The German women’s national team achieved their second victory in their third match at the Olympic ice hockey tournament in Milan, but narrowly missed out on early quarter-final qualification.
Great joy: DEB women celebrating the goal.
IMAGO/Chai v Laage
Reported from the Olympic Games in Milan Stefan Wasmer
In the 2:1 after extra time (1:0, 0:0, 0:1, 1:0) against the eliminated French team, national coach Jeff MacLeod’s selection was for long stretches the more compelling team offensively, but conceded the interim equalizer after a too passive start to the third period and only made the success they deserved clear in overtime.
Despite the loss of points, the German starting position in the fight for the last eight remains excellent. A win against hosts Italy late on Tuesday afternoon (4:40 p.m.; ZDF and Eurosport) would even make second place perfect in Group B, while only danger threatens from behind if Japan manages a sensational three-pointer against group winners Sweden on Tuesday.
DEB superior, but without a move to the goal
Table of Contents
The German team, which had no changes in personnel, was unsurprisingly superior in terms of running and more confident against the French team, who had previously had no points. However, the DEB game initially lacked the highest speed and the drive to the opponent’s goal from the success over Japan, and in front of goalkeeper Alice Philbert, traffic was not provided as consistently as against the Asians.
Despite German dominance, big chances remained in short supply, Jule Schiefer missed the best opportunities – first with a rebound after a shot at Philbert’s mask (7th), later with a shot that was a little too high (18th).
Fourth power play, first lead
On the other hand, France only managed two shots at DEB keeper Sandra Abstreiter in the opening third, but if the three-on-one counterattack was played poorly, they would have been ranked 14th in the world rankings. could still take the lead shortly before the break. Instead, the German team managed to do this 35 seconds before the siren in their fourth power play. After a failed French attempt to break free, captain Daria Gleißner switched gears and served Laura Kluge with a cross pass, who made it 1-0 with a direct shot from the right face-off circle.
The deficit apparently spurred the French team on. They invested more in offense in the second half than they had in the first 20 minutes, especially in the early stages. This helped the intensity of the encounter, but the bottom line was that the French efforts were not compelling. Instead, the DEB selection remained the more dangerous team, Svenja Voigt (22nd) and goalscorer Kluge alone in front of Philbert after winning a running duel against Lucie Quarto (29th) aimed too imprecisely from the best positions.
Things get heated for a moment
Things briefly got heated on the ice when Schiefer shot the puck into the French goal after a whistle, but tempers quickly calmed down as a result. Rather, the final minutes of the second half were characterized by the German team seizing the scepter even more emphatically and pushing for the second goal. Because Philbert, among other things, defused a promising wrist shot from Luisa Welcke from the slot with his stick hand (34th) and Schiefer failed at the outside post, the duel remained close before the third period.
Of course, the French also knew that anything was possible and promptly moved ahead of Sandra Abstreiter at the beginning of the third round. The DEB keeper was now always the focus because her teammates were often just running behind in their own zone and were sometimes disorganized. This was also the case in the 49th minute, when Manon le Scodan drew two opponents towards him and used a perfectly timed backhand pass to Estelle Duvin, who beat the defenders through his legs to make it 1-1. The French equalizer was flattering throughout the season, but at this stage it was anything but undeserved.
Goal conceded as a wake-up call
But at least the goal they conceded woke the German team up again. As a result, she took the initiative again, while the French women retreated into their counterattack for long stretches of the first two thirds. However, the MacLeod team missed a late advantage situation, and because Philbert, who had been strong throughout the tournament, was also a support for the Bleues in the final minutes – including a dangerous deflection by Luisa Welckes (59th) – the early quarter-final qualification was no longer possible.
The DEB team quickly secured their second victory of the tournament in the following overtime. With a lot of overview, Lilli Welcke found the defender Nina Jobst-Smith, who had moved up and was unguarded in the slot, from behind the French goal. After just 67 seconds of extra time, she unleashed a precise wrist shot and made it 2-1.
Statistics for the game
Germany – France
2:1 nV (1:0, 0:0, 0:1, 1:0)
Lineup Germany: Deniers – Hark, Gleißner; Strobel, Jobst-Smith; Schaffrath, Hoppe; Schmitz – Nix, Hadraschek-Eisenschmid, Kluge; Voigt, Li. Welcke, Lu. Welcke; Schiefer, Haider, Feldmeier; Christof, Bartsch, Heine
France: Philbert – Villiot, Leclerc; Zilliox, Quarto; Pélissou, De Serres; Shepherd – Rozier, Duvin, Huot-Marchand; the Scodan, Barbirati, Aurard-Bushee; Peyne-Dingival, Baudrit, Boudin; Galbrun, Mesplède, Nonnenmacher; Simon
Tore: 1:0 (19:25) Clos (Gleßner, Hadraschek Essish – PP1), 1:1 (48:21) Divin (le Scodan), 2:1 (61:07) Jobst Smith (Li. Welcke, Lu. Welck))
Main referees: Doyle (USA)/Svobodova (CZE)
Penalty minutes: Germany 6, France 10
Viewers: 3.632
date: 2026-02-09 23:01:00
Related reading