The Germans scored three times in the first period en route to a 6-3 victory over the British, who were relelgated at the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / ANDRE RINGUETTE
Germany scored three first-period goals and marched on to a 6-3 win over Great Britain on Monday evening in Zurich. The result, which ends the group stage for each nation, leaves the Germans with 10 points in Group A and a chance to crack the quarter-finals if they receive some help. The winless British are relegated to Division I for 2027.
On Tuesday, coach Harald Kreis's team will be cheering for underdog Hungary to beat Latvia and the U.S. to beat Austria in regulation time. It's out of their hands now. The Germans last medaled in 2023, claiming the silver medal behind Canada.
Alexander Karachun, Frederik Tiffels, and Leon Gawanke had a goal and an assist apiece. Fabio Wagner, Andreas Eder, and Joshua Samanski also scored for Germany. Captain Moritz Seider chipped in two assists.
Reflecting on losing 2-0 to Latvia earlier in the tournament, Gawanke said: "Of course, that was the game where we could have gone to the quarter-final. I mean, if we had beaten the U.S. [instead of falling 4-3 in a shootout], we would also have gone to the quarter-final. So that's two games that are a little sad for us, but nothing we can do about it now."
Captain Robert Dowd scored a goal for Great Britain in his final IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship game. Ollie Betteridge and Robert Lachowicz had the other British markers.
Germany outshot Great Britain 43-16.
"I think with our game today, we had a pretty good start and capitalized off our chances," Wagner said. "Then, in the second, we took our foot a little bit off the gas and had too many turnovers. But we created a lot of offensive chances, and we're happy with the win."
Towering British goaltender Ben Bowns made his final Ice Hockey World Championship start at age 35. Like Dowd, he is retiring from IIHF competition.
"I think we played right to the end," said Worlds rookie Bayley Harewood, who appeared on Dowd's line and has played with Bowns in the EIHL. "We wanted to play for the guys who are obviously retiring after this tournament. I enjoyed my first tournament."
Germany came out roaring in search of the game’s first goal and got it at 13:56. At the right point, Seider picked off Cade Neilson’s clearing attempt, stickhandled in, and dished the puck to Karachun for a tap-in.
At 19:25, Tiffels made it 2-0 with his third goal of these Worlds. Liam Kirk’s attempted pass in the offensive zone slid out into the neutral zone, and the veteran Eisbaren Berlin ace sped away to snipe one high past Bowns. At 19:41, Wagner scored from the centre point for a 3-0 lead.
In the second period, Germany came out strong again. On the rush, Eder scored from the slot with a high wrister at 2:12.
The British faithful erupted with cheers when Dowd squeezed a long wrister past German netminder Philipp Grubauer on the power play to cut the deficit to 4-1 at 4:04.
In the third period, Germany's quick-strike offence continued with a goal just 17 seconds in. Tiffels and Lukas Reichel teamed up to find Samanski streaking to the net, and he scored with a slick deke. Then, an unobstructed Gawanke made it 6-1 at 9:00.
The Brits kept trying to please their drum-beating supporters. Betteridge added the second British goal on a nice wraparound at 10:51. An onrushing Lachowicz cashed in with a wrister from the right faceoff circle at 14:06 to make it 6-3.
Asked if the German players will watch Tuesday's remaining Group A games, Wagner confirmed: "Of course, we will follow it. We can't control what Hungary does, but we'll hope for the best, and then we will see."
Bowns and Dowd leave an impressive legacy. The three-time EIHL Goalie of the Year – a Cardiff Devils legend – has delivered many bravura performances for his country, including a 59-save outing in a 6-3 loss to the U.S. in 2019. Dowd is the EIHL’s all-time leading scorer with 668 career points in 748 career games, almost all with the Sheffield Steelers.
Dowd first represented GB in IIHF competition in 2004-05 and Bowns in 2007-08, both in lower-division U18 Worlds play.
