Germany – New Zealand 6-4 (0-2 halftime)

German pulled out an incredible second half of hockey to salvage a 6-4 win against New Zealand in today’s classification game. The Germans scored all six of their goals in the second half after falling behind 2-0 in the first half.

There was no shortage of action in the last 35 minutes of play as the teams combined for eight goals. Trailing 2-0, the Germans popped in two quick goals to even things up early in the half. At that point things started to get wacky as the two teams went toe-to-toe in a festival of offense that saw the teams add another six markers. When the dust had settled, nine different players scored with only young German sensation Jan Christopher Ruehr getting on the board twice.

Germany took the 3-2 lead only to have it erased moments later by a New Zealand penalty corner. The 3-3 deadlock woke the Germans up as they responded by building their biggest lead of the game, going up 5-3. That lead stood for a whopping 1:30 until New Zealand closed the gap to one with yet another penalty corner goal.

New Zealand took the early advantage on their second penalty corner chance. The initial strike missed the mark, but Philip Burrows was there to put in a reverse shot on the rebound for the 1-0 goal seven minutes into action. Nicholas Wilson doubled the lead for the Black Sticks on a deflection with 15 minutes left in the half as the World #1 Germans struggled to find their rhythm in the classification match until the second half madness started.

Germany will take on Belgium in tomorrow’s fifth-place game, while New Zealand joins England in the seventh-place match. The winner of the Germany v. Belgium game is guaranteed a spot in next year’s Champions Trophy.