Will Germany cause the next surprise?

A tournament always harbours the really big emotions, as long as your own team is still in the game. That’s why the 2023 Ice Hockey World Championship in Latvia and Finland is so much fun this year.

The DEB men are fighting for the medals this weekend. Maybe even the big one is possible. However, our Germany vs USA tip for this semi-final shows that the United States are the clear favourites.

Harold Kreis’s team has shown at this World Cup that they can take on any team and that they don’t have to hide from anyone. Even the travel hardships from Finland to Riga for the quarter-finals didn’t bother them and neither should it be a problem to return to Tampere now. The German team also showed very strong performances in the Nokia Arena.

Now, however, the fattest chunk is waiting, which is probably still in the running. In the run-up to the World Cup, the United States were more of an outsider, perhaps a secret favourite, but in the meantime the US boys have emerged as the best team in the tournament, chasing victory after victory.

That the US are now the opponents is thanks to a quirk of this tournament. The pairings in the quarter-finals were based on the ranking in the preliminary round. After the group stage, however, a seeded list was drawn up in which the USA, as the best team to date, received the one seed, while Germany only entered the playoffs as the eighth-best team. The best and weakest team according to the seedings from the preliminary round will now meet in the semifinals.

Germany – Statistics & current form

There’s no other way to say it, but Germany have established themselves among the extended world elite. In the preparation it didn’t quite look like it, but Harold Kreis also had to put his signature on the team first. After that happened, the DHB men are getting better and better into the tournament. There are several factors that make the German game so strong.

Five defeats in a row after start with bankruptcy

For one thing, there are the great individualists like JJ Peterka or Nico Sturm, who have made their mark on this tournament, especially in attack. They stand for the incredible effectiveness that Germany shows in the offensive game after game. In addition, not only the defenders defend their own goal with passion. In the goalie box, Mathias Niederberger is a wall that rises above itself in every game.

This is how the German team managed to celebrate five wins in a row after three opening defeats. Harold Kreis’ team did not have to go into overtime once. With the exception of Switzerland, however, there was actually no opponent from the top shelf, and yet their self-confidence has soared. It is therefore interesting that the odds on a German victory in the match between Germany and the USA are once again extremely high.

The German team played a great game against Switzerland in Riga and took a 1-0 lead through Maxi Kastner. In the second period, a five-minute period of shorthanded play and a match penalty for defensive giant Moritz Seider made things tight, but after the suspension expired, it was first JJ Peterka who put Germany in the lead, before Nico Sturm even made it 3:1 with a shorthanded goal. The German team didn’t really get into trouble after that and deserved to be in the semi-finals after this prestigious win over the Ice Comrades.

The Germany squad:

Goal: Franzreb, Niederberger, Strahlmeier
Defensive: Gawanke, Hüttl, J. Müller, M. Müller, Seider, Szuber, Wagner, Wissmann
Attack: Ehl, Fischbuch, Kahun, Kastner, Noebels, Peterka, Schütz, Soramies, Stachowiak, Sturm, Tiffels, Tuomie, Varejcka, Wiederer
Head Coach: Kreis

USA – Statistics & current form

When people associate hockey and the USA, they always assume that the United States is a major power in the sport. But the fact is that there hasn’t been a World Championship title since 1960, when the World Championship was still linked to the Olympic Games. Since then, the Americans have won four World Championship bronze medals and have not reached the final once.

Won all eight World Cup games

If they make it to the final, it would be the first World Cup final in over 60 years. So it’s no wonder that the euphoria overseas is now very high, especially since head coach David Quinn’s team is playing an outstanding World Cup. The US boys have won all eight World Cup games and only had to go into overtime in the last group game against Sweden.

Including the only test match against Germany, the United States have now won nine in a row. At least Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic were tough opponents. As we now know, the German team is also a tough opponent and therefore we would predict a close match between Germany and the USA.

On Thursday, the US took on the Czech Republic and had few problems throughout the match. In the end, goals from Nick Perbix, Matt Coronato and Cutter Gauthier gave them a clear 3-0 win. With Gauthier, the US boys also have such a super talent in their ranks, who is making a lasting impression at the World Cup. With seven goals, the 19-year-old from Boston College is currently second on the all-time scoring list.

The United States squad:

Goal: DeSmith, Commesso, Petersen
Defensive: Thrun, Mackey, Attard, Samberg, Perunovich, Hutson, Perbix, Kleven
Attack: Walker, O’Connor, Tuch, Bonino, Tynan, Gauthier, Farrell, Bjork, Eyssimont, Coronato, Brown, Grimaldi, Garland, Tuch, Mazur
Head Coach: Quinn

Germany – USA Direct Comparison / H2H-Balance

There have been times when Germany and the USA have gone toe-to-toe over the last 30 years. However, the US boys have the better record in this period. Since 1991, the two national teams have faced each other on the ice in a total of 35 encounters. The direct comparison in this period is in favour of the Americans with 22:10 victories and three draws.

Especially in the last few matches, the DEB men regularly lost out. The last eight games all went to the United States. In the group phase, however, the 3:2 victory of the USA showed that Germany can keep up. At one point, Harold Kreis’ team was even 2-1 up and had the best team of this World Cup so far on the brink of defeat.

Germany – USA tip

We are sure that the German team believes in itself and its strengths and by now also in the miracle of Tampere. Harold Kreis’ team has come together better and better over the course of the World Cup and has a great chance to win a World Cup medal for the first time in 70 years. They only need to win one of the next two games, but better the first one, because then even the title is possible.

With five wins in a row, the Germans have shown that they will have their chances in this semifinal as well. However, it should not be overlooked that the US have won all eight World Cup matches and have presented themselves as the best team of the tournament on balance.

In addition, the Americans have won their last eight matches against Germany. However, the match in the preliminary round showed that Harold Kreis’s team can keep up against the US boys and the bottom line is that a semi-final cannot be judged by bare numbers and statistics alone. We still believe in this German team and have decided to play the betting odds on the German skaters advancing between Germany and the USA.