Great Britain has played in five top-level IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships in the 21st century: 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024, and 2026. In that span, it has amassed two wins. In 2019, the British rallied for a 4-3 overtime win over France to stay in the top division. In 2024, they upset Austria 4-2.
On Tuesday, coach Harald Kreis's team will be cheering for underdog Hungary to beat Latvia and the U.S. to beat Austria in regulation time. It's out of their hands now. The Germans last medaled in 2023, claiming the silver medal behind Canada.
Alexander Karachun, Frederik Tiffels, and Leon Gawanke had a goal and an assist apiece. Fabio Wagner, Andreas Eder, and Joshua Samanski also scored for Germany. Captain Moritz Seider chipped in two assists.
Reflecting on losing 2-0 to Latvia earlier in the tournament, Gawanke said: "Of course, that was the game where we could have gone to the quarter-final. I mean, if we had beaten the U.S. [instead of falling 4-3 in a shootout], we would also have gone to the quarter-final. So that's two games that are a little sad for us, but nothing we can do about it now."
Captain Robert Dowd scored a goal for Great Britain in his final IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship game. Ollie Betteridge and Robert Lachowicz had the other British markers.
Germany outshot Great Britain 43-16.
"I think with our game today, we had a pretty good start and capitalized off our chances," Wagner said. "Then, in the second, we took our foot a little bit off the gas and had too many turnovers. But we created a lot of offensive chances, and we're happy with the win."
Towering British goaltender Ben Bowns made his final Ice Hockey World Championship start at age 35. Like Dowd, he is retiring from IIHF competition.
"I think we played right to the end," said Worlds rookie Bayley Harewood, who appeared on Dowd's line and has played with Bowns in the EIHL. "We wanted to play for the guys who are obviously retiring after this tournament. I enjoyed my first tournament."
Germany came out roaring in search of the game’s first goal and got it at 13:56. At the right point, Seider picked off Cade Neilson’s clearing attempt, stickhandled in, and dished the puck to Karachun for a tap-in.
At 19:25, Tiffels made it 2-0 with his third goal of these Worlds. Liam Kirk’s attempted pass in the offensive zone slid out into the neutral zone, and the veteran Eisbaren Berlin ace sped away to snipe one high past Bowns. At 19:41, Wagner scored from the centre point for a 3-0 lead.
In the second period, Germany came out strong again. On the rush, Eder scored from the slot with a high wrister at 2:12.
The British faithful erupted with cheers when Dowd squeezed a long wrister past German netminder Philipp Grubauer on the power play to cut the deficit to 4-1 at 4:04.
In the third period, Germany's quick-strike offence continued with a goal just 17 seconds in. Tiffels and Lukas Reichel teamed up to find Samanski streaking to the net, and he scored with a slick deke. Then, an unobstructed Gawanke made it 6-1 at 9:00.
The Brits kept trying to please their drum-beating supporters. Betteridge added the second British goal on a nice wraparound at 10:51. An onrushing Lachowicz cashed in with a wrister from the right faceoff circle at 14:06 to make it 6-3.
Asked if the German players will watch Tuesday's remaining Group A games, Wagner confirmed: "Of course, we will follow it. We can't control what Hungary does, but we'll hope for the best, and then we will see."
Bowns and Dowd leave an impressive legacy. The three-time EIHL Goalie of the Year – a Cardiff Devils legend – has delivered many bravura performances for his country, including a 59-save outing in a 6-3 loss to the U.S. in 2019. Dowd is the EIHL’s all-time leading scorer with 668 career points in 748 career games, almost all with the Sheffield Steelers.
Dowd first represented GB in IIHF competition in 2004-05 and Bowns in 2007-08, both in lower-division U18 Worlds play.
Great Britain has played in five top-level IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships in the 21st century: 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024, and 2026. In that span, it has amassed two wins. In 2019, the British rallied for a 4-3 overtime win over France to stay in the top division. In 2024, they upset Austria 4-2.
Germany vs Great Britain - 2026 IIHF Men's World Championship
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