The Germans beat the favorites for gold! Swiss stars leave the World Cup without medals
Elena Kuznetsova May 25, 2023, 19:27 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Everything was decided by two goals (one of them in the minority), left with a difference of 36 seconds.
The German team fell into the “group of death” in the World Cup and managed to get out of it alive to start creating sensations in the playoffs. At the beginning of the tournament, they lost to all the favorites: Sweden, Finland and the USA (but it should be noted that they did it in the fight, all the matches ended with a difference of one puck), after which they beat The main rival Denmark and swept through Austria, Hungary and France with a breeze.
From fourth place in group A, Harold Kreis’s team moved on to one of the main contenders for gold – the Swiss national team. However, they are no longer the main ones, nor are they the plaintiffs, but go home without savory sips. And how it all started! The Swiss won the first three meetings with an aggregate score of 15:0, then they managed not only with Slovakia and the Czech Republic, but even with the formidable Canada, who also did not know defeat before facing Patrick Fischer’s team.
The loss to Latvia after extra time could be attributed to the fact that the Swiss leaders missed the match, setting up for an important tiebreaker, and were ultimately knocked out before even reaching the medal rounds.
Here is a sensation! After all, in terms of composition, Switzerland was perhaps the most powerful team in the tournament, the only one that could boast of having some NHL stars. Here you have Kevin Fiala, Niko Hishir, Nino Niederreiter and a couple of strong defenders and seasoned veterans. Well, the absence of Denis Malgin, who was ill on the day of an important game, could not have had such a strong effect?
It seemed like it might well be Switzerland’s year, but whoever is stronger on paper doesn’t always win. There have been many examples in history, to remember at least the American “Miracle on Ice”, at least a very recent story with Boston, which in the regular season of the NHL broke all records to pieces, and then flew, colliding against the wall of Florida, which dragged itself into the tiebreaker largely thanks to the occasion.
And the Germans are not so simple either: for the fourth time in a row they reach the quarterfinals of the World Championship, and the only time during this time they went further, beating Switzerland.
In the first half, the puck from Maximilian Kastner’s long shot from the entrance to the box seeped slowly through Robert Mayer’s shot, and Germany took the lead. The Crusaders were able to equalize with the efforts of Jonas Siegenthaler early in the second half, but in the middle of the game, when Moritz Seider scored 5+20 for pushing Gaetan Has on board, they failed to take advantage of such a great opportunity. to take the initiative.
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Video
The German defender Seider received “5 + 20” for a push next to the Swiss Gaetan Has
The Germans acted competently in defense, defended in a large minority, and then struck with two quick goals! First, Dominic Kagun took out three players at once, opening up midcourt for JJ Peterka. He received the transfer, beat another rival and shot without a chance for Mayer.
The rights of the video belong to the International Ice Hockey Federation. You can watch the video on the IIHF Worlds 2023 YouTube channel.
After 36 seconds, the Germans grabbed another two minutes, but won the face-off in their zone and staged a two-on-one attack, which ended with Niko Sturm’s goal from a corner kick. Such a rapid development of events morally nailed the opponent, and the Germans calmly defended themselves and, when necessary, the goalkeeper Matthias Niederberger dragged.
The Germans attacked the favorites and will face the Americans in the semifinals. Well, the Swiss stars go home without medals, not this time.
