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The Piešťany duel between Switzerland and Germany was exciting until the end. In the rush for 7th place, the Germans put up their first win at the tournament. Julian Lutz became the German hero as he scored twice, and the winning shot by Leon Sivic decided the 3-2 victory in the shootout.
Penalties: 7:5. PP goals: 0:0. SH goals: 0:0.
Referees: Štefik, Hronský – Jedlička, Crman. Attendance: 125.
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Report
The two outsiders of the tournament competed in Piešťany in the afternoon match for seventh place. Neither Switzerland nor Germany had won a game in the Hlinka Gretzka Cup yet, mainly due to weak productivity.
This showed in the first period when both goalkeepers, Simeoni and Bittner, shone the brightest. Although both teams had many opportunities to score, neither could do so despite they each had a power play.
After four minutes of the second period, the Swiss were two men short but managed to defend successfully. At the time 26:43, they were the first to score thanks to Lurati who hit the top-shelf. The Germans soon leveled when Lutz stretched around the defenceman and netted after a quick move.
At the end of the second, we once again saw a similar story when Swiss Miles Müller struck on a breakaway. Only 82 seconds later, Lutz got his second goal with shot from the back of the net which got deflected behind the goal line.
The Germans could have scored on an early power play in the third, but the Swiss defense resisted. Thus, thrilling overtime followed. Both goalkeepers showed their skills, and the German defence too did not let their oppontents score on a power-play.
In the shoot-out, the Germans showed more skill, especially Julian Lutz and Leon Sivic who got the winning shot of the shoot-out. Only Thierry Schild was successful for the Swiss, his team therefore lost 2-3 and ended the tournament without a single win.