For national coach Harold Kreis it was perhaps the best defeat. The ice hockey vice world champion’s 1:2 (0:1, 0:0, 1:1) against Slovakia was enough to secure a hat-trick of titles in the Germany Cup.
“Strange and unique,” the coach described the complicated constellation. Thanks to the better goal difference, the DEB selection achieved their tenth success overall at the home tournament in Landshut, tied on points with Slovakia and Denmark. “I thanked the team for allowing me to experience something like this with them in my career,” explained Kreis.
The special situation in the table also made the final phase a bit confusing. The German players didn’t all agree either. “I was wondering why the Slovaks suddenly took out the goalkeeper with a 2-1 lead,” said goalkeeper Florian Bugl, remembering the turbulent final phase. During a time out, the Straubing Tigers goalkeeper found out more. The hit was enough.
Tournament “very valuable from a sporting perspective”
In any case, it was more important for the national coach that his team remained competitive without numerous runners-up and top performers. The high level of performance gave the national coach a lot of joy. “It’s reassuring when experienced players can’t be there, but we’re still at a good level,” he said.
“The Germany Cup was also very valuable from a sporting perspective. I had the opportunity to see players that I would otherwise only be able to observe in the various leagues.”
According to the district, the young players around goalie Bugl, who was strong against Slovakia, showed “great commitment”. The experienced professionals like Leonhard Pföderl on Sunday or previously Marc Michaelis and Yasin Ehliz were responsible for the “game-determining decisions”. The “healthy mix” described by the national coach when nominating the squad paid off.
Pföderl scores the redemptive 1:2
Despite the defeat against the Slovaks, it was “the best game” of this year’s Germany Cup for the former DEL coach from Mannheim and Düsseldorf. Even though the guests were on the verge of tournament triumph after 66 seconds through Matej Kaslik and the 0-2 through Lukas Cingel (43rd minute). “The Slovaks were the strongest opponents in the tournament,” explained attacker Pföderl.
The DEB selection fought for the important goal. Pföderl made it 1:2 almost four and a half minutes before the end and caused great celebration among the 4,200 spectators in the sold-out arena in the traditional ice hockey city of Landshut.
“It was a great tournament for all of us, the scenery was great and now we have won the tournament – what more could you want,” enthused the 30-year-old Pföderl, who accepted the trophy as captain.
DEB women suffered two clear defeats
The German women were not so successful at the first combined Germany Cup. After two clear defeats against Finland (1:8) and tournament winners Czech Republic (0:8), national coach Jeff MacLeod’s team finished third ahead of Denmark.
The gap to the top nations is greater than perhaps expected. “We have to make sure that we work on the little things until the World Cup and eliminate the mistakes,” said national player Carina Strobel with a view to the title fights in the USA at the beginning of April.
