Ice Hockey World Championship

6-1! Switzerland Rips Through Germany

The Germans probably won’t look back on the match against Switzerland with fond memories…(Bild: EPA/CLAUDIO THOMA)

The host nation continues its flawless run at the Ice Hockey World Championship: Switzerland won its third match on Monday in Zurich, sealing the game against Germany with five goals in a furious second period! The Swiss scored three times in just 3:33 minutes, ultimately securing a 6-1 rout.

The Germans, who had gotten off to a rough start at the World Championship with two losses following their early exit from the Olympics, initially showed a better side against Switzerland but failed to capitalize on their chances: In a 3-on-1 situation, the DEB team fumbled the play at the end (8th minute); later, Reichel stopped the puck in a promising position instead of finishing (13th minute).

In addition, the underdog failed to capitalize on two power plays and repeatedly made defensive blunders—whether due to a line-change error or a turnover. Switzerland didn’t capitalize on this at first, as German goalie Stettmer made saves against Malgin (7th), Meier (12th), and Rochette (13th).

Kickoff to a goal fest
In Germany’s third power play of the game, the puck found the net in the second period—but in their own goal: Malgin capped off a spectacular four-pass counterattack while shorthanded with a sharp shot from a tight angle (24th minute)—the starting signal for a goal fest. Andrighetto capitalized on a bad mistake by Mik in front of his own net to make it 2-0 (29th). Then Samanski swept the puck across the goal, and Bertschy scored to make it 3-0 (30th)—a total of three goals in just 3:33 minutes!

The German resistance was broken, and discipline was lost as well. The hosts reacted mercilessly, exploiting the open space to score further goals on the power play through Hischier (38th) and Josi (39th). Stettmer prevented the score from reaching 0-6 by stopping Knek, who had appeared alone in front of him.

The Swiss noticeably slowed the pace
The Swiss maintained their scoring momentum in the final period in front of 10,000 enthusiastic fans who created a festive atmosphere at the Swiss Life Arena: Andrighetto extended the lead to 6-0 (46th) with his second goal of the evening on a backhand shot. Before the Swiss noticeably slowed the pace, the Germans managed to score a consolation goal through Tiffels (56th). In the end, however, they suffered a crushing 1-6 defeat, which will further exacerbate the crisis within the German team.

After a day off, Switzerland—considered a title contender at its home World Championship—will face Austria on Wednesday at 4:20 p.m.—a truly Herculean task awaits Roger Bader’s squad. Before its match against Austria this coming Saturday, Germany still has games against the U.S. (Wednesday) and Hungary (Friday) ahead of it and is under immense pressure to perform.