photo: Micheline Veluvolu/IIHF
The U.S. rallied from deficits of 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2 to skate to a 5-3 victory over Germany tonight in the final game of the preliminary round.
"Germany is tough competition," said American forward Richard Gallant, who scored twice for the winners. "They beat Czechs; they play hard. They play their system well and score off the rush. They're very skilled."
The game had no real meaning in the standings. Win or lose, the Americans were going to finish first, and win or lose the Germans would finish fourth. But, of course, as both teams prepare for the playoffs, a win tonight would have been welcome positive momentum either way.
"We played good defence tonight against the U.S., and now we want to take this momentum to the quarter-finals," offered German captain Maxim Schafer. "Our goal after being promoted was to make the quarter-finals, but now that we have done that we want to make the semi-finals. I think we can play better still."
Germany opened the scoring at 8:22 on a sensational play by Gustavs Griva. He moved in to the top of the circle on the left side and waited, appearing to be looking for a corner to shoot at. Then, he dished off to Dustin Willhoft to the back side of the play, and Willhoft had a gaping cage to work with. He didn’t miss, and just like that it was 1-0 for the underdogs.
Impressive as that goal was, it only served to poke the bear. The Americans dominated for several minutes until they tied the game. Captain Asher Barnett claimed a rebound in front and wired a high shot over Aaron Kaiser at 11:03.
Germany almost went ahead soon after on a play identical to their first goal, but this time a perfect Max Ziergiebel pass to Mateu Spath Mariscal resulted in a nice save by Patrick Quinlan.
The second period repeated the first. Elias Schnieder gave Germany an early 2-1 lead. He walked into the slot unbothered and snapped a shot under the glove of Quinlan at 3:16 for a 2-1 Germany lead. But two minutes later, the hosts tied the game again. This time it was Mikey Berchild who beat Kaiser at 5:23 on a power play.
Germany took another lead off a sloppy play by the Americans in their crease area. No one could find and control the puck, and then Quinlan had trouble with it as well, nudging it over his own goal line. Willhodft was credited with the score.
The Americans finally settled down and played NDTP-quality hockey, scoring twice in 70 seconds to take their first lead. Will Horcoff’s high shot beat Kaiser, who went down early, at 15:22, and then Gallant converted a short-handed breakaway to make it 4-3 for the U.S.
"My d-man, the captain, Asher, I thought he got it out," Gallant explained. "Unfortunately, he didn't, but I got a lucky stick on it and I just tried to freeze the goalie and make a move. I got lucky and it went in."
The third was tense and even, the Germans keeping pace and thwarting many American rushes while creating some chances of their own. But with Kaiser on the bench and the Germans pressing for the tying goal, Gallant hit the empty net with 2.2 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
Now, a day off, and then the pressure of elimination starts.
"We've been watching them," Gallant said of the Latvians. "They're a competitive team, have good goalies. They can make it a game when they play their best, but I think if we stick to our game plan we'll get the job done. We have to take our game to another level. Every team gets better as the tournament goes on. But if we play our best, I think we're the best team here."
"Germany is tough competition," said American forward Richard Gallant, who scored twice for the winners. "They beat Czechs; they play hard. They play their system well and score off the rush. They're very skilled."
The game had no real meaning in the standings. Win or lose, the Americans were going to finish first, and win or lose the Germans would finish fourth. But, of course, as both teams prepare for the playoffs, a win tonight would have been welcome positive momentum either way.
"We played good defence tonight against the U.S., and now we want to take this momentum to the quarter-finals," offered German captain Maxim Schafer. "Our goal after being promoted was to make the quarter-finals, but now that we have done that we want to make the semi-finals. I think we can play better still."
Germany opened the scoring at 8:22 on a sensational play by Gustavs Griva. He moved in to the top of the circle on the left side and waited, appearing to be looking for a corner to shoot at. Then, he dished off to Dustin Willhoft to the back side of the play, and Willhoft had a gaping cage to work with. He didn’t miss, and just like that it was 1-0 for the underdogs.
Impressive as that goal was, it only served to poke the bear. The Americans dominated for several minutes until they tied the game. Captain Asher Barnett claimed a rebound in front and wired a high shot over Aaron Kaiser at 11:03.
Germany almost went ahead soon after on a play identical to their first goal, but this time a perfect Max Ziergiebel pass to Mateu Spath Mariscal resulted in a nice save by Patrick Quinlan.
The second period repeated the first. Elias Schnieder gave Germany an early 2-1 lead. He walked into the slot unbothered and snapped a shot under the glove of Quinlan at 3:16 for a 2-1 Germany lead. But two minutes later, the hosts tied the game again. This time it was Mikey Berchild who beat Kaiser at 5:23 on a power play.
Germany took another lead off a sloppy play by the Americans in their crease area. No one could find and control the puck, and then Quinlan had trouble with it as well, nudging it over his own goal line. Willhodft was credited with the score.
The Americans finally settled down and played NDTP-quality hockey, scoring twice in 70 seconds to take their first lead. Will Horcoff’s high shot beat Kaiser, who went down early, at 15:22, and then Gallant converted a short-handed breakaway to make it 4-3 for the U.S.
"My d-man, the captain, Asher, I thought he got it out," Gallant explained. "Unfortunately, he didn't, but I got a lucky stick on it and I just tried to freeze the goalie and make a move. I got lucky and it went in."
The third was tense and even, the Germans keeping pace and thwarting many American rushes while creating some chances of their own. But with Kaiser on the bench and the Germans pressing for the tying goal, Gallant hit the empty net with 2.2 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
Now, a day off, and then the pressure of elimination starts.
"We've been watching them," Gallant said of the Latvians. "They're a competitive team, have good goalies. They can make it a game when they play their best, but I think if we stick to our game plan we'll get the job done. We have to take our game to another level. Every team gets better as the tournament goes on. But if we play our best, I think we're the best team here."
United States vs Germany - 2025 IIHF U18 Men's World Championship
OF