The German ice hockey juniors got off to a perfect start in the U20 World Championship. Coach Tobias Abstreiter’s team defeated the Finnish selection 4:3 (1:1, 3:2, 0:0) in Gothenburg. The goal of the DEB selection is to stay in the top division.
Before the eyes of national coach Harold Kreis, Abstreiter’s team showed themselves to be anything but relegation candidates against the favored Finns. Veit Oswald from EHC Red Bull Munich scored Germany’s first goal of the tournament after six minutes. Tommi Mannisto equalized for the 2019 U20 world champions (9th).
In the second third, Niklas Hübner (23rd) and Roman Kechter (34th) were each able to equalize the Finnish lead. After Oswald’s second goal (35th), Germany went into the final half with a 4-3 lead. Goalkeeper Philipp Dietl impressed there and secured the surprising opening win with numerous saves.
On Thursday (7.30 p.m./Magentasport) Germany will face hosts Sweden. Then it’s against Latvia and finally against Canada. The best four teams in both groups qualify for the quarterfinals. The bottom two play in a relegation match to avoid relegation.
