Riga (AFP) – The German national ice hockey team starts with Felix Brockmann of Adler Mannheim against the World Championships in Riga.
National team coach Tony Söderholm gave the 30-year-old a preference over Isprein Berlin’s Matthias Niederberger in the opening match against Italy abroad (3:15 pm / Sport 1) on Friday.
Brückmann was just a substitute behind former national goalkeeper Dennis Endras in the qualifiers for the German Ice Hockey League in Mannheim. Niederberger is expected to play in the second World Cup match against Norway (11.15 am / Sport 1) on Saturday.
There were no surprises in the lineup of field players. Soderholm has nominated all 20 players against Italy who were officially notified by the World Federation on Thursday. On Friday, the national coach at Niklas Triotel from Nuremberg added another goalkeeper, but he will not be used against Italy.
From the current World Cup squad, Daniel Fischbusch (Dusseldorf), Andreas Ider (Straubing), John Jason Petrka (Munich) and Dominic Bettner (Wolfsburg) are also missing from the official World Cup roster. Söderholm could score 28 players instead of the regular 25 for the tournament this year.
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Germany squad for the World Cup