Licking wounds for the German men

You can always fall down once. The important thing is to get up again. That applies to the German men’s ice hockey team, who came to the Olympic Games in Beijing with big goals, but suffered their first major setback in their opening game. Now they have to win the second game against the host nation, the Chinese.

Germany and China are still without a point in this Group A after the first day of play. The Germans lost heavily to Canada and the Chinese were even worse off against the USA. NHL players or not, the North Americans have made a good start to the tournament, but it’s not the end of the road yet, especially since they can’t be eliminated in the preliminary round anyway.

However, they should do as well as possible in the group stage in order to avoid the toughest opponents in the playoffs. However, Toni Söderholm’s team will hardly be able to win the group and will probably not be able to finish second in the group either

And what makes optimistic: There are parallels to the Olympic tournament four years ago in Pyeongchang. At that time, the German team even lost in the first two group games. The outcome of the Winter Games should still be fresh in the memory. The important thing now is to arrive at the tournament with a win and we are clearly leaning towards at least a success for the DEB men between Germany and China.

Germany – statistics & current form

The statements of the German men before the first game in Beijing were different, but all went in the same direction. A successful tournament is to be contested. Some were flirting with the gold medal, but the German team had to learn bitterly in the first group game that precious metal is not served on a silver platter on the Chinese ice.

Open defeat against Canada

It was a hell of a third period that Toni Söderholm’s team had to go through against the Canadians. Marco Nowak had to retire injured early after a hard check. In addition, the Maple Leafs immediately took a 3:0 lead and were clearly superior to the German team, especially in terms of physicality.

In the middle period, the DHB men caught up a bit and scored through Tobias Rieder to make it 1:3. But if you thought that was the sign to catch up, you were wrong. Germany did not manage to get a grip on the game and in the end the Canadians deserved to win 1:5 and gave the ambitious Germans a first lesson.

Nevertheless, there are many indications that they will get their first win against the hosts on Saturday. In the duel between Germany and China, we would definitely play the odds that have to do with a German victory. Whether Marco Nowak will be ready for action again is likely to be decided in the short term. In any case, it is conceivable that the unfortunate keeper Mathias Niederberger will be replaced by Danny aus den Birken or Felix Brückmann.

The squad of Germany:
Goal: aus den Birken, Niederberger, Bruckmann
Defence: Bittner, Holzer, Nowak, Abeltshauser, Wagner, J. Müller, Brandt, Rieder
Attack: Loibl, Krämmer, Plachta, Kühnhackl, Ehliz, Hager, Bergmann, Kahun, Pföderl, Pietta, Wolf, Noebels, Tiffels
Coach: Söderholm

China – Statistics & current form

China is an absolute blank slate in international ice hockey. So far, a Chinese ice hockey team has neither participated in the Olympic Games nor in a World Championship. Therefore, this first appearance on the big stage had to be planned and staged in the long term. With Kunlun Red Star, a team was founded that plays in the KHL and is also the Chinese national team.

Many Chinese come from the USA

The names of the players alone make it clear that very few of the players were born Chinese. As many as 16 players have a US background. In some cases, however, the names have been adapted a little to the Chinese language. Jake Chelios, for example, is the son of USA legend Chris Chelios, who was part of the United States’ 1996 World Cup-winning team.

Despite the many personnel purchases, it has obviously not been possible to put a powerful team on the ice, because the Chinese completely blew the opening of the Olympic Games. They suffered a clear 8-0 defeat against a college team from the USA. The Asians did not stand a chance for three thirds of the game.

If the team of Italian coach Ivano Zanatta performs like that against Germany, it will be the second clear defeat. That’s why we think that in the duel between Germany and China, we will be right in predicting a clear victory for the DHB men. Unless the hosts completely outgrow themselves in the second group match.

The squad of China:
Goal: Han, O’Brien, Smith
Defence: Chelios, Chen, Fram, Osipov, Schultz, Sproul, R. Yan, Yuen, P. Zhang
Attack P. Foo, S. Foo, Guo, Kane, Lockhart, Werek, Wong, J. Yan, Ying, Yip, Z. Zhang, Zhong
Coach: Zanatta

Germany – China Direct Comparison / H2H Balance

The Chinese generally earn their keep in the lower divisions of the World Championships. A team from the Middle Kingdom has not yet qualified for the Olympic Games. Therefore, there has not yet been an occasion when the teams from Germany and China could have crossed paths. This is why it will be the first ice hockey duel ever between these two nations.

Germany – China Tip

It is not a must to win the second group match, but it is basically the ideal opportunity for the German team to get into the tournament. With a win against the hosts, Toni Söderholm’s team can gain self-confidence and approach the further tasks with momentum. Even though the German team lost significantly against Canada, we expect a turnaround already on Saturday.

Maybe it was a damper at the right time to put the focus back on the games and not to worry about the award ceremony before the Olympic Games.

What the Chinese will be capable of is difficult to predict. But if the hosts perform again on Saturday as they did against the USA, then there will be a second significant defeat. We think that the Chinese have limited potential, while the DEB men have not yet played up to their qualities. That will change on Saturday and that is why we are playing the betting odds on a handicap win for the German team (-2.5) in the duel between Germany and China.