Germany delivered a commanding performance against France on Tuesday, cruising to a decisive 5-1 victory that punched their ticket to the Olympic men’s ice hockey quarterfinals in Milan.
The Germans will now face Slovakia, who surprisingly topped Group B, in Wednesday’s quarterfinal matchup.
Team captain Leon Draisaitl led the charge, netting the opening goal during the first period and later assisting Edmonton Oilers teammate Joshua Samanski for another score in the third period.
Additional goals came from forwards Frederik Tiffels, JJ Peterka, and Nico Sturm during the qualification playoff contest at Santagiulia arena.
France entered the game short-handed, missing defenseman Pierre Crinon after their federation benched him for “provocative behaviour” following his altercation with Canada’s Tom Wilson during Sunday’s loss to the tournament favorites.
Draisaitl struck first on a power play just four minutes into the game, marking his second tournament goal, before Tiffels managed a solo effort that bounced the puck off the goalkeeper’s mask and into the corner.
Peterka added another score with an effortless wrist shot in the final two minutes before the break.
France caught a break early in the second period when captain Pierre-Edouard Bellemare’s shot deflected off a German player’s skate and found the net, while goaltender Antoine Keller made several impressive glove stops to keep his team competitive.
However, Germany sealed the victory when Draisaitl delivered a perfect pass to Samanski in the scoring zone, and Sturm added an empty-net goal in the closing minute.
