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The goal to make it 2-1 was not enough: National player Markus Eisenschmied
Photo: via www.imago-images.de / imago images / ActionPictures
The German ice hockey team had three wins in the first three games at this world championship in Riga, and now it has lost for the first time.
The DEB selection was defeated by Kazakhstan 2: 3 (0: 0, 2: 1, 0: 2).
Goals by Tom Kühnhackl (30th minute) and Markus Eisenschmid (35th) were not enough against the outsider, who scored Alexander Schin (27th), Roman Startschenko by penalty (41st) and Pawel Akolzin (56th).
Decisive for the bankruptcy was that before the 3-2 winner of the Kazakhs Marcel Brandt slipped and was therefore on the ice instead of being able to intervene.
In order to reach the quarter-finals safely, the German team still has to score points in the remaining three preliminary round games.
The next opponent on Saturday is Finland (7.15 p.m.; TV: Sport1), followed by duels with the USA and hosts Latvia.
The 0: 1 against Kazakhstan meant the first deficit in the tournament for the German team. Two tight video evidence decisions were unusual, each after a challenge from the Kazakh coach Juri Michailis. While Matthias Plachta's goal (34th) was rightly denied due to offside, Eisenschmid's lead counted a short time later.
With the defeat, Germany missed such a strong start as in the World Cup debut of national coach Toni Söderholm in 2019, when four wins in the first four games and in the end jumped out sixth.
This time, even more could jump out of it: The Olympic runner-up Dominik Kahun, who arrived in Latvia around two hours before the start of the game, as a reinforcement from the Edmonton Oilers should increase the semi-final chance.
Due to the Corona regulations, his use will only be realistic at the preliminary round in the coming week.
mon / dpa
