyeongChang. At the time, both teams were faced with not being able to use any NHL players.

The top stars have also been missing from this World Cup so far. Unlike 2018, the Canadian team consisted almost exclusively of NHL players who did not make it to the playoffs. “We saw an extremely strong Canadian team,” Muller said. In fact, the Canadians who lost the first two games and now have their backs against the wall, were playing very angrily. Between the 2–0 and 3–1 finals, the German team had to avoid a real defensive battle, in which they majored brilliantly.

National Coach Proud

«I have probably never seen a game where a team has blocked so many shots. Everything worked out perfectly – it was incredible to see, “said national coach Tony Soderholm, who topped the strong World Cup at the start of his tournament as national coach in Slovakia in 2019. At the time, Germany Started with four wins and had the best opening round ever at the World Championships. The German team currently has three wins after three matches, watching the quarter-finals strongly and secretly looking for more is.

Seeing the many defeats of the top nations so far, Niederberger said, “It’s a strange tournament.” “I think anything is possible for sure. We give our best.” The next opponent in the preliminary round is Kazakhstan on Wednesday (3:15 pm / Sport 1).

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