The Germans are back! After four years in Division I, they won a top-level U20 game for the first time since 2014.

And, playing the Czechs for the first time in six years, the Germans did what they did last time out – defeated their opponent. Today's score was a thrilling 4-3 count, giving them a 1-1 record at this year's U20 and dropping the Czechs to 1-1 as well in Group B.
 
That game in 2013 marked the only German victory in 11 previous meetings with the Czechs, a 3-0 decision, and now they have won the last two games between the nations.

"We played a full 60 minutes today," enthused captain and defenceman Moritz Seider, who had three assists today. "We had only a short time to recover from yesterday, but we were really hyped to play. Everybody blocked shots and competed hard. It’s always fun playing in a full house, even if it’s the home crowd. It’s not easy, but it’s fun. The guys did a great job today. We have a young team, and some of the guys don’t know how to play in a full arena, but they did an unreal job today."

The win gives Germany a leg up on the Czechs for a playoff spot as both teams have two tough games remaining. For Germany, the fight continues Monday, against Canada. 

Justin Schutz agreed. "No one was expecting us to do well, but here we are. We have a chance to go to the quarter-finals now, and I think we can beat anyone."

"We played well today," Tim Stutzle added. "It could have been a little better, and we took too many penalties, but we won, and that’s the big thing."

The Czechs now have a day off before playing the U.S. on Monday.

As in their first game against the United States last night, the Germans opened the scoring early on the power play. It wasn’t pretty, but Lukas Reichel came out of the corner and tried to jam the puck in on the near side. Lukas Dostal had his pad there, but Reichel kept showing and it finally rolled in at 1:41.
 
The Germans silenced the crowd further six minutes later on a pretty play between Stutzle and John Peterka. Stutzle found his teammate in the slot, and Peterka made no mistake with his shot, making it 2-0. It was Peterka’s third goal of the young tournament, tied for the lead.

The game might well have changed soon after, though, when the Germans had another power play. Dominik Bokk took a perfect pass to the back side of the net, but his one-timer was brilliantly stopped by the left pad of Dostal. 
 
Later in the period, on a man advantage of their own, the Czechs converted. Peterka, who had been the team’s best player through four periods of the tournament so far, took a minor and misconduct penalty for hitting from behind, and it cost the team a precious goal.
 
Defenceman Martin Has stepped off the point and snapped a shot through traffic that beat Hendrik Hane. A possible 3-0 game was now 2-1, and the hosts dominated the rest of the period as their fans chanted and clapped in delight at the turn of events.
 
The Czechs continued to press in the first half of the middle period, but the Germans proved resilient and played flawlessly in their own end. And when they were given a two-man advantage for 86 seconds, they struck for a third time. Seider got the puck in the middle of the ice at the point and fed Bokk on the left wing, and he fired a shot from a tricky angle that beat Dostal cleanly. 

The Germans made it 4-1 at 7:33 of the third on another power play, this time thanks to Bokk again over the glove of Dostal. But the Czechs weren't out of it yet. They replied just 104 seconds later when Jan Jenik beat Hane with a long shot. It was a very stoppable shot and gave the Czechs a little life.

Indeed, they got a power play and then another, having a two-man advantage for 1:43 seconds. With but one tick left in the first one, Libor Zabransky found the net through traffic. The Germans took another penalty moments later but managed to kill that off nicely.