Alexander Serikow and defenseman Lass Kopitz each scored a pair of goals as Germany skated past the Swiss by a score of 4-1 (0-0, 2-0, 2-1). In Saturday’s night game, Brett Harkins and defenseman Peter Ratchuk each recorded a goal and an assist as Team USA downed Canada, 4-1 (1-0, 2-1, 1-0).
After two of three games, Team USA leads the standings with 5 points, Germany is in second place with 4 points. Switzerland (3 points) still has a chance to win the tournament, while Canada is in last place with no points. On Sunday, Germany will take on Canada while the USA can clinch the 2003 Deutschland Cup with a victory over Switzerland.
Germany defeats Switzerland„The game was even until we took a 1-0 lead“, said German head coach Hans Zach. „We showed patience and also managed to play a little more aggressive than against the USA. I’m very content.”
Both teams had good scoring opportunities early on, but failed to convert. The Germans even squandered a 90-second two-man advantage. Late in the period, a shot by Canadian-born German defenseman Rob Leask rang off the woodwork.
Serikow of the Kassel Huskies broke the deadlock on an odd-man rush midway through the second, hammering the puck past Swiss netminder Marco Bührer. He added another goal on a 5-on-3 power-play late in the middle frame, tucking home the rebound after a point shot from Jan Benda (Bars Kazan/Russia) with Mark Streit and Sandy Jeannin in the sin bin.
Nürnberg Ice Tigers defenseman Lasse Kopitz extended Germany’s lead to 3-0 three minutes into the final stanza, scoring on a counterattack after a feed from Ice Tigers teammate Thomas Greilinger.
A power-play tally by Marcel Jenni (Farjestads BK/Sweden) spoiled the shutout bid of Harvard product Oliver Jonas (Berlin Eisbären), who stopped 30 shots. Swiss goalie Bührer turned aside 32 of the 35 shots he faced. An empty-netter by Kopitz capped the scoring at 4-1 in the final minute of play.
Team USA improves to 2-0 with win over Canada“Team USA played very well”, Canadian head coach Dave King said after his team’s 4-1 loss Saturday night. “They made it a high-paced game, which gave us trouble.”
„My team worked well“, remarked US coach Peter Laviolette. “We won a lot of 1-on-1 battles in the neutral zone and played very strong on defense, which was the key to the game.”
The United States took a 1-0 lead when Brett Harkins (IFK Helsinki/Finland) scored just 3:50 into the contest, taking a pass from David Roberts, splitting the defense and going top-shelf on Canadian goaltender Frederic Chabot of the Nürnberg Ice Tigers.
Team USA caught a break midway through the opening period as Canada, on the first of two back-to-back power plays, hit the post on a shot from defenseman Jeff Tory (DEG Metro Stars). With defenseman Micki Dupont (Berlin Eisbären) and Andy Schneider (Hamburg Freezers) in the sin bin, the U.S. failed to score on a lengthy two-man advantage, peppering Chabot from the point but failing to penetrate Canada’s defensive perimeter.
Team USA doubled its lead early in the second period with a pair of goals 73 seconds apart. Defender Peter Ratchuk (Frankfurt Lions) drilled a shot from the point on a pass from Bryan Lundbohm (HC Sierre/Switzerland). Andy Roach (Mannheim Adler) poked home a shot from near the side of the net to make it 3-0. Canada’s Brad Purdie made it 3-1 when his slapper from the top of the left face-off circle beat US goalie Chris Rogles (Kölner Haie) through the five-hole.
A goal from Ted Drury of the Kassel Huskies put the game away with 10:59 left in the third. Ted, the brother of Calgary’s Chris Drury, picked up a pass from Derek Plante at center ice, skated into the Canadian zone and beat Chabot with a wrist shot from the high slot.
Rogles made the lead stand up, stopping 14 shots in the third period, for a game total of 30 saves. Chabot stopped 36 of 40 shots.
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