A last-minute goal by Patrick Reimer did the trick for Germany as they defeated France in their World Championship opener. The French have surprised many teams in the past few years, on the back of stellar performances from former NHLer Cristobal Huet. It was not to be this time, though, as the Germans had too much in the tank for France to handle. The scoring was opened a little past halfway through the first period on a Michael Wolf goal, assisted by their lone NHLer Tobias Rieder.
The game was mostly uneventful, as Germany and France exchanged shots. The excitement ramped up in the third period following a Damien Fleury goal halfway through the last frame; but whatever momentum the French had accumulated to that point was deflated when Sacha Treille was called for hooking with just over a minute left in the period, allowing for the powerplay that eventually see Patrick Reimer slot the puck in behind Huet. The French tried to rally by pulling Huet with thirty seconds left in the game, and though they were painfully close to knotting the game up, ultimately, Dennis Endras stood tall.
Germany’s next game is tomorrow against a rested, dominant-looking Canadian squad, making this the first meeting between the two nations since 2008, which was a 10-1 romp in favor of Canada.
France will also see action tomorrow, when they take on Switzerland. The last meeting between these two teams took place in Helsinki, three years ago, in which the French doubled up the Swiss 4-2.
Pedro Rengel
Latest posts by Pedro Rengel (see all)
- Unusual Happenings in an Unusual Season - August 14, 2020
- 2019 Offseason Reader Mailbag – Episode 1 - June 22, 2019
- More P(r)EDictions for 2019 NHL Conference Finals - May 8, 2019
