The German national ice hockey team has also won its second game in the World Cup preparation against Slovakia. As in the first meeting on Friday, the team of national coach Harold Kreis prevailed 4:3 (1:0, 2:3, 0:0, 0:1), but this time only in extra time. Under Kreis, it was the third win in the sixth game.
The Slovaks started the game better and took a 18-21 lead thanks to goals from Pavol Regenda (2') and Richard Panik (0'). After the connection of Dominik Fischbuch (23rd), Regenda (28th) restored the old gap. At the end of the second period, Fischbuch (40') and captain Moritz Müller (40') equalised the game with a double strike to make it 3-3.
In the final third, the German team had a slight advantage, but did not put the puck in the opponent's goal, so that the game went into overtime. It took one minute and twelve seconds for Müller to score his second goal of the day on the power play to make it 4-3 and thus ensure the second victory in a row.
"A well-deserved victory"
"We made good use of the chances we had today. The guys are really happy about this victory," said Kreis. Double goalscorer Müller was also satisfied: "All in all, it was a significant improvement today and in the end also a deserved victory."
Next up for the DEB team is the World Cup dress rehearsal against the USA on May 9 (19:30 p.m. / MagentaSport) in Munich, when NHL pro JJ Peterka will also be involved and the World Cup squad will be finalized.
Kreis, who played in eight World Cup tournaments and two Olympic Games as a player, will begin his first World Cup as national coach on May 12 in Tampere against Sweden. The other preliminary round opponents are Finland, the USA, Denmark, Austria, Hungary and France.