On the Daugava – An Ice Hockey World Championship Diary I
Recorded by Daniel Goldstein
We publish here at random Diary entries from the Berlin players at the ice hockey world championship 2021 in Riga (Latvia). We start with Polar bear goalkeeper Mathias Niederberger. The 28-year-old native of Düsseldorf is the son of former national defender Andreas Niederberger. His brother Leon plays in the German Ice Hockey League for the Krefeld Penguins. The mother of the two is Italian. The German team will meet Italy’s selection in the opening game of the World Cup on Friday afternoon from 3:15 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on Sport1.
Last game
“We couldn’t do a test match with the team due to the quarantine regulations and all other regulations. That’s why my last game was the championship final. Of course, I still look forward to it every moment when I think back on it. Our championship party days were short and of course limited due to the pandemic, also due to our departure for the national team. Nevertheless, it was nice that we could celebrate this title with the whole successful team for two or three days.
It was a special season for me. There is something indescribable about winning the championship. We are of course happy and proud and as a team you have the feeling that you have cracked the code. In terms of the national team, too, that really gave us wings to continue and make the tournament a success. “
Next game
“I don’t really think about the next game. I definitely hope that I can start in goal. It will be fun to play against the Italians. Maybe I can understand a word or two. I don’t know much about Italian ice hockey. The points of contact were too small for that. The only one I really know is Alex Trivellato. I played with him at the polar bears six years ago and we often talked in Italian. But he is not in the first game because he was unfortunately infected with COVID-19 in preparation. I wish him and his teammates a speedy recovery! By the way, we’re more likely to talk about Italian football because my family is from Milan and half of Inter and the other half of Milan keep their fingers crossed. My middle brother is also a Juve fan. “
Culinary highlight
“So today for dinner there was Fiocchetti. It’s such little noodles, tied up like that and filled with ricotta and goat cheese. They were pretty tasty. And then of course there are vegetables, potatoes, noodles, a variant of meat, a variant of fish, salad and then Leon (Gawanke), Luki (Reichel) and I still treat ourselves to biscuits that are always freshly put out. “
In the room
“It was quite exhausting the first two days. After our arrival in Riga we took the bus straight to the hotel. When we arrived here we could have dinner together and then had to go to our room. We couldn’t move out for three nights and two days and only opened the door when the doorbell rang and we brought in our food. It wasn’t nice, but maybe not bad to come down after the intense playoffs and the short championship celebration. “
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