Germans out to prove that they have what it takes to be the best in ice hockey internationally
Last year, Germany secured the fourth spot in the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championships while playing on home ice. Though many attributed their success to luck rather the skill at their disposal, the Germans are set to prove all
their critics wrong.
They have been one of the hottest and most talked about teams in the 2011 World Hockey Championships taking place in Slovakia. The Germans have been absolutely superb in the qualification for the medal rounds and have shown some outstanding performances.
The games that they have played have seen them maintaining a 3-0 winning record at the moment. The wins have come against no ordinary teams; Russia, Slovakia and Slovenia.
In the 2010 IIHF World Championship, which took place in Germany, the home team came up with a dream performance that saw them making it all the way into the semifinals. They pulled off some big upsets along the way as they defeated teams like United States,
Slovakia, and then a 1-0 win in the quarterfinals against the Swiss put them in the semifinals.
However, Russia knocked out the home team in the semifinal, but not without facing tough resistance from the German side, eventually securing the game 2-1. The bronze medal game also saw them coming up with a decent effort, however, Sweden was the dominating
team on the night and won the game 3-1 in the end.
This was the first time that Germany showed a string of decent performances in an international tournament after the 16-man format was brought about in the game. Coupled with this was another achievement that witnessed goalkeeper of Germany, Dennis Endras,
becoming the first ever German to win a MVP award in a tournament. For his superb performance, he earned a contract from the Minnesota Wild last summer.
Being knocked out by the Russians last year, Germany faced them in the first game of the competition this time and came up with a superb 2-0 shutout performance.
The Germans are coached by former National Hockey League player, Uwe Krupp, who had this to say after the win against Russia, "I can't say we expected a shutout against Russia," Krupp said. "But I can say that we gained a lot of confidence from last year.
This team is very close-knit and the players are not in awe of any team that they will face. We're not the most talented team, of course, but we have a group of players who are committed to patience and hard work."
The Germans looked to be a well organized and confident unit and this is the reason they have tasted a lot of success recently. They are said to follow the North American playing style, which is one of the most effective and entertaining styles in the game.
Keeping in mind their recent performances and the hard work they have put in the last few years, it won’t come as a surprise if Germany manage to secure a medal this time around as well.
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