As if bewitched: Swiss World Cup fairytale ends against Germany

Germany is surprisingly in the semi-finals of the Ice Hockey World Championships in Finland and Latvia.

25 May 2023

From: apa/dl

The German selection beat Switzerland 3-1 (1:0,2:1,0:0) in Riga on Thursday. The Swiss, who emerged from their preliminary round group as number one, lost their fourth knockout duel with Germany in a row. In another quarter-final in Tampere, the USA won against the Czech Republic 3-0 (1:0,1:0,1:0). The two winners will now meet on Saturday in Tampere. On Thursday evening, Finland and Canada and Sweden and Latvia faced each other.

Like two years ago, the Swiss lost again in a quarter-final against their feared opponents in Riga. After a strong preliminary round with a lot of praise, the favorites had to put up with the early 0-1 by Maximilian Kastner (7th). Jonas Siegenthaler (21st) made it 1-1, but it hardly gave the Swiss any security. In a sometimes heated game, the strong German team also suffered a game misconduct penalty for NHL defender Moritz Seider, who checked his opponent head first into the boards.

Switzerland disappointed across the board against Germany. © APA/afp / GINTS IVUSKANS

The two NHL strikers John-Jason Peterka (38th) and Nico Sturm (39th), outnumbered, shot Germany ahead with two goals shortly before the second period break. The Swiss could no longer counter, the uncertainty was palpable. Just three and a half minutes before the end, goalie Robert Mayer went off the ice for a sixth field player, but the goal was no longer possible.

The USA also won its eighth World Cup appearance. Matt Coronato (13th), Nick Perbix (29th) and Cutter Gauthier (50th) scored for the Americans, goalie Casey DeSmith celebrated a shutout. In the end, the goal scoring statistics were 34:15 in favor of the young US team. The average age of the squad, which includes some college players, is just 25 years old.