Jagr sends hosts to the quarters, eliminates Germany

The German national team, which needed at least one point to keep their quarter final dreams alive, had an energetic start and dominated the first 12 minutes. In the 8^th minute Daniel Pietta even gave Germany the lead, as he skated through the Czech defense and deked out goalkeeper Ondrej Pavelec.

It took the hosts a lucky bounce to find their pace of the game. Michail Vondrka brought the puck on net and it bounced of German forward Patrick Köppchen into his own net.

Jakub Voracek and Jaromir Jagr had two good chances to give the Czech Republic the lead in the first 20 minutes, but they could not beat Timo Pielmeier in the German net.

Also the first minutes of the second period belonged to the Germans, as it was them to pressure for the leading goal. In the 24th minute Jakub Voracek had a good chance for the Czech Republic, but he turned the puck over, giving up room and time for a German counter attack. Tobias Rieder, showcasing his impressive speed, entered the zone giving the puck over to Michael Wolf, who beat Pavelec with a perfect shot under the crossbar to make it 2-1 Germany.

The hosts would not need a lot of time though to strike back. 2 minutes and 8 seconds later Petr Koukal scored on Pielmeier with a beautiful snipe, as he went top shelf on the San Jose Shark’s third round selection of 2007.

The Czech Republic did not have enough and were immediately looking for the go-ahead-goal, but Vladimir Sobotka did not capitalize on the rebound.

The Czechs would not waste the next chance though, as captain Jakub Voracek made up for his missed pass earlier in the period giving the Czech Republic the lead. Legend Jaromir Jagr set up a 3 on 1 situation with a world-class pass in the neutral zone and Voracek beat the German goalkeeper on the five hole.

The hosts now pushed for the two-goal-lead, but Jan Kovar hit the post and Martin Zatovic was robbed by Pielmeier’s catching glove.

In the final period Germany tried to come back, but were not able to create enough damage in front of Pavelec. Jaromir Jagr added one more, as his team won the faceoff and Number 68 beat the German netminder between the legs.

Despite the loss and the missed quarter finals, Germany could leave the ice with their heads hold high. After a brutal start into the tournament, highlighted in a negative way by a 0-10 massacre against Canada, they fought back and have come together as a group.

Still, they have one more game ahead of them and it is a special one, as Austria wants to avoid relegation beating their neighbours. If Germany loses, it could even be the Germans to be sent down to Division 1A.

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