German goalscorer Maximilian Kastner tangles with Kazakhstan's Adil Beketayev in front of Maxim Pavlenko's net.
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / MATT ZAMBONIN
Germany reeled off a second successive victory to maintain its perfect start at the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. Despite losing an early goal on a freakish deflection, the Germans secured a 4-1 verdict over Kazakhstan. Maximilian Kastner had a goal and an assist, and there were further tallies for Wojciech Stachowiak, Lukas Reichel and Lukas Kalble. Nikita Mikhailis claimed the Kazakh marker.
The opening two minutes of the third period proved decisive in this game. At one end, Germany’s Mathias Niederberger pulled off a big save to deny Arkadi Shestakov a tying goal as he walked into the zone from the face-off.
Then, 90 seconds later, Reichel banged in a fantastic one-timer to put Germany up 3-1 on Kazakhstan and put a decisive crack in some stubborn resistance. The Blackhawks forward added to his pair of helpers against Hungary when he got free at the bottom of the right-hand circle and whipped in an unstoppable shot from Frederik Tiffels’ feed.
“I think there was a mindset going into the third,” said German captain Moritz Seider. “Obviously, the [Kazakh] 2-on-1 before that wasn't ideal. But overall, I think we can just be happy with the performance tonight.”
Up by two, Germany was able to close out a second victory in Herning. Mannheim defender Kalble got his second goal of the tournament, beating Maxim Pavlenko over the glove to make it 4-1 soon after and the 2023 silver medallist joins Team USA on two from two in Group B.
“I thought it was a really solid game,” Seider added. “Obviously they had a couple shifts where they gained a little bit of momentum, because we got puck-watching a little bit. We couldn’t figure out a way to just stay in the zone and make our life easy.
“But I thought in the second and third it was a lot better. Mathias [Niederberger] played great. Overall, 4-1 says a lot, and I think we can be happy with that.”
Yet this was not an entirely straightforward assignment for the Germans. Kazakhstan was eager to show that it’s victory over Norway on Saturday was no fluke. Goaltender Pavlenko, so impressive in that game, excelled once again – and this time he had an early lead to defend. True, the fourth-minute opener from Mikhailis was seasoned with a large serving of good fortune: the Magnitogorsk forward fired the puck hopefully to the net, only for Seider to divert it into his own net.
As a fellow defender, Kazakhstan’s Tamirlan Gaitamirov had some sympathy with his German colleague on that one.
“That can happen to anyone,” he said. “[Seider’s] a good D, it’s just a mistake. But for us, a goal is a goal. It doesn’t matter how we score. Maybe a little luck, but it’s hockey. This is what the game is made of.”
At the other end, Pavlenko was kept busy. The Kazakh rookie made an eye-catching debut yesterday and continued in similar vein. Eager to push off his crease and attack incoming shots, he soon made it clear that he would stop most of what he could see – even if, on occasion, it took the shaft of his stick to deflect a shot to safety. So, for Germany, the answer was to find something he couldn’t see. Patrick Hager parked himself in front of the goalie, and Kastner fired past that screen to tie the game after 13 minutes.
The Kazakhs still posed questions on the counter. Midway through the game, with the scores still tied, Kirill Panyukov fired a rasping shot that forced Niederberger into a blocker save. Had that found its way into the net, the Germans might have had a tough time unpicking a hard-working opponent.
Instead, though, Germany could keep faith its systems and trust that the breakthrough would come. Leon Huttl dinged the piping before an odd-man rush put Harald Kreis’s team in front for the first time. Justin Schutz banged a shot into the boards and a springy rebound went to Dominik Kahun back in front. He got the puck behind Pavlenko, and Wojciech Stachowiak was on hand to push it over the line to make it 2-1 in the 35th minute. The post came to Kazakhstan’s rescue again before the second intermission with Kastner going close to his second. Then came that crucial passage early in the final frame.
The teams have a day off tomorrow before returning to action on Tuesday at the Jyske Bank Boxen. Germany faces Norway in the 1620 faceoff, before Kazakhstan takes on Hungary that evening.
The opening two minutes of the third period proved decisive in this game. At one end, Germany’s Mathias Niederberger pulled off a big save to deny Arkadi Shestakov a tying goal as he walked into the zone from the face-off.
Then, 90 seconds later, Reichel banged in a fantastic one-timer to put Germany up 3-1 on Kazakhstan and put a decisive crack in some stubborn resistance. The Blackhawks forward added to his pair of helpers against Hungary when he got free at the bottom of the right-hand circle and whipped in an unstoppable shot from Frederik Tiffels’ feed.
“I think there was a mindset going into the third,” said German captain Moritz Seider. “Obviously, the [Kazakh] 2-on-1 before that wasn't ideal. But overall, I think we can just be happy with the performance tonight.”
Up by two, Germany was able to close out a second victory in Herning. Mannheim defender Kalble got his second goal of the tournament, beating Maxim Pavlenko over the glove to make it 4-1 soon after and the 2023 silver medallist joins Team USA on two from two in Group B.
“I thought it was a really solid game,” Seider added. “Obviously they had a couple shifts where they gained a little bit of momentum, because we got puck-watching a little bit. We couldn’t figure out a way to just stay in the zone and make our life easy.
“But I thought in the second and third it was a lot better. Mathias [Niederberger] played great. Overall, 4-1 says a lot, and I think we can be happy with that.”
Yet this was not an entirely straightforward assignment for the Germans. Kazakhstan was eager to show that it’s victory over Norway on Saturday was no fluke. Goaltender Pavlenko, so impressive in that game, excelled once again – and this time he had an early lead to defend. True, the fourth-minute opener from Mikhailis was seasoned with a large serving of good fortune: the Magnitogorsk forward fired the puck hopefully to the net, only for Seider to divert it into his own net.
As a fellow defender, Kazakhstan’s Tamirlan Gaitamirov had some sympathy with his German colleague on that one.
“That can happen to anyone,” he said. “[Seider’s] a good D, it’s just a mistake. But for us, a goal is a goal. It doesn’t matter how we score. Maybe a little luck, but it’s hockey. This is what the game is made of.”
At the other end, Pavlenko was kept busy. The Kazakh rookie made an eye-catching debut yesterday and continued in similar vein. Eager to push off his crease and attack incoming shots, he soon made it clear that he would stop most of what he could see – even if, on occasion, it took the shaft of his stick to deflect a shot to safety. So, for Germany, the answer was to find something he couldn’t see. Patrick Hager parked himself in front of the goalie, and Kastner fired past that screen to tie the game after 13 minutes.
The Kazakhs still posed questions on the counter. Midway through the game, with the scores still tied, Kirill Panyukov fired a rasping shot that forced Niederberger into a blocker save. Had that found its way into the net, the Germans might have had a tough time unpicking a hard-working opponent.
Instead, though, Germany could keep faith its systems and trust that the breakthrough would come. Leon Huttl dinged the piping before an odd-man rush put Harald Kreis’s team in front for the first time. Justin Schutz banged a shot into the boards and a springy rebound went to Dominik Kahun back in front. He got the puck behind Pavlenko, and Wojciech Stachowiak was on hand to push it over the line to make it 2-1 in the 35th minute. The post came to Kazakhstan’s rescue again before the second intermission with Kastner going close to his second. Then came that crucial passage early in the final frame.
The teams have a day off tomorrow before returning to action on Tuesday at the Jyske Bank Boxen. Germany faces Norway in the 1620 faceoff, before Kazakhstan takes on Hungary that evening.