Enlarge image
Silver hero Danny Aus den Birken (right) played for Mathias Niederberger against the USA
Photo:
Laci Perenyi / imago images/Laci Perenyi
If the national coach is wrong:
In ice hockey, coaches have the opportunity to have goals checked by video evidence.
The German national coach Toni Söderholm took the opportunity at the Olympic tournament against the favored USA when the Americans took the lead 2-1 because he wanted to have recognized a disability in goalkeeper Danny Aus den Birken.
The referees assessed the situation differently, Matt Knies' goal (25th minute) counted.
As a penalty for delaying the game, a German player had to go to the penalty box.
Söderholm criticized the high number of time penalties in the course of the tournament so far.
The Finn had to take responsibility for this.
The result:
The German national ice hockey team lost the third group game in Beijing against the strong American team 2:3 (1:1, 0:1, 1:1).
The mode:
Anyone who is upset about the boredom in the preliminary round of the soccer Champions League should not watch this Olympic ice hockey tournament.
Twelve teams were divided into three groups - and each team advances.
The group winners and the best runner-up went directly to the quarter-finals, the other eight teams will play out the remaining quarter-finalists in four more games.
For the DEB selection, there wasn't too much at stake against the USA thanks to the constellation in the other groups, the team avoids the three strongest opponents.
Now it is clear: It will continue on Tuesday against Slovakia.
First third:
Söderholm was dissatisfied with the performances against Canada (1-5) and China (3-2) and has made that clear.
One point of criticism was the majority game, against the USA Söderholm was able to clench his fist after just two minutes.
For the Americans, Brock Faber had to go into the cool box early on, Patrick Hager took advantage of this after a pass from Matthias Plachta.
But the German lead didn't last long, Steven Kampfer equalized with a majority (5th).
As the third progressed, the technical and running superiority of the Americans was clearly recognizable, but the German team held up well against an overall somewhat faster game with courageous duel leadership.
The spirit of 2018:
Four years ago, when the silver medal was one of the greatest successes in German ice hockey history, both opening games were lost.
The German team only really picked up speed in the quarter-final qualification (yes, the dubious mode is not celebrating a premiere in Beijing).
Players like captain Moritz Müller or goalscorer Hager, who were there in South Korea, never tire of invoking parallels.
Against Slovakia we will see if history can repeat itself.
Second third:
The superiority of the USA increased.
After Knies scored to make it 2-1, the German team twice had the chance to equalize when they were outnumbered.
The first opportunity fizzled out without a chance to score, in the second attempt the majority specialists around defender Marcel Brandt from the Straubing Tigers created a lot of pressure, but the 19-year-old goalkeeper Drew Commesso could not be defeated.
There is still not enough play in the German team, the offensive processes do not seem to be coordinated well enough.
A good mix:
Even in the absence of the ice hockey stars from the NHL, the USA are always among the favorites at Olympic tournaments; the reservoir of ambitious young players is too large outside of the best league in the world.
Players like Jake Sanderson, 19, Brendan Brisson, 20, or Knies, 19, bring a lot of talent and hope to make it into the NHL with the help of this tournament.
Coach David Quinn also decided to nominate some veteran stars with NHL experience such as Steven Kampfer, Aaron Ness and Justin Abdelkader.
According to the impressions of this tournament so far, the USA are among the gold candidates.
The Americans last won the Olympics in 1980, and almost exclusively college players were involved in the »Miracle on ice«.
Third Third:
It was a copy of the second section.
The Americans were superior, but there weren't too many dangerous pressure phases on the Aus den Birken goal.
Nathan Smith increased after a mistake in the German defense with a remarkable backhand flick (43rd).
The goal by Tom Kühnhackl (58th) came too late to save himself in extra time.
Outlook:
Upcoming opponents Slovakia lost significantly in their group to Finland (6-2) and Sweden (4-1) to secure third place with a 5-2 win over Latvia.
It will be a game at eye level - with good chances for the German team.
But if they were successful, according to the draw in the quarterfinals, it would go against the USA again.