Like 2018: False start for the ice hockey team - Nowak injured
Created: 2022-02-10Updated: 2022-02-10 4:32 p.m
Canada's Jordan Weal (M) and his teammates celebrate after scoring 5-1.
© Peter Kneffel/dpa
The start of the tournament at the Olympics failed for the DEB selection.
It's 3-0 against Canada after just a few minutes, and there's also an injured person in the DEB team.
A lot is still missing for the silver form of 2018.
Beijing – Germany's ice hockey men are still far from the hoped-for medal form at the Olympics.
For the selection of national coach Toni Söderholm, it was a bitter 1: 5 (0: 3, 1: 1, 0: 1) against the stronger than expected record Olympic champion Canada without all his NHL stars.
Only Tobias Rieder (31st minute) from the Växjo Lakers from Sweden was successful in Beijing for the far too harmless and visibly shocked Olympic silver medalist from 2018.
At this point in time, the selection of the German Ice Hockey Federation had already lost leading player Marco Nowak after a hard but unpunished check to the head and in principle had already lost the opening game.
Germany with a bitter start to the tournament
Against the highly motivated and hard-playing Canadians, there was a bad first third with three goals conceded.
Alex Grant from Jokerit Helsinki (5th), Ben Street (10th) from EHC Red Bull Munich, Daniel Winnik (11th) from Servette Geneva, Naxim Noreau (33rd) from ZSC Lions from Zurich and Jordan Weal (52nd ) from Bars Kazan in Russia scored for the Canadians, who successfully avenged a 3-4 draw in the Olympic semifinals in Pyeongchang four years ago.
As in 2018, Germany experienced a bitter start to the tournament on the small Olympic ice surface adapted to North American standards.
Four years ago, the German team suffered two defeats at the start of the Olympics.
However, that shouldn't be happening now.
On Saturday (9.40 a.m. / ZDF and Eurosport) against China, a win is mandatory.
Despite having 16 naturalized North Americans, the hosts are big outsiders in the tournament.
1448 days after the "game of the century" in the semifinals of Pyeongchang, when Germany had shown the ice hockey motherland 4:3 for a long time, this time it was exactly the other way around.
After just five minutes, Eric O'Dell took the Düsseldorf defender Nowak out of the game with a hard check to the head.
The 31-year-old was still dazed on the ice when goalkeeper Mathias Niederberger was struck for the first time shortly afterwards.
To make matters worse, the champion keeper of the Eisbären Berlin had previously lost his racket.
DEB selection in excess too ineffective
Street's direct acceptance hit the network again five minutes later.
Only 32 seconds later, Niederberger conceded a very bitter goal in his first Olympic game, which he directed into the goal himself.
The actually strongest German keeper was preferred to Mannheim's Felix Brückmann and Munich's Danny aus den Birken.
After the first third break, Germany at least held up better, but was far too ineffective at many moments when there were too many.
The North Americans did better, providing clear conditions again shortly after former NHL pro Rieder's goal on the power play.
Niederberger, who had a clear view, did not look good with this goal either.
The fifth goal in the final third was no longer significant.
That proved a lesson to some pundits who had viewed Germany as a group favorite given the lack of NHL players.
"Canada in particular has many players who already have NHL experience," national coach Söderholm warned.
The conservative-looking German team never got along with the hard and consistent style of play of the North Americans.
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Because, like in 2018, the NHL did not take an Olympic break again and the top nations are missing a lot more of their best professionals, the self-confidence in the German team was extremely high.
dpa