Ice Hockey World Championship match – quarter-finals: Switzerland – Germany, May 25, 2023, Riga. Germany's Maximilian Kastner (right) beats Robert Mayer in Switzerland's goal.
Riga – Germany's ice hockey players unexpectedly beat Switzerland in the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Riga and, after winning 3:1, advanced to the semifinals where they will face the USA. The players of coach Harold Kreis thus eliminated the best team of the basic group B and will appear after two years in the fight for advancement to the finals. In 2021, they also eliminated the Swiss in the quarter-finals in the Latvian capital. The last time they won a medal was 70 years ago, it was silver.
Advertisement'; }
Photo gallery: Ice Hockey World Cup 2023
The Germans gained a decisive lead at the end of the second period, when forwards John Peterka and Nico Sturm scored within 36 seconds. Goalkeeper Mathias Niederberger performed reliably, making 29 successful saves. Germany won their fifth game in a row at the tournament.
“Why can't we win two more games? Anything is possible,” roared Sturm, who won last year's Stanley Cup with Colorado. He enjoyed the euphoria, but suffered physically at the end of the match. “For the last ten minutes, I couldn't feel my legs at all. But I'm incredibly proud of our team, how one fought for the other,” he added for Sport1. led by Hischier and Niederreiter, but Malgin did not start again.
Marti got the first significant chance in the 3rd minute, but goalkeeper Niederberger was ready. The Germans kept pace with their opponents and took the lead in the 7th minute when Kastner's shot unexpectedly passed between Mayer's hand and the concrete. which hit the bar exactly. Subsequently, the match was marked by a series of eliminations. First, the Germans failed to take advantage of the four-minute advantage due to Ambühl's penalty, the Swiss did not punish Seider's foul, who after an attack by Haas went to the cabins prematurely with a higher penalty.
The deadlock changed in the 38th minute, when the most productive German player in the tournament Peterka scored. The Buffalo forward fooled Ambühl, aimed precisely and scored his fifth goal and tenth point at the WC. Szuber was immediately sent off, but instead of equalizing, he hit Sturm in a weakened state after a sample overnumbering. The San Jose striker scored for the sixth time at the WC.
In the third period, he could have cut down Moser, but he did not hit the puck perfectly. Already in the 57th minute, the Swiss decided to recall the goalkeeper and tried to reduce the number of players in the field with six players, but they could not score a goal. The dismissal of Jonas Müller 50 seconds before the end did not help them either. The Swiss lost in the quarter-finals for the fourth time in a row.
World Hockey Championship – quarter-finals (Riga):
Switzerland – Germany 1:3 ( 0:1, 1:2, 0:0)
Goals and assists: 21. Siegenthaler (Fiala, Kukan) – 7. Kastner (Wissmann, J. Müller), 38. Peterka (Kahun, Gawanke), 39. Sturm (Stachowiak, J. Müller). Referees: Björk (Swed.), Ansons – Zunde (both Lot.), Hautamäki (Fin.). Exclusion: 4:2, in addition Seider (Germany) 5 min. and until the end of the match: No use. Underweight: 0:1. Spectators: 2896.
Lineups:
Switzerland: Mayer – Kukan, Siegenthaler, Glauser, Moser, Loeffel, Marti, Fora – Riat, Hischier, Fiala – Ambühl, Corvi, Niederreiter – Simion, Haas, Miranda – Bertschy, Richard, Herzog. Coach: Fischer.
Germany: Niederberger – M. Müller, Seider, J. Müller, Wissmann, Szuber, Gawanke, Wagner – Peterka, Kahun, Tiffels – Soramies, Sturm, Ehl – Noebels, Kastner, Fischbuch – Tuomie, Stachowiak, Schütz – Varejcka. Coach: Kreis.
