photo: Andre Ringuette/IIHF
Germany finished the preliminary round with a perfect 4-0 record for the first time ever, defeating China this afternoon by a 3-0 score. The win solidifies Germany’s first-place finish in Group B.
Germany coach Jeff MacLeod gave Sandra Abstreiter the day off, and that meant Lisa Hemmerle got her first career start with the national team. The 28-year-old is a story of perseverance and dedication, having played more than a decade in the German women’s league without a sniff at the Women’s Worlds.
At the other end, China was held together by Grace (Jiahui) Zhan, an 18-year-old who is playing high school hockey in Minnesota and is China’s top prospect in the blue ice.
Shots favoured Germany, 44-9, Hemmerle recording the easy shutout while Zhan was terrific at the other end.
"This could be our last game at the Women's Worlds and I'm super proud of how the girls came along, from April 4 to today," Zhan enthused. "We fought hard; we came together as a team and we prepared as best as we could. We have to learn from our mistakes and value the experience. I think we did a greta job of playing as a team and representing our country. We have a long way to go. We'll be prepared when we come back."
"It was a tough game for us because we had already won our group so it was a mental game from us," said Laura Kluge. "I think we could have done better, but we won and that's all that matters. Now we're looking forward to our quarter-final, which was our goal all along. But we're not done yet."
Germany got just the start it wanted, opening the scoring after just 28 seconds. China’s goalie Jiahui Zhan made the initial stop on a long shot, but Laura Kluge was right there to bang home the rebound.
That was the kind of period China had. They failed to register even one shot on goal, the 22nd time this has happened in WW history, and they were outshot 19-0. They incurred the only two penalties, the second of which allowed the Germans to double their lead. The goal came on a similar play, Zhan giving up a rebound and Emily Nix pushing the puck in after the Chinese failed to clear the zone.
China finally got their first shot on goal five minutes into the second, but their grand total for the middle 20 minutes was only three. Germany, meanwhile, continued to play aggressively, and Zhan made several big saves to keep the score close. The Germans incurred the only three penalties of the period, but the China power play was ineffective and the scorer remained 2-0 through two periods.
China could get nothing going in the third, and Germany had an excellent chance to up their lead when Yue Qu took the legs out from under Nix on a clear break. Germany was awarded a penalty shot, but Franziska Feldmeier stumbled on her way in and didn't get a shot off. Nonetheless, Bernadette Karpf added an empty netter to confirm the victory later in the period.
"We have to learn to capitalize on our opportunities and always keep a positive attitude," Zhan added. "It was a tie game the last two periods not counting the empty net goal, so we can take that away. We have a future, a bright road in front of us. We're here to learn, and we'll use that experience in the future."
Germany coach Jeff MacLeod gave Sandra Abstreiter the day off, and that meant Lisa Hemmerle got her first career start with the national team. The 28-year-old is a story of perseverance and dedication, having played more than a decade in the German women’s league without a sniff at the Women’s Worlds.
At the other end, China was held together by Grace (Jiahui) Zhan, an 18-year-old who is playing high school hockey in Minnesota and is China’s top prospect in the blue ice.
Shots favoured Germany, 44-9, Hemmerle recording the easy shutout while Zhan was terrific at the other end.
"This could be our last game at the Women's Worlds and I'm super proud of how the girls came along, from April 4 to today," Zhan enthused. "We fought hard; we came together as a team and we prepared as best as we could. We have to learn from our mistakes and value the experience. I think we did a greta job of playing as a team and representing our country. We have a long way to go. We'll be prepared when we come back."
"It was a tough game for us because we had already won our group so it was a mental game from us," said Laura Kluge. "I think we could have done better, but we won and that's all that matters. Now we're looking forward to our quarter-final, which was our goal all along. But we're not done yet."
Germany got just the start it wanted, opening the scoring after just 28 seconds. China’s goalie Jiahui Zhan made the initial stop on a long shot, but Laura Kluge was right there to bang home the rebound.
That was the kind of period China had. They failed to register even one shot on goal, the 22nd time this has happened in WW history, and they were outshot 19-0. They incurred the only two penalties, the second of which allowed the Germans to double their lead. The goal came on a similar play, Zhan giving up a rebound and Emily Nix pushing the puck in after the Chinese failed to clear the zone.
China finally got their first shot on goal five minutes into the second, but their grand total for the middle 20 minutes was only three. Germany, meanwhile, continued to play aggressively, and Zhan made several big saves to keep the score close. The Germans incurred the only three penalties of the period, but the China power play was ineffective and the scorer remained 2-0 through two periods.
China could get nothing going in the third, and Germany had an excellent chance to up their lead when Yue Qu took the legs out from under Nix on a clear break. Germany was awarded a penalty shot, but Franziska Feldmeier stumbled on her way in and didn't get a shot off. Nonetheless, Bernadette Karpf added an empty netter to confirm the victory later in the period.
"We have to learn to capitalize on our opportunities and always keep a positive attitude," Zhan added. "It was a tie game the last two periods not counting the empty net goal, so we can take that away. We have a future, a bright road in front of us. We're here to learn, and we'll use that experience in the future."