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Austria edges past Germany in shootout thriller at 2015 World Championships

In its penultimate game of the World Championships, Austria has managed to push past Team Germany by way of a thrilling shootout win. The Austrians, wishing to salvage some pride and improve their prospects at competing in the same level next year, were dominant in their efforts against Team Germany, outshooting them 34-17.

Pulling ahead late in the second period, the Austrians seemed to play keep-away with the lead; as Captain Thomas Raffl would put Austria ahead. The Germans would respond in early in the third as Michael Wolf would find the back of the net to pull the Germans even. Rafael Rotter would restore the Austrians’ lead with just over five minutes to go in regulation; but German best player Patrick Reimer would even up the score with just two minutes left in the game.

The shootout was resolved in six shots, with Bernhard Starkbaum standing tall against German shooters, and Konstantin Komarek and Dominique Heinrich finding the back of the net for Austria. In salvaging the single overtime loss point, Germany has managed to avoid relegation and will get a chance to compete in the top flight tournament next year in Russia. Austria faces a hefty task tomorrow, as they close out their tournament against a dominant Canadian squad; all hope is not lost, though, as Austria could still lose to Canada and remain in the top flight next year, but only if Latvia is victorious over France tomorrow.

Pedro Rengel

Pedro Rengel

Originally hailing from the tropical paradise of Venezuela, I moved to Canada at age 11 for the sole reason of falling in love with hockey as a self-proclaimed Pittsburgh Penguins fan. Now a Canadian citizen, my mad love affair with hockey represents a statistical contribution as opposed to an anomaly. Being able to write this well despite having Spanish as a first language is enough of an anomaly (I'm occasionally biased).
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