WJC-U20 Division 1A: Stroj robs Germany of three points

The home team, coming off a surpassing 4-3 win over Norway, had the better start into the game. The Austrians seemed more determined and were not afraid of using their body. Mario Huber almost had German net minder Daniel Fiessinger beaten on an excellent feed by Dominic Zwerger, but he missed the net by inches. In the ninth minute Austria was on the man advantage. Stefan Gaffal fired the puck twice within seconds, but both times the puck only hit iron.

In the 12th minute the fans in ‘Albert Schultz Halle’ could finally celebrate. Austria won the puck behind Germany’s net and Zwerger did not think twice, putting the puck behind the goal line.

In the second period, the momentum shifted. Now it was Germany to dictate the pace of the play. Julian Napravnik was on the odd man rush, gave the puck back to Tobias Eder, who could not beat Thomas Stoj. The German’s search for the tying goal was succesful in the 32^nd minute, when Stefan Loibl deflected Mayenschein’s slap shot for equalizer. Germany continued to make pressure, but neither Manuel Wiederer nor Christoph Korner were able to capitalize.

The final period began in perfect fashion for the Austrians. Germany was on the power play, lost the puck on the blue line and Austria could start a 2-on-1 counter attack. Huber gave the puck to captain Florian Baltram, who shot and it somehow trickled through for the 2-1 lead.

Germany kept the pressure high, but were numerous times denied by Stoj. Eder was alone in front of the 19-year old goalkeeper, who was able to hide the puck under his pads. In the 50^th minute he robbed Loibl with an incredible sprawling save, before making another world-class-save with 21 seconds to go. With the puck coming off the boards, Wieder seemed to have a wide open net in front of him. However, Stroj somehow managed to get pack in position, saving the day for his team with an amazing game stopper.

Zwerger added the empty netter for the final 3-1 result, handing Germany its first loss at the tournament. The Germans will face Latvia tomorrow in a crucial game for promotion, whereas the Austrian team will be challenged by the pointless Italians. Italy is in desperate need for a win, if they want to have a marginal chance of survival. For Austria on the other hand, even promotion is possible now after winning two out their three games thus far.

